Together with our partners, NORA has dedicated efforts towards supporting universities, university colleges, research institutions, startups, companies and individual researchers who wish to discuss and address the diversity and gender gap in AI research, education and in industry. By focusing on the topic and by providing a platform for open discussion, NORA aims to develop and support initiatives that can increase the inclusion of a more diverse workforce in AI. Together, we can inspire a more inclusive agenda within the otherwise male-dominated field of AI and ensure equal access and equal opportunities for future generations. Our collective goal should be to bring awareness by promoting female role models, and by portraying the breadth of opportunities for AI in society at large.
On the 8th of March, we invite you to join us for an evening event where we discuss the situation of gender and diversity in AI today and measures needed in effort to tackle inequality and mitigate bias in the field of artificial intelligence.
During this Women and AI event, we will bring together representatives from industry and research to address the gender disparity in AI in Norway and the world today, and discuss initiatives to ensure inclusivity and diversity in AI for the future.
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Program:
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Chief editor at the non-profit Sciencious, ambassador of the Norwegian WiSTEM chapter, TEDx speaker, author and active member of her student government. |
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Rebecca Wiborg Seyfarth, VP Engineering, Völur |
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Rebecca Wiborg Seyfarth, VP Engineering, Völur Moderated by Silvija Seres |
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About the speakers:
- Ajla Gasal, Chief editor at the non-profit Sciencious, ambassador of the Norwegian WiSTEM chapter, TEDx speaker, author and active member of her student government.
In today’s world, only 30% of the world’s researchers are women. The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continue to be overwhelmingly male-dominated despite initiatives and supposed ‘helping hands’ girls have been offered.
The easiest explanation proclaims that girls are uninterested and less inclined to pursue scientific discovery by nature.
Ajla Gasal is dedicated and fully devoted to bringing attention to the socialization and antagonizing stigma she feels we subject girls to and which keeps STEM inaccessible. The uncomfortable truth we have to recognize is the cultural barrier and socialization patterns that discourage and eliminate female passion for STEM.
Ajla Gasal is an 18 year old high school student studying sciences and applying for theoretical physics next semester in England, holding offers exclusively from the Russell Group. Ajla is passionate about the overlooked contributions women have made and continue to make in their respective scientific fields, dedicated to demolishing the barrier between women and scientific stride. Chief editor at the non-profit Sciencious, ambassador of the only Norwegian WiSTEM chapter, TEDx speaker, author and active member of her student government, Ajla is ready for an intersectional scientific future.
- Hilde G. Corneliussen, Research Professor and Research Leader, Vestlandsforsking
Hilde G. Corneliussen is a Research Professor and Head of Research for the Technology and Society group at Western Norway Research Institute situated in Sogndal. She has a Doctoral degree in Humanistic Informatics (2003) from University of Bergen. Her research has roots in the interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology and Society (STS) and Feminist Technology Studies (FTS), and covers a wide set of topics on technology and gender, diversity, and inclusion in areas such as education, working life, regional development and innovation. She has published extensively and participated in many national and international research projects. Her latest research includes topics such as immigrants and digital skills, risks of discrimination in the public sector's use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the twin green digital transitions. She leads the research group Gender, Diversity and Technology at the research institute.
Hilde is a widely used speaker and contributor on topics of gender, diversity and digital transformation at national and international events, among others, for Informatics Europe, the EU STEM Coalition, the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE), United Nations Women, and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Most of her nearly 80 scientific publications are on topics of making technology more inclusive for groups at risk of being excluded from the digital transformation. This includes her most recent monograph on how to make tech education more inclusive for women: Reconstructions of Gender and Information Technology - Women Doing IT for Themselves (Palgrave Macmillan 2023, Open Access: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-99-5187-1).
- Ieva Martinkenaite, SVP Head of Telenor Research and Innovation, Telenor Group Board Member
Ieva Martinkenaite is leading the Research and Innovation unit in Telenor Group. She is among the key figures at Telenor contributing to building AI research and innovation ecosystems in Norway. Over the last several years, Ieva led a team of data scientists and Machine Learning engineers in Telenor, also holding several high profile regional and national appointments in AI. Among those are Board memberships in Norwegian Open AI-lab, Norwegian Research Council Advisory Expert Group on AI, International Advisory Board of Flanders AI, and the Singapore's Government International Advisory Council on Ethical use of AI and Data.
Among Ieva’s responsibilities in Telenor is to advance research within AI/ML, 5G/6G and cloud within telco domain, develop Telenor´s thought leadership in selected technology areas and contribute to Telenor´s innovation ambitions together with strategic partners and customers. Her work also involves advising Telenor management on digital technologies and innovation strategy. Concurrently, Ieva leads a joint AI task force of Europe’s largest telecommunication operator association ETNO and GSMA Europe.
She has more than 15 years of experience in product development, business research and advisory. During 2018-2020 Ieva represented Telenor in the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on AI which provided ethical guidelines for building Trustworthy AI in Europe. Ieva is a frequent reviewer of Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programs with focus on AI and big data.
Ieva holds a PhD in Strategic Management from BI Norwegian Business School (Norway) and Master’s in European Public Administration from K.U. Leuven (Belgium). During 2020-2022 she served on the Board of Telenor Denmark A/S.
- Rebecca Wiborg Seyfarth, VP Engineering, Völur
Rebecca Wiborg Seyfarth, VP Engineering. Rebecca has 10 years of experience working with data, AI and ML, with the last 8 years working in different tech companies. Before joining Völur, Rebecca worked 5 years and held various different roles at Cognite, a then startup now scaleup that work towards heavy assets industries. She has a BS. in Mathematics and Statistics, and MSc. in Modelling and data analysis.
- Moderator: Silvija Seres
Silvija Seres is a mathematician and AI investor. She has a background in algorithm research at Oxford, contributed to the development of the Alta Vista search engine in Silicon Valley, held strategic management roles at Fast Search and Transfer, and contributed to service development at Microsoft. Currently, she serves as a board member in several prominent companies, including Ruter, Pexip, and Det Norske Veritas. Additionally, she is an active investor in multiple technology firms.