Recap & photos: Meet Inspiring Engineers x UAntwerpen
Bringing three generations together around #womenintech... That creates fireworks! 🎆 On Thursday evening, Nov. 3, we invited high school students, university students and engineers from the field at the University of Antwerp to share inspiring stories.
Last Thursday, in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering Sciences of the University of Antwerp, we organized an inspiring evening for current and future world changers in STEM. We did this by bringing together 3 generations around the theme #womeninSTEM. The goal was to be able to expand our perspectives, break stereotypes and give new ideas about the countless possibilities when you find your passion!
The evening's 5 speakers were all inspiring engineers, working in very different fields and roles. Thus Laïla Bougriâ the keynote, with her background as a software engineer on what "code" is exactly, how to work with logic more than math and the creative skills needed to create software!
Then it was up to Sandy Jorens, researcher and lecturer at UAntwerpen with a specialization in Electromechanics and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning). Her path led her around the world, from Singapore to Malaysia and more!
Third speaker of the evening was none other than. Keshia Niemegeerts, managing partner of Optis. She was bitten by electromechanics from an early age, inspired by her father who worked in this field. After her studies, she made another choice and updated her programming skills to start in IT. From there, everything accelerated and she has been leading the great team at Optis for 5 years now.
The next incredible speaker was. Kristel Demotte, Global VP Data Solutions at Cegeka, ICT woman of the year 2022, Inspiring50 2022 and more... In short, a lady with a story! We heard from her where it all started, the passion to understand how things work. How she evolved from one role to another and how she holds her current role we also got to know.
Last speaker of the evening was Sarah Lebeer, also known as chief scientist at Isala. She is research professor of Microbiology at UAntwerpen, has numerous bacterial research projects under her belt, including the well-known YUN cosmetics brand, and breaks many stereotypes about what it means to be an engineer (e.g. also having fun with the logo and choosing the color of your research marketing materials 😉 ).
Below you can find photos from the evening:
(Click on the photos to see them in full size. 😊)
