The 4th BCS Oxfordshire Women in IT event, this year held on Ada Lovelace Day at Oxford Brookes University.
Speakers
Simon Jones FBCS
Dr Arantza Aldea, from Oxford Brookes University
Jiayuan Zhu
Agenda
Welcome
18:00 Simon Jones FBCS
18:10 Dr Arantza Aldea (Programme Lead for Postgraduate Computing, Oxford Brookes University)
18:30 Jiayuan Zhu
19:00 NCSC Representative
Synopsis
This event hopes to bring together women across all stages of their careers, providing a forum to share experiences and promote the retention and empowerment of women in the IT industry.
There will be a speaker from Oxford Brookes University and a keynote from a representative of the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre).
About the speaker
Simon Jones FBCS
A Personal Perspective on Achieving Gender Equality in the IT Profession
Simon Jones was Chief Executive of the United Nations International Computing Centre 2011-2017, leading a team of 450 staff and contractors providing shared IT services to over 40 UN bodies.
He was previously Chief Information Officer in the Department for International Development. After retiring from full-time work he has taken a range of non-executive positions, including a full term as Independent Governor at Oxford Brookes University 2017-2025. Simon has long championed equality and diversity of all forms in the IT rofession and will provide a short high-level perspective from his experience.
Dr Arantza Aldea
Computing at Oxford Brookes
Dr Arantza Aldea has a BSc (Hons) in Physics from the University of the Basque Country in Spain and a PhD from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. She is the Programme Director in Postgraduate and international computing programmes at Oxford Brookes University. She has extensive experience at teaching at all levels from foundation years to masters students.
She has also supervised PhD students in Spain and the UK. Arantza has always been interested in AI, in particular knowledge representation and reasoning. In recent years she has become interested in how AI can be applied in healthcare particularly in supporting people with diabetes to manage and understand their condition.
Jiayuan Zhu
Women in Computer Science at Oxford: Building Community and Representation
Abstract
Oxford Women in Computer Science (OxWoCS) is a student-led society that supports, promotes, and connects women in computing across the University of Oxford. In this talk, I will share an overview of OxWoCS and its mission, including events such as GirlsWhoML and Oxbridge Conference.
I will also reflect on my personal journey in computer science and how these experiences have shaped my perspective as a woman in AI research. Alongside this, I will briefly introduce my doctoral research on AI for healthcare, which aims to improve screening for neglected diseases in resource-limited settings.
Bio
Jiayuan is a DPhil candidate in Sustainable Approaches to Biomedical Science: Responsible and Reproducible Research (SABS CDT) at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research focuses on improving the screening of Female Genital Schistosomiasis in low- and middle-income countries using AI techniques.
She is also the current president of Oxford Women in Computer Science (OxWoCS), where she has been actively involved for the past two years.
Keynote - A Representative from the National Cyber Security Centre
to follow
Our events are for adults aged 16 years and over.
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Please note: if you have any accessibility needs, please let us know via groups@bcs.uk and we’ll work with you to make suitable arrangements.
For overseas delegates who wish to attend the event, please note that BCS does not issue invitation letters.
This event is brought to you by: BCS Oxfordshire
