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Tech Inspired

Tech Inspired

By TechFace - Build your best career in tech

What does it take to start a career in tech? Listen to the TechFace podcast and get to know inspiring women in tech and their careers. Find out what they have experienced, get to know their stories and hear all about their advice to build your best career in tech.
This podcast goes to all women in tech and their successful careers!
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Tech Inspired with Bettina Wolko

Tech InspiredFeb 25, 2020

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17:35
Tech Inspired with Viola Sini

Tech Inspired with Viola Sini

Meet Viola Sini on the latest episode of the Tech Inspired podcast - Information Security Officer at the Swiss Post and a passionate volunteer for ISACA SheLeadsTech. Viola shares her unique journey from a marketing intern at IBM to a leader in cybersecurity. Discover how a background in languages and translation paved the way for her career in technology, and the events that led her to the forefront of information security.

In this episode, Viola discusses the crucial role of curiosity and communication in tech, highlighting her mission to make the digital world safer and more understandable for everyone. She offers insights into the challenges and rewards of working in IT audit and information security, including the importance of staying updated on emerging technologies like AI and supply chain management. Viola's story is a testament to the non-linear paths that can lead to fulfilling careers in tech, emphasising the value of lifelong learning and adaptability.

Viola also sheds light on the evolving landscape of IT security, stressing the need for "security by design" and the ethical considerations in technology development. She envisions a future where social engineering and digital deception become even more sophisticated, underscoring the importance of critical thinking and scepticism online. Her perspective is a call to action for diverse talents to contribute to creating safer digital environments for all.

Don't miss this inspiring conversation that bridges the gap between technology and humanity, demonstrating that tech careers are as much about safeguarding our societal fabric as they are about innovation. Listen to the podcast now to gain valuable career advice, insights into the dynamic field of information security, and Viola's vision for a more secure and inclusive digital world.

For those looking to connect with Viola or learn more about her work, her LinkedIn profile is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viola-sini/


N.B. from Viola: For those keen on staying ahead in the cybersecurity field, Viola recommends the following resources.

English speakers: 

German speakers:  

 

Mar 19, 202432:42
Tech Inspired Follow up with Akira Brand
Feb 20, 202428:24
Tech Inspired with Solveig Helland

Tech Inspired with Solveig Helland

In our latest podcast episode, we had a fascinating conversation with Solveig, a dynamic software engineer and AI enthusiast based in Switzerland. We delved into her unexpected journey into tech, the challenges she faced, and her experiences working in both big corporations and startups.

Ever wondered how to break into tech without a traditional background? Solveig's advice is simple: don't be discouraged by job requirements. Apply anyway, even if you feel underqualified. You might be underestimating yourself!

We also discussed the future of AI and its impact on the job market. Worried about AI taking over your job? Solveig's perspective might change your mind. Embrace curiosity, she says. Start experimenting with AI tools, like GPT, and see the possibilities for yourself. And remember, failure is just a stepping stone to learning and growth.

Do you want to know more about Solveig's inspiring journey and her insights into the tech world? Tune in to our latest episode and get ready to be motivated! Are you ready to embark on your tech adventure?

Oct 24, 202319:34
Tech Inspired with Simona Todesco (DE)
Sep 19, 202324:35
Tech Inspired with Kristin Umbach

Tech Inspired with Kristin Umbach

Meet Kristin Umbrach, Head of Development at Swiss IC Security Group, a cybersecurity company. Kristin started her career in a very non-technical way. Although she wanted to become a marine biologist, she soon figured out that this is not the place for her. So she started studying Business Administration. She was always eager to work in an environment and with people who are ambitious so that she can bring her drive and passion to the table. After her studies, she found the perfect place at an investment bank, where she worked in the area of mergers & acquisitions.

During her first job, she realized that technology plays a vital role in her work to improve processes and become more efficient. This led her to her next job, away from an advisory role into the corporate world of construction. The lack of talent in this industry was driving her and her team to find ways to optimize. And of course, technology plays a great role in this. Her next step, into the role she has now, was then initiated by a head hunter. He saw the potential,skills and expertise she had to bring the necessary added value to this job.

Today she enjoys working with different companies, helping them in their transformation processes and translating the company's strategy from management to the employees and embedding it in the everyday lives of the employee.

Kristin is a perfect example of being able to change a career into tech. Listen to this episode and learn more about her career and how she moved into tech.

Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn.

Jul 17, 202320:18
Tech Inspired with Megha Shrestha

Tech Inspired with Megha Shrestha

Meet Megha, CEO and co-founder of Metabloqs, as she shares her insights on the transformative power of generative tech, AI, and the web. Discover how anyone, regardless of their industry or role, can thrive in this space with curiosity, passion, and a willingness to learn. Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on whether Metaverse interactions can replace real-life connections.

Jun 20, 202324:29
Tech Inspired with Susann Pätschke

Tech Inspired with Susann Pätschke

Meet Susann Pätschke, an aerospace engineer who found her passion for all things space at a young age. As a Ground Station Modem Engineer with CGI for ESA/ESOC, Susann shares her experience working in the technical aspects of the aerospace and satellite market, and the role it plays in our daily lives.

Listen to the episode to explore her journey, future developments in the space industry, and more. Tune in now!

May 23, 202328:01
Tech Inspired with Sandra Zimmerli

Tech Inspired with Sandra Zimmerli

Sandra Zimmerli, Cloud Engineer at novaCapta, shares her inspiring journey into the world of tech.

From a young age, Sandra was fascinated by computers and coding quickly became her hobby. Despite not having any role models in the industry, Sandra pursued her passion for IT and is now a successful Cloud Engineer.

In this episode, she discusses the impact of AI, the future of cloud technology, and encourages listeners to pursue their passions in the tech industry.

Tune in to this podcast to be inspired by Sandra's story.


Apr 18, 202319:52
Tech Inspired with Stephanie Lambert

Tech Inspired with Stephanie Lambert

Meet Stephanie Lambert, Head of Global Sales Operations at Wingtra. Despite having no background in tech, Stephanie has found her way into the industry through her passion for disaster relief and her willingness to explore the unknown.

Stephanie shares her journey from being a typical ballet-dancing girl to becoming a Head of Global Sales Operations and a member of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Corps.

She gives valuable advice on how to enter the drone industry and stresses the importance of being open, talking to a lot of people, and trying things you don't know. She also talks about the future of drones and how they can benefit people.

If you're curious about how Stephanie's journey unfolded and want to learn more about the future of drones and the industry, listen to this episode now. Stephanie's inspiring story and valuable insights are sure to leave you motivated to explore the unknown and step outside of your comfort zone.


Mar 21, 202321:15
Tech Inspired with Khanh Au

Tech Inspired with Khanh Au

Meet Khanh, Security Advisor at Splunk.

Her interest in numbers led her to study economics and finance. After completing her studies, she landed a job at Microsoft as a business manager, but she soon realized that she wanted more – to explore the sales aspect of the tech industry and talk to customers about the technology and how to use it effectively.

However, switching from a numbers-focused role to sales was not easy. She had to educate herself and find someone who believed in her to get her first job in sales. Khanh's passion for Microsoft technologies, users, and challenges helped her overcome the difficulties and achieve her goal. She worked in different departments at Microsoft and gained a deep understanding of the products, which made it easier for her to connect with them and sell them effectively.

Khanh's journey in the tech industry taught her the importance of having a mentor, creating a network, and listening to the people around you. She also shares her insights on what security advisors do, the future of cybersecurity, and why creativity is crucial in IT.

Want to learn more about the most important skills that helped her to build her career? Listen to the new episode now.

Feb 28, 202329:33
Tech Inspired mit Marina Petrovic

Tech Inspired mit Marina Petrovic

Lerne Marina Petrovic, Data Reporting Specialist bei ewz, kennen. Marina lernte früh in ihrem Leben zwei Bereiche kennen, die auch sie später prägten: die Physik und das Banking. Obwohl sie bereits im Gymnasium mit Computern in Kontakt kam und die ersten IT Erfahrungen sammelte, entschied sie sich trotzdem für ein Physik Studium. Den Schritt in die Finanzwelt wagte sie dann nach dem Studium. Sie hatte sich schon fast für ein PhD in Physik entschieden, als sie merkte, dass ihr dies einach nicht genug Freude bereitet. Sie entschied sich für ein Post Graduate Program im Bereich Financial Modeling zu machen. Dabei wurde ihr die Banken Welt näher gebrachte. Aber auch da fand sie nicht die Erfüllung.

Während sie sich überlegte, wohin sie möchte, fand sie erste kleiner Aufträge für Daten Analyse über eine online Projekt Platform. Alsbald entschied sie sich in die Schweiz zu ziehen und suchte dann wieder eine Festanstellung. Sie begann ihr Netzwerk aufzubauen und kam bald in Kontakt mit einer Personalvermittlungsfirma, die ihr ein Angebot machten. Eine ideale Gelegenheit für Marina ihr Netzwerk in der Schweiz zu erweitern und mehr über die verschiedenen Branchen kennenzulernen. Dank dem kam sie auch zu ihrem heutigen Job bei der ewz.

Marina hatte einige verschiedenen Jobs bevor sie das gefunden hat, was sie heute inspiriert und motiviert. Und dazu hat ihr auch ihre wichtigste Fähigkeit verholfen. Wenn du mehr über Marina erfahren möchtest, und welche Fähigkeit ihr auf dem Weg in die Tech Branche geholfen hat, hör dir jetzt diese Episode an (in Deutsch).

Vernetze dich jetzt mit Marina auf LinkedIn.
Mehr zu Inspiring Girls findest du hier

Jan 24, 202321:56
Tech Inspired with Cornelia Kawann

Tech Inspired with Cornelia Kawann

Meet Cornelia, an executive at Eidgenössische Elektrizitätskommission ElCom and the founder of energy-on!

Her journey into technology began in her early childhood. She was a curious child, so she decided to experiment - to put a nail in the socket and see what happened. It was so interesting to know why and how we've electricity in the socket. She never stopped thinking about it, and that was the reason she started studying electrical engineering

But studying at the university didn't go so smoothly for her. At her first lecture, she was the only girl among the 800 boys in the lecture hall. And one of the professors even told her that it was better not to waste her time there because she wouldn't make it t anyway. It’s better to go home and learn how to cook at home.

Engineering was just a men's world, but Cornelia was a really strong girl and wanted to prove to everyone that it shouldn't be that way. That women are no less capable than men and that they can do anything they want to. That profession doesn’t have a gender.

Want to learn more about Cornelia and her journey into engineering? How did she decide not to listen to other people who didn't believe in her just because she's a woman? And how did she make it despite all these obstacles? Listen to the new episode now.

Connect with Cornelia on LinkedIn.

Dec 20, 202223:46
Tech Inspired with Alessia Marra
Nov 22, 202220:09
Tech Inspired with Reshma Ramachandran
Nov 01, 202226:36
Tech Inspired with Elcin Biren
Oct 11, 202220:15
Tech Inspired with Akira Brand

Tech Inspired with Akira Brand

Meet Akira Brand, Developer Relations Professional in Bright Security. She had several drastic changes in her career path – started as an opera singer, switched to e-commerce, and is now in software engineer. Before tech, she used to work professionally full-time in the classical music scene. It seems that these are totally different and not connected professions, but the way of approaching work turned out to be very similar.

Akira had inspiring role models from childhood – her parents. Her dad was a geophysicist and her mother was a mathematician. Engineering and mathematical-minded people surrounded her all her life and it was very influential. Her mom also played with her logic games and puzzles. Surprisingly, it really helped her with entrance exams to Coding Bootcamp later – problems were almost the same.

At the same time, Akira always was into singing. She was a shy child and singing was the only comfortable way to express herself and escape from reality. In the world of music, she felt at home. STEM was interesting for her, but music always was more important.  That’s why she decided to take her Bachelor’s degree in music, and simultaneously she took a few engineering and maths courses.

After being in the music industry for so long, she was depressed – you always need to be at rehearsals, and you always need to learn something new. You don’t see your family and friends, you just need to work. Her former partner wanted to help and pushed her to look into the software engineering area. At this time she couldn't even think about it seriously – she didn't believe in tech and didn't trust computers. But she decided to give it a chance.

Turns out, she wasn't very enthusiastic about it, it was just okay. But one day she was looking at the code and for the first time she could visualize it, everything made absolute sense to her. From this moment she realized that it was something that she need to proceed with.

If you want to know about her full transition from opera singer to software engineer and the similarities between these areas – listen to the podcast now!

Connect with Akira on LinkedIn.

Sep 20, 202228:39
Tech Inspired with Nisha Lehmann

Tech Inspired with Nisha Lehmann

Meet Nisha Lehmann, Senior Customer Success Manager at Merkle.

Nisha has been working in Tech for 15 years. Her career choice was an accident because she never had an aspiration for the IT area. She studied journalism and had a dream of becoming a writer. But when she finished her education and tried to find a job — she wasn't successful. After that, she accidentally found a job as a technical writer that was totally different from journalism.

There she obtained her first skills in coding and programming. She never thought about herself as a technical person, she was always more creative. But subsequently, she understood that everybody can be technical if he decides to do it. Everybody has creative and technical skills, and it's just a decision on which one to focus.

With her master's she decided to proceed with information systems, and after that finding a job was much easier. She found a new job — in IT consulting, where she had been working for nearly 7 years. There she helped to bridge the gap between technical resources and business requirements and analysis.

The Tech sphere gave her the possibility to try a lot of different things in a short time, to experiment, and the opportunity to find out what she really wants and needs. In turn, consulting was a great opportunity to learn a lot in a modest amount of time, but it was also challenging.

Her motto is to be patient and not to be afraid to fail. Want to listen to more career advice from Nisha? Listen to the podcast and discover how to drastically change your career.

Connect with Nisha on LinkedIn and find out more about Confidential Conversation here.

Merkle is also one of the sponsors of the #wetechtogether conference 2022 on the 30th of September and the 1st of October in Zurich.

Aug 23, 202225:53
Tech Inspired with Rosemary Lockhorst

Tech Inspired with Rosemary Lockhorst

​Meet Rosemary Lockhorst, Founder and CEO of  StoryByte Studio, which specialized in digital storytelling, using the latest technologies in gamification and entertainment. Rosemary, or Rosy as she introduces herself, was already interested in tech at a very early age. However, even though she had a computer at the age of 9, she decided later to pursue a career in the hospitality industry.

Working in an Irish hotel, her younger brother visited her. He pointed out, how much more she could make going into the tech industry. And that was the start of her career in tech.

So Rosy changed into software engineering! As easy as it might sound at first, it took her a while to build up her career. However, Rosy never shied away from saying yes to opportunities that were offered to her. Soon she took over a Project Manager role and with the help of friends and family, she was able to thrive in this role.

Her career took her to different companies and areas in tech. Until one day she realized that she was hitting sort of a glass ceiling. It was time to take a break and step out of tech completely. Rosy went to the US to attend classes on screenwriting. While being in the US she run into a former colleague, who got interested in what she was doing now; storytelling. Her colleague was looking for an opportunity to digitalize a book she wrote. And just like that, Rosy got another opportunity to start her own entrepreneurial journey!

If you want to know, how she built her company and why Al Gore gave her the best career advice, listen to this podcast now!

Connect with Rosy on LinkedIn.

Rosy will be attending the #wetechtogether conference 2022 as a Knowledge Session speaker - find more info here!

Jul 26, 202232:23
Tech Inspired with Anna Maria Blengino

Tech Inspired with Anna Maria Blengino

​Meet Anna Maria, who is a Senior Director in IT Strategy and Innovation at Sunrise.  As a child she followed her curiosity to take things apart and put them back together. Inspired by her father and by her mathematics and physics teacher, she fell in love with technology. Consequently, she graduated as one of three women with an engineering degree and worked for the first couple years in construction. Anyway, at the end of the 1990s telecommunication was on the rise and captured Anna Maria’s interest.

She started from the bottom as an industry (career) changer and continuously used her curiosity to explore the different options. Thus, she worked in different industries and countries; the jobs varied from hands-on to more strategical positions. Now, Anna Maria shares her career learnings from the last three decades with us. She mentions repeatedly that it is important to keep moving to stay on top of innovation.

Listen to this episode to get the full insight from Anna Maria’s impressive career and her take on the future of telecommunication companies, digitalization, and new work. Finally, Anna Maria gushes about her favourite female role model. This woman is literally reaching for the stars yet outspoken about injustices and relatable in her life choices. Listen till the end, you might be inspired too.

Connect with Anna Maria on LinkedIn.

More about the #wetechtogether conference on 30th of September and 1st of October at Technopark in Zurich.

May 24, 202224:09
Tech Inspired with Sibel Atasoy Würsch

Tech Inspired with Sibel Atasoy Würsch

Meet Sibel, Head of Data at Frontify and a global citizen. Sibel lived most of her life outside Turkey, where she has been born and raised. Today she is responsible for all the data analytics tasks at Frontify. She joined a small and young team and built up a team of six today including data analysts and engineers.

Sibel started her career in economics with the goal to be a professor, teacher or researcher in her professional life. Little did she know that an economic crisis gave her the opportunity to switch to tech. She moved to Boston to search for a job when a tech start-up gave her the chance to switch to tech. With her background in statistics from her studies, she was up for the challenge and got the chance to change her career into tech. She learned to program in R on the job and soon the contract became a permanent role.

The startup was acquired by PayPal and she leveraged her knowledge even further to become part of the data world. However, being married to a Swiss citizen, they soon longed to go back to Europe and luckily she landed a new job with eBay in Switzerland.

Sibel believes, the traditional way of getting a job by applying for an open position is going to remain. However, to be successful, this requires a mindset shift on both sides, the hiring company and the candidate. Applying for jobs enabled her to work for Ava Women and now Frontify.

There are many ways into tech, and Sibel’s story is just another inspiring and empowering story for women in tech. Roles can be created nowadays and passion can open doors in unexpected ways. Are you looking to switch from academia to an industry job? Then listen to Sibel and her advice on how to switch careers.

Connect with Sibel on LinkedIn.

Apr 19, 202228:50
Tech Inspired with Karina Stump

Tech Inspired with Karina Stump

Meet Karina Stump, who is the Leader Category Management Supermarket at Digitec Galaxus. Previously, she worked for almost a decade in the luxury and fashion industry. There she had various roles from finance to marketing to management. In many of these jobs she had touch points with the tech world. Be it building a cv platform at university or leading a new pricing system at a well-known jewellery company.

Despite limited contact with technology when growing up, her practical interest and curiosity in new tools and systems helped her get hands-on with new technologies. Again and again, Karina was able to create safe environments to try out and make experiences to learn about the structure and logic behind systems. She mentions that she is generally not the expert in discussions with IT people. However, she can challenge them because she understands the basics of a technology or system and advancing the discussion with this knowledge.

Did you know that Digitec Galaxus offers over 3.5 million products in their online shop? Karina shares some bits about the need for automation, the use of artificial intelligence and marketing. What fascinates her the most about her job is the scale of the whole environment and the agile company culture at a tech company. Additionally, Karina talks in this episode about the future of e-commerce. There might even be the passing mention of the metaverse. On top, she shares why curiosity is her most important skill.

Connect with Karina on LinkedIn

Learn more about Digitec Galaxus in their company profile.

Mar 21, 202224:22
Tech Inspired with Maryia Kayser

Tech Inspired with Maryia Kayser

Meet Maryia Kayser, Head of Software Development at Nexxiot, an IoT company. She studied Physics and Mathematics, then Economics and currently she is working in Software Development. Maryia became a Web Developer by fixing one thing on a website and continued coding the whole website. By chance she got into the Tech industry, but she does not want to change a bit of her journey so far.

Maryia’s diverse background helped her navigate the different management and tech related challenges in her jobs. Her hard work paid off in a way that she was presented with opportunities at the right moment in time. Listen to this episode to learn more about her way into Tech and the values she looks for in her team and daily work. This includes recommendations how to figure out, if your new interest is also your passion, and how to approach people and thus grow your network.

What Maryia likes about her job is the constant problem solving. Sometimes there is not the one right solution to issues but it is a process of optimisation. Luckily, she works for an IoT company that produces tracking devices to optimise supply chains. Thus, daily problem solving is part of the job. Further, their products are contributing to a more sustainable cargo business by reducing inefficient transports. If problem-solving and sustainability are your  passions too, do not wait and get in touch with Mariya.

Connect with Maryia on LinkedIn

Feb 22, 202222:43
Tech Inspired with Leonie Flueckiger

Tech Inspired with Leonie Flueckiger

Meet Leonie Flückiger, co-founder and CTO of Adresta and a former ETH Juniors team member. Leonie grew up in an environment without an immediate connection to the areas of MINT. She never saw herself as very intelligent and was struggling to get into the gymnasium. Soon enough however she discovered her motivation and passion to learn new things that opened up many potential career opportunities.

Thanks to the career adviser, she discovered the field of Material Science and started studying it at ETH. During her studies, she got to know the ETH Juniors, a student consultancy of ETH Zurich. Thanks to one of the team members at that time, she landed her first project in the airline industry. Many more followed until she worked on an innovation project for an insurance company. This was the start of her entrepreneurial journey!

Listen to this podcast with Leonie, a founder that is fascinated by the many possibilities of tech and her motivation and passion for a career in tech. Learn more about her journey and how she enables the watch and luxury industry to go new ways with technology. And why emotions and personal connections play a vital role in the future of tech!

Connect with Leonie on LinkedIn.
Amy Cuddy TED Talk - Fake it Till You Make it

Jan 18, 202223:51
Tech Inspired with Stefany Barker

Tech Inspired with Stefany Barker

Meet Stefany Barker, Software Engineer Team Lead and co-founder of many interesting initiatives and organizations. Besides being a co-founder with entrepreneurial skills, she has been an inspiring role model herself for me.

Stefany and Priska have meet 5 years ago at a Female Founder event in Zurich and connected on the same experience - being a woman in the male-dominated world of tech! This experience has not only brought them together to strive for more diversity in tech. It was also the start of a supportive friendship. Today, Stefany works at Palantier, a software provider that focuses on analyzing big data. However, Stefany did not choose the path into tech right away. She actually started first studying economics and worked for a bit in the finance industry. It was actually her boss at that time, that recognized her interest in tech! And despite that both her parents were working in tech and did not think of this to be a career path for her!

At this point, her path changed and she pivoted into tech. And from then on, she was ready to thrive in tech. Working for a startup, building up her own idea, co-founded Girls in Tech Switzerland, TechFace and WaaS and finally leading a team at Palantir! For Stefany it is very clear, that tech is the future. And so she knows where the most exciting area will be: everything around data!

In this podcast, we get to know Stefany up close and personal, she shares with us why she admires the CMO of Netflix, Bozoma Saint Johns and sees her as one of the many female role models she has in life and talks about her most valuable skills (spoiler, these are not tech skills). Want to hear what is the most valuable advice she got and how she is living it? Listen now to this special podcast and learn from one of the biggest advocates for more diversity in tech and inspiring co-founder and role model!

Connect with Stefany on LinkedIn
Learn more about:

Dec 21, 202123:16
Tech Inspired with Nicole Becker

Tech Inspired with Nicole Becker

Nov 23, 202122:35
Tech Inspired with Roxanne Derhodge on Authentic Leadership

Tech Inspired with Roxanne Derhodge on Authentic Leadership

Meet Roxanne Derhodge, a Forbes Executive Council Member and Resiliency Keynote Speaker. We had the pleasure to invite her to our podcast and talk about authentic leadership. Roxanne has experienced authentic leadership when she was just a kid. She was watching her father leading a corporation looking after their employees first. Impressed by what she saw, she wanted to pursue a career doing exactly this. She wanted to help people to be at their best in what they were doing. Roxanne studied psychology and works today as a coach and consultant for companies, that have realised the importance of authenticity in leadership.

We took the chance to talk to her about what it means to be an authentic leader, how one can find an authentic leader and how to become one yourself. Roxanne shares with us, how companies realise, that they need to change. But ever so often, they are not ready. In our talk, she showcase how a leader can change to put their employees at the core of the company. She helps you to understand, how you can become an authentic leader. Want to learn more from what she has experienced as daughter, leader, coach and consultant?

Roxanne is the author of the book A Therapist Insider’s Guide on Relationships. The book provides in depth information and exercises for anyone who wants to enhance their relationship with someone else. Download it as eBook here. Her second book, Return on Relationships, is due to be published in Nov 2021.

Find out more about Roxanne here or connect with her on LinkedIn.

This talk was recorded in preparation of the #wetechtogether conference 2021, where we had the pleasure to invite different leaders talking about leadership.

Check out the #wetechtogether conference here.

Sep 20, 202123:17
Tech Inspired with Petra Donka

Tech Inspired with Petra Donka

Meet Petra Donka, a Software Development Team Lead and Software Engineer at Scandit in Zurich. She is going to be a speaker at the #wetechtogether conference 2021 and will talk about augmented reality solutions for modern enterprises. But before that, she shares with us, why she has switched from English Literature studies to Computer Science.

Petra always considered herself as a geek person and had tech in her life since she was a kid. Because of that, she decided to first study literature as she wanted something special. Soon she realised, that tech suited her much more as this was coming more natural to her. Starting her career then at Scandit opened different opportunities for her to try new things. She was curious to learn new technology on the side and could use these skills and expertise at work.

Want to know what is her most important advice to find a job, no matter if it is tech or not?

Listen to this podcast episode to get the answer!

Aug 24, 202117:08
 Tech Inspired with Claudia Bruce-Quartey
Jul 20, 202132:12
Tech Inspired with Andrea Tribelhorn

Tech Inspired with Andrea Tribelhorn

Meet Andrea, who is a Cyber Security Consultant at Detecon. Without a technological background or role models in her family, she discovered her fascination for technology during her studies. 

What is it about Cyber Security that hooked her from the beginning? The main goal of Cyber Security is to reduce the risks to have a profitable business case. There is always the question to ponder: what is the current threat landscape versus where is protection needed and feasible. You see, it never gets boring as the field is constantly changing.

Andrea’s free advice in a nutshell for getting started in a new area or following a new interest. Everyone is new with the new technologies, even the ones already working in technology, so do not hesitate to get started in the field of your interest. Listen to this episode to hear the best advice Andrea has ever gotten during her Design Thinking stint at Stanford and what she makes of it.

Jun 22, 202118:58
Tech Inspired with Sofia Martinez Gomez

Tech Inspired with Sofia Martinez Gomez

Meet Sofia, who works as a Cyber Security Specialist at Roche Diagnostics Europe. 

Do you wonder what a day in the life of a cyber security specialist looks like? Well, Sofia shares some questions and concepts she deals with on a daily base. For example, did you ever think about the security of medical devices used by your doctor to diagnose a health issue? My guess is, not many of us do that. The good thing is, we very seldom have to because Sofia and her colleagues are always thinking some steps ahead and trying to understand the mind of people with criminal intentions and what they could plan to hack medical devices to gather very personal information about us.

Listen to this episode to hear more about her experiences during her career so far. Let us share just one insight here: Asking never hurts! That’s how she got the chance to do her Master Thesis at Roche, which later led to a job offer.

May 18, 202118:55
Tech Inspired - Knowing your Worth

Tech Inspired - Knowing your Worth

Meet this group of inspiring women talking about the important topic of "Knowing your worth". Listen to this episode if you enjoy hearing diverse ways to handle (work and life) situations where you doubt your worth.

Meet...

... Lisa – Software Developer at Esri with a passion for sustainability and future cities

... Yanira – Head of Customer Experience at Migros Online, UX expert and team lead

... Jessica – Innovation Project Lead at Logitech Gaming, previously training as an aerospace engineer and experience in developing drones

... Priska – Co-Founder and Managing Director at TechFace, with a broad background in finance and tech

Have you ever experienced a situation when you thought you are not good enough? Well, most of us probably have. Especially, women tend to not see the value they bring to their employer’s business. Others deal with imposter syndrome and tend to underestimate themselves which might limit them in achieving their goals.

How do you react when you make a mistake? The guests exchange how they deal with mistakes and the feeling of being a failure. You will get a great toolbox of ideas how you can deal with situations where you feel not good enough.

Do not miss our guests’ recommendations how to handle challenging situations. These inspiring women know their worth and strengths but also their weaknesses and areas of development. Most importantly, they talk about how to use this to your advantage. It is very likely, that the listeners will be able to take at least one new idea from our guests’ inputs.

Apr 19, 202131:26
Tech Inspired with Taisha Fabricius

Tech Inspired with Taisha Fabricius

Meet Taisha Fabricius, who is originally from Australia and now based in Switzerland for the last 10 years. She works as a 3D Technology Evangelist at Esri. Taisha is also a board member of Girls in Tech Switzerland since September 2020.

Taisha has not a straightforward way into tech. Early during her undergrad degree, she realized that the so-called soft skills are one of her biggest strengths and that these were not compatible with the chosen degree. Thus, she had to pivot her career vision. Taisha stumbled upon a degree called Geomatic Engineering in the study book and was intrigued although she had no idea what it was. 

She reminds us that the constant advancements of technology give us all a lot of possibilities. However, when building products, we must not forget who our users and end-customers are. Do not over-engineer the product just because you can.

Listen to this episode to hear how Taisha is dealing with self-doubt and what you can learn from rejections or failures. You will also learn how to find the perfect role for you within your company and how she created her job as a 3D technology evangelist to fit to her strengths.

Mar 22, 202119:17
Tech Inspired with Anna Thumann

Tech Inspired with Anna Thumann

Meet Anna Thumann, who is currently studying Mechanical Engineering in her third year at ETH Zurich and building an electric aircraft. Concurrently, she is the president of LIMES – Ladies in Mechanical and Electrical Studies at ETH Zurich. The main goal of LIMES is to connect female students with industry partners and help them grow their peer network. Additionally, they are educating and motivating female high school students to study Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

At ETH Zurich students can participate in a focus project. E-Sling is the very first aviation project. Twelve students are building the first fully electric four-seat aircraft with a modular battery system in just 8 months. What fascinates Anna about this project is the sustainability idea in an aviation project. Concurrently, she gets the chance to work in a team trying to solve the many challenges arising on a weekly basis. If sustainability is one of your passions, you’ll agree with Anna’s vision of the future of tech. Listen to this episode to hear more about her vision.

To conclude, we are sure that Anna will be an inspiring role model for girls following in her footsteps.

Feb 22, 202116:35
Tech Inspired with Leïla Haegel
Jan 18, 202120:26
Tech Inspired with Tanja Koch

Tech Inspired with Tanja Koch

Meet Tanja Koch, Zurich Ambassador for Women in 3D Printing, a global association to meet and exchange experiences about working in the 3D printing industry.

Tanja works at 9T Labs, a startup from ETH Zurich that manufactures carbon composite 3D printers. Her job allows Tanja to combine her technical background with the business aspects of a startup company. She works closely with the sales and software department to tell compelling stories about their products. Because their customers are form very different industries and therefore having different needs. For example they have customers from industries such as MedTech, aerospace or luxury.

Listen to this episode to hear Tanja’s take on the future of tech. She mentions diversity. Every year more young women enroll in technical studies. Tanja is convinced that in the future a more diverse workforce with different backgrounds will lead the progress in technology. Are you interested in Tanja's insights about the future of 3D printing? Then this episode is for you, free career advice included.

Dec 22, 202019:44
Tech Inspired with Asra Nadeem

Tech Inspired with Asra Nadeem

Meet Asra Nadeem, who has 15 years of experience in various tech start-ups predominantly in the early stages and venture capital investment in Silicon Valley. Do you want to know, why she got her first job? It was because she was able to speak good English. However, she has proven herself very useful and shortly afterwards she was hired full-time as a product manager.

Asra has a non-traditional way into the technology world. She learned how to build products or code herself. Simultaneously, she worked with amazing people who supported her in discovering and learning new things on the job. Thus, her tip for the future, be open to learn new things and stay flexible. Something that guided her throughout her career, she never applied to a job the traditional way.

Listen to this episode, to learn more about Asra’s beliefs and her tips how to get into the start-up world without previous work experience. When asked who her favourite role model is, she has an unusual but good answer. When additionally watching her TEDx Talk you will understand why we think so.
Nov 23, 202017:26
Tech Inspired with Kim Dressendoerfer

Tech Inspired with Kim Dressendoerfer

Meet Kim Dressendoerfer, who works as a Technical Specialist and Cognitive Solution Architect for AI and Data at IBM. In this function she gets to use her creativity to build new solutions for clients daily. Already as a young girl, Kim was curious about technology and computers. She learned by doing and tried to figure out how systems or games work. Do you know, what her first ever played game was?

It is easy to get inspired just by listening to Kim talk about her job. She started her career at IBM with an internship and was part of a great team, where she could follow her interest in applying her creativity to find solutions for the problems at hand. This way of thinking helps her to identify common themes and seeing the bigger picture.

Kim clearly found a job that aligns with her purpose. Thus, sit down, get yourself a cup of coffee or tea and listen to Kim’s tips how she got there, what drives her for the future, and why her favourite role model has the best quotes.
Oct 20, 202019:39
Tech Inspired with Dorothea Baur

Tech Inspired with Dorothea Baur

Meet Dorothea Baur, self-described independent ethics expert. Five years ago, she started her own consulting business Baur Consulting, where she advises companies in the financial industry about ethical questions. More recently, she has immersed herself into the field of artificial intelligence and ethics.

In her daily work, she helps to define the necessary vocabulary to tackle the ethical questions at hand. Moreover, she raises awareness for our power over and responsibility for technology and shows where human judgment plays a role.

In this podcast, Dorothea shares how her intrinsic motivation changed as she became her own boss. Her continuing inspiration are the intellectual challenges that she can work on a daily basis. Further, she shares her advice how to find your dream job aligning with your personal values.
Sep 21, 202023:20
Tech Inspired with Sandra Tobler

Tech Inspired with Sandra Tobler

Meet Sandra Tobler, the Co-Founder and CEO of Futurae Technologies AG an ETH Zurich spin-off that specializes in cyber security. Her company strives to set new standards in authentication security without compromising on user experience. She is convinced that IT is the most powerful and creative industry with all the positive and negative aspects known. She points out that IT security is not just a box to tick off on a check list. On the contrary, it must be treated as an integral design element of a framework, service or digital product.

Sandra is also a passionate promoter of the different players in the IT security ecosystem as a board member of the initiative Swiss Cybersecurity Startup Map. Additionally, Sandra talks about the skills that are in high demand and too few people combine, yet. An absolute must episode to listen to for people thinking about a career in cyber security.
Aug 17, 202023:46
Tech Inspired with Aleksandra Sokolowska

Tech Inspired with Aleksandra Sokolowska

Meet Alex Sokolowska, who shares her experience about the empowerment of women in STEM while working in the academic environment and the start-up world. Follow her journey from a PhD in Computational Science at the University of Zurich, to a San Francisco start-up and her current position as a post-doc researcher at TU Delft. For her, technology is the tool to explore the world in a more scientific manner. And we talk about why there is a need for an equivalent of medicine’s Hippocratic oath in technology.

During her PhD she founded the non-profit organization Women++. Here, she talks about the motivation behind Women++ and shares her thoughts about the importance of networks and why women need to network to be able to shape new and trending topics together with men. Through her networks, she met so many badass female scientists, founders, executives and managers that inspired her on her own journey.
Jul 20, 202020:15
Tech Inspired with Dalith Steiger

Tech Inspired with Dalith Steiger

Meet Dalith Steiger! Get to know her journey from Software Engineer at UBS to Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SwissCognitive, a network to discuss the opportunities, impacts and development of Artificial Intelligence.
She chose to study Mathematics and Information Technology because numbers are easy to understand. Moreover, programming languages are international and spoken worldwide. That is one reason why Dalith is a big advocate of diversity in technology. Another one is the presence of bias. She explains why it is important to involve diverse teams in the process of translating information into algorithms and what she calls thoughtful coding.
Dalith believes that nobody should be afraid to get in touch with technology and explains why this is an eye-opening experience. Listen to this episode to learn more about Dalith’s four key principles and what drives her as a mother of two teenage girls to make sure that the next generation has a perspective.
Jun 22, 202019:28
Tech Inspired with Maja Schreiner

Tech Inspired with Maja Schreiner

Meet Maja Schreiner! Maja has been in the Tech industry for a very long time and has recently decided to start her own venture. She grew up in Serbia and was already interested in programming since she was a kid. Although she wasn't looking for a job in Switzerland, she ended up in a Startup in Lausanne.
Later in her career she became aware of how important it is to be able to work part-time. This led her to found her own business, enabling companies to offer job-sharing opportunities.
Want to know why she believes job sharing will be of advantage for companies? Listen to this podcast and find out, how Maja led her career in tech until today!
May 26, 202019:23
Tech Inspired with Girls in Tech Switzerland

Tech Inspired with Girls in Tech Switzerland

Recently our partner community, Girls in Tech Switzerland, has recorded a podcast introducing themselves and sharing their advice, insights and tips about tech and the current situation. We are happy to share this podcast with you as well.
Listen to their team members talking about their favorite apps, why they believe in tech for good and how they cope with the lockdown.
Apr 28, 202028:31
Tech Inspired with Marisa Tschopp

Tech Inspired with Marisa Tschopp

Meet Marisa Tschopp! She is a researcher at scip ag (www.scip.ch), a cybersecurity and tech company in Zurich. She is conducting research about AI and technology from a psychological perspective, with a wide range of questions related to psychological phenomena, governance and ethical implications. Her research areas are about trust (What does it take to trust AI?), behavioral performance measurement of conversational AI (How smart is Siri?), and lethal autonomous weapons system (killerrobots and how to ban them!).

At one point in her career, she decided that it is time to spend her time in a job that is not just good enough. It took her one year of work to land her dream job at scip. Want to find out how she approached her job search? How can she connect her studies in psychology with cybersecurity and why is it so important that companies do research as well.

Listen to this podcast and get some amazing advice on how everyone can find their dream job, why networks are so important and what small steps can lead to according to the best advice Marisa got in her life.

Psst, Marisa will be a speaker at the #wetechtogether conference, we are really excited listening to her knowledge session on the 3rd of October 2020, don't miss her speech!
Mar 24, 202021:15
Tech Inspired with Bettina Wolko

Tech Inspired with Bettina Wolko

Meet Bettina Wolko! She is a software engineer at Namics with an interesting background! Having started out with an apprenticeship as a chemical lab assistant in Dusseldorf she soon realized that software engineering was a way cooler option - discover why she made that switch in this podcast episode.

We also discuss how she must start mornings with coffee, what a typical day is like for her at work (hint: not typical at all), and Bettina helps us debunk the coder stereotype myth we see in movies.
Although it took her some time to learn to code, Bettina believes everyone can learn to program - and she shares her recommendations for anyone who wants to become a software engineer.
Listen to Bettina’s wise words for anyone thinking about switching careers and the best advice she was given - which definitely applies to work and life!
Feb 25, 202017:35
Tech Inspired with Alice Ruppert

Tech Inspired with Alice Ruppert

Alice studied Game Design at ZHdK, a degree she discovered at an introductory evening and straight away she was hooked as it combined everything she loved: programming, engineering, gaming, writing, narrative, art and design. Today she’s Game Developer at Air Console, and works on a cloud-based console which uses phones as controllers and in her spare time she runs The Mane Quest, where she reviews horse games!

In this episode, Alice discusses the Swiss game industry, what the career opportunities are and what skills you need to get into this scene - whether you want to design and develop games or just want something game-related and to be part of a cool and growing industry.
Jan 27, 202022:30
Tech Inspired with Sara Wick

Tech Inspired with Sara Wick

Sara “slipped into the tech world” after studying a Master’s in multilingual text analysis and loves that she’s managed to combine her passion in linguistics with tech! ⁠⁠
Sara applied to jobs everywhere using advice she got from her role models, which led her to interesting interviews and possibilities until she scored a job at Turicode, a tech start-up that transforms unstructured data from PDF documents into valuable information. ⁠⁠
How did she end up there? Well, using one of her own little tricks!⁠
This and other tips are revealed in this podcast!
Dec 16, 201913:38
Tech Inspired with Arijana Walcott

Tech Inspired with Arijana Walcott

Arijana Walcott didn’t start off as a techie. She started out in a call centre before becoming Head of Trends and Technology at Swisscom and later becoming CEO and Co-Founder of Dart Labs - an incubator based in Silicon Valley and Zurich focused on early stage start-ups.

This fascinating woman has had a couple of pivots in her career. In this episode, we discuss these changes, her fascination with gadgets, how emerging technologies can reach mass markets and why she feels so lucky about the career she’s been able to create for herself.

Arijana also gives her advice to those wanting to get into tech and shares with us her favourite female role models. Awesome episode!
Nov 25, 201918:51
Tech Inspired with Noemi Rom

Tech Inspired with Noemi Rom

Meet Noemi, a digital consultant at Zuehlke, who studied engineering at ETH, after changing her mind 2 weeks before her law study started. Today she knows that a deep understanding of technology is necessary to build bridges to the people using it. She is always looking to be part of something bigger and meaningful, therefore she reached out to a person she admired and didn't even know. What to know what happened? Listen to her story on this podcast episode and find out, which chose her daughter as her favorite role model.
Oct 21, 201920:21
Tech Inspired with Adriana Collini
Sep 23, 201920:34