An interview with Ms Timm

Below we have an interview that I took with Ms Timm, the director of STEAM at NLCS. In this interview, Ms Timm gives an honest view on her thoughts of women in technology, and some of her own experiences as well. She answers questions on quite a few topics, which range from new technologies that have changed the society that we live in today, to the coolest gadgets available!



Professor Sarah Gilbert - Is this the woman who's going to save us from COVID-19...?

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 As all of you will know by now, the coronavirus, a new infectious disease, has casued thousands of deaths across the world, and it has impacted nearly everyone, causing many countries to go on lockdown, and for  everybody to "social distance" themeselves from each other.

Well, all hope is not lost, as this incredible lady seems to be coming up with a vaccine to save us all...

Professor Sarah Gilbert, a British vaccinologist who is Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Vaccitech, says that she is "80% confident" a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by her team will work.

Her team at Oxford is part of a global effort to find a vaccine for coronavirus, the pandemic that caused thousands of deaths across the whole world.

She led the development and testing of the universal flu vaccine, which underwent clinical trials in 2011. In April 2020, Gilbert claimed that with more funding, she could deliver a COVID-19 vaccine by September 2020.

Professor Sarah Gilbert has been making and testing vaccines designed to induce T cell responses for over ten years, chiefly using antigens from malaria and, as previously mentioned, influenza. Several of the vaccines developed in her laboratory have progressed into clinical trials, and are used across the world today.

With her and her team working hard to produce this vaccine, this remarkable scientist will be able to save everyone from this fast-spreading pandemic.

Priya 9M (Editor)

Let's hear from Cilia Kanellopoulos, Global Innovation Manager at Vodafone...

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Cilia Kanellopolous is an innovator! She works at Vodafone and is responsible for finding all sorts of new tech that can be used to make Vodafone's customers lives easier. She works with cool startups from around the world. Have a listen to this podcast to hear about her passion for technology.

Women in Tech CAN be Titans!

Did you know that only 23% of people working in the scientific and technology-based fields are female? Well, according to the research by PwC, this is unfortunately the case.  
It is clear that, even in today’s society, there is still the issue of gender balance in jobs that involve technology and science, and I believe that there are many reasons why this is the case. To begin, females aren’t considering technology careers as they aren’t given enough information on what working in that particular area involves and also because no one is putting it forward as an option to them. In fact, did you know that only 3% of women say that a job in the technology field is their first choice?! 

Is this because females are rubbish at technology? Or is it something more fundamental that’s holding women back? 

Schools, universities and technology organisations need to demonstrate how technology is a force for good if they want to attract more women to that field of learning. In practice, this means proactively sharing the huge variety of roles available and showing exactly what they offer.  
Despite this, there are still some amazing women who have already made some incredible discoveries and out forward some innovative ideas. For example, let’s take a look at one Tech Titan, Caterina Fake. 

Caterina Fake is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman. She co-founded the websites Flickr in 2004 and Hunch in 2011, and I thought this lady would be particularly interesting to look at is because we actually use Flickr at NLCS to store pictures from all the events that take place at school. Today, the online photo album site hosts tens of billions of photos and has changed the way people capture their lives on camera.  

In fact, Yahoo acquired the company from Caterina Fake and her husband Stewart Butterfield for a secret amount of money in 2005, and in 2018, it was bought by an independent image-hosting firm called SmugMug. 
Fake has been a trustee of multiple non-profit organizations, and was the chairwoman of Etsy, an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. For her role in creating Flickr, Fake was listed in the Time Magazine's Time 100, and she has been recognized within Silicon Valley for her work as an angel investor. 

As you can see, this is just one inspirational figure who created an amazing idea that we still use today. We need to ensure that more women like Caterina come forward and present new, future-looking ideas for all of us to enjoy. 

Despite the numerous challenges females face in developing their tech careers, these challenges can be overcome as per the example of Caterina Fake.
  
Priya 9M (Editor) 

Some "very" interesting links...

Below are just a few really cool links that are all things tech! Cheddar (not the cheese!) is a live and on demand video news network focused on covering the most innovative products, technologies, and services that will completely transform our lives.
So, instead of clicking onto BBC or Apple news on your phone, head over to Cheddar if you want to learn or read up about major tech companies or the latest and most incredible gadgets available.

2020 is here! Are you excitied to see the most incredible inventions? This BBC news page is here to show you just a selection of gadgets that might become a reality over the next twelve months.

Would you like to see phones like this, which you can fold in a variety of cool ways? Many companies are already creating and selling the new generation of "flip" phones - and this website will tell you all about them.

Here's another page from the BBC... but this one's a bit different. Welcome to the world of the CES convention,  an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association. Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, the event typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.
The inventions presented are completely out of this world, ranging from a bite-to-clean toothbrush that takes only 10 seconds to clean your teeth, to CIRCULAR phones with TWO headphone jacks! Although these ideas might seem impossible, the creators of these innovations certainly do not seem to think so, as their products clearly demonstrate.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Joi