womenintech Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

The Amazing and Creative World of Immersive and Extended…

July 26, 2022July 26, 2022
by Claire

Today you are coming on tour with us to a newly opened, state of the art immersive technologies research centre at Portsmouth University in England.

The CCIXR, or Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality, is the UK’s first facility where the latest in special effects, gaming and virtual reality technologies are all brought together.

Come with us as we learn all about this cutting edge facility from the Centre’s Business Director, Pippa Bostock and Specialist Technician and Producer, Hattie Ball.

As you’ll hear, the Centre is at the forefront of how technologies are converging to make all kinds of experiences that much more realistic – from films and theatre, to museum visits, as well as incredible training simulations for industry and the armed forces. (Think virtual reality on steroids.)

In this episode we start with Pippa taking us through the big picture including the metaverse, and then we’re going to dive a little deeper and speak with Hattie who walks us through a real example.

In this episode you’ll learn:

What Immersive and extended realities are
How and where we might see them used in the future
How you can learn more and get creative yourself
And exactly how the buzzword of the moment, the Metaverse might play out.

All the people at the CCIXR were so welcoming so a big shout out to the whole team there. Let’s start the tour shall we?

Useful Links

CCIXR (Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality) website

Pippa LinkedIn

Hattie LinkedIn

Hattie Ball’s personal website

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – More Than an Idea .…

September 28, 2021September 28, 2021
by Claire

Welcome to another of our mini episodes where we revisit the specific pearls of wisdom that our amazing guests have shared with us.

This week we’re exploring what it takes to really innovate in a big corporate or government organisation. Because, as you’ll hear, successful innovation is about much more than having a great idea. Often the challenge really comes when you try to get that idea off the ground.

You may remember a conversation we had with Mandy Birch, an executive with quantum computing company, Rigetti Computing. Mandy also spent many years in the US Airforce in senior operational and logistics roles in the field so she knows all about innovating and getting ideas passed in large organisations.

You’ll hear how Mandy thinks about generating breakthrough ideas and, importantly, getting some of them implemented!

Enjoy this Future Proof Me episode. And if you are getting value from our show then please rate and review us on your podcast listening platform, we’d really appreciate it if you haven’t already.

Useful Links

Our full interview episode with Mandy

Mandy on LinkedIn

Rigetti Computing

Interview

Katrine Marçal – How Including Women could Fix almost…

September 21, 2021September 21, 2021
by Claire

Our guest for this week’s episode is Swedish best selling author, financial journalist and women’s economic champion, Katrine Marçal.

Katrine’s two books, ‘Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner’ and her latest book – ‘Mother of Invention – How Good Ideas Get Ignored in an Economy Built for Men’ explore how women’s roles and contribution have been systemically ignored over time.

Katrine has a fun and engaging way of telling stories that show just how much we’ve missed out on by overlooking the value women bring to the table. Not surprisingly, she also shares how frustrated she is that we’ve missed out on countless potential innovations because there haven’t been enough women involved in the process.

Katrine’s first book was named one of The Guardian’s Books of the Year in 2015 and she was named as one of the BBC’s top 100 women in the same year. Her latest book builds on this impressive record.

In this fascinating discussion you’ll learn:

How the founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, overlooked one very important factor when he came up with his ‘self interest’ theory and what impact that’s had on women and what we’re paid,
How innovation history has overlooked or re-written women’s vital role in computer science and the founding of software,
How and why a company that specialised in women’s underwear won the contract to make the spacesuits that took the Apollo astronauts to their history making landing on the Moon; and
How Katrine herself comes up with her original ideas and perspectives.

So sit back, enjoy and be prepared to have your eyes opened by the insightful and engaging Katrine Marçal.

Useful Links

Katrine’s website – find her books here

SheEO home page

Interview with Vicki Saunders, CEO of SheEO

Interview

Ellen Broad – Her Surprising Path to Big Data…

November 3, 2020November 13, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

This week’s episode features a woman who never dreamt she’d end up working in a high tech environment. In fact, Ellen Broad imagined she would be a lawyer or librarian when she was younger.

However this tech exec and academic is now a Senior Fellow at the 3A Institute at the Australian National University. The Institute is a multi-disciplinary department created to help humans prepare for, and navigate, a world that will be forever altered by AI-powered ‘cyber-physical systems’.

A little bit more about Ellen, she trained as a lawyer (more about that in our conversation) and she’s worked in data-related roles in the Hague and in the UK, including being an expert adviser to the UK Secretary of State on Data, and head of Policy for the UK’s Open Data Institute.

Not only that, but Ellen has also written an award winning book on AI and its impact on humans called ‘Made By Humans’.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Ellen navigated moving countries, and finding work, without having any network in her new home-base
How she’s found her voice to speak up against gender bias
What it’s like working in a truly diverse team – hint it’s not always easy
Why she’s using social media a lot less these days, and
Where she thinks technology will go in the next five years.

Enjoy this episode with the unassuming and very smart Ellen Broad.

Links

3A Institute website

Ellen Broad’s website

Ellen’s Book – Made by Humans

Griffith Review Article – Computer Says No

Resources Recommended by Ellen

Coded Bias Documentary

Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil

PAIR Program with Google

The Coding Train – Daniel Shiffman