University of Cauca, in coordination with government entities, promotes the access of girls and women to ICTs

Thanks to the articulation of the University of Cauca with the Secretariat for Women and the Observatory for Women's Affairs of the Government, the Academic Forum "Girls and Women in ICT, a commitment to Peace from Cauca" was held”, last Friday, April 14, at the Francisco José de Caldas Auditorium of our Alma Mater.

The event was attended, for the most part, by young students from the San Agustín and Rafael Pombo Educational Institutions in Popayán, and its main objective was to contribute to the analysis of the necessary conditions to advance on the path that guarantees access to the girls and women to information and communication technologies (ICT), while seeking inclusion and participation in their development and use.

In this sense, the presentations were given by women who, throughout their professional careers, have had to face the challenges required to function in areas that have historically been led by men, hence the first presentation, which was held in virtual form, was in charge of the Electronic Engineer, graduated from our University and native of the city of Popayán, Amanda Barkus who has managed to consolidate her career in large spaces globally and who currently works as Senior Vice President of Transformation, Automation, Strategy and Planning in the technology division of Corebridge Financial.

This outstanding graduate stated in her presentation that: “When I came to New York to work, I was competing with engineers from all over the world and I always felt that I had very solid engineering foundations, I feel that I was never behind, so I want to thank the University of Cauca and I want to thank my professors for having prepared me so well to compete in a global market”.

It should be noted that in addition to her work at the technological and innovation level, Amanda has stood out because in each of the spaces in which she has participated, she has been in charge of promoting women's leadership and encouraging men to become allies so that teamwork is much more efficient, in this way Keidens Rojas Ordóñez, a tenth grade student at the San Agustín Educational Institution, shared that “Something that seems very incredible to me is what the doctors tell us about the experiences, the battles that they had to go through for a certain time to be able to be what they are now, women who seek evolution, who seek to make it known that we can change the world”.

On the part of different representatives of the Secretariat for Women, all the information related to the statistics on the participation and access of women and girls in ICTs in the department of Cauca was provided, in addition to publicizing the different alliances, programs and agreements that exist between different entities. "This space seemed very important to me so that we all know the opportunities that the Governor's Office, the Mayor's Office and the University offer us to get ahead as women, in a state that can be said to be a little more complicated, what I take away the most from event is to know that these aids can be acquired and the way in which we can access those opportunities”, says Diana Catalina Cuero Cardona, a tenth grade student at the San Agustín Educational Institution.

In the same way, the professor of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Eva Maya told about the percentage of women in the faculty, in addition to the different participation spaces in which the students have excelled, such as reaching the great final of the Huawei ICT Competition 2022-2023, an event that will take place in May in China.

Finally, as a regional think tank and place called upon to assess the reality of our context, we are proud to be the space in which these young people find the necessary information to make the best decisions, for which we will seek to continue in coordination with different entities with the firm purpose of continuing to promote women's and girls' access to ICTs: as a University of Excellence and Solidarity it is our duty to promote scenarios where initiatives articulated with the construction of peace are promoted and more, if they are through innovation and new technologies, because that is where there is a very promising future.

 More Info:

Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications

Email: decafiet@unicauca.edu.co