A place for women in science
At a time when new scientific fields are emerging (artificial intelligence, IT, etc.), who are the women who are advancing science in Belgium?
Virginie Marelli, a graduate in Mathematics from UNamur, has won the "InsipiringFifty" award for women in deep tech in the Benelux countries.
Disregarding the stereotypes associated with her civil engineering studies, Julie Scherpenseel became the youngest member of Belgium's AI expert group.
Also an engineer by training, Mieke De Ketelaere specialised in robotics before joining imec and the federal AI expert group.
These three researchers are raising awareness of the place of women in science and they are not alone. In the category of investors, Annie Vereecken (Biocartis, argenx, etc.) comes from an educational background in pharmacy and biology, while Muriel Uytterhaegen (PMV, GIMV) has a master's degree in Business Economics. As far as defending our rights against these new technologies is concerned, we can count on Nathalie Smuha, who has a master's degree in international law from the KU Leuven, and who plays a key role in their regulation.
If it is impossible to name all the women who are advancing this sector, these few names already make us understand that there are as many paths as there are careers for women in this field, enough to inspire vocations.