Reasons o Become an
In o ma ics S uden
Acknowledgemen
This publica ion is based upon wo k om COST Ac ion EUGAIN CA19122 (Eu opean Ne wo k Fo
Gende Balance in In o ma ics), suppo ed by COST (Eu opean Coope a ion in Science and Technology).
www.cos .eu
EUGAIN ea u es mo e han 160 membe s om o e 45 coun ies, including 5
non-Eu opean ones. I s main aim is o imp o e gende balance in In o ma ics
h ough he c ea ion and s eng hening o a uly mul i-cul u al Eu opean
ne wo k o academics wo king a he o e on o he e o s in hei coun ies,
ins i u ions and esea ch communi ies. I builds on hei knowledge, expe iences,
s uggles, successes, and ailu es, lea ning and sha ing wha has wo ked and how
i could be ans e ed o o he ins i u ions and coun ies.
In o ma ics Eu ope, he G an Holde ins i u ion o EUGAIN COST Ac ion,
uni es and empowe s he Educa ion & Resea ch In o ma ics communi y ac oss
Eu ope. I connec s o e 50,000 esea che s om 200+ membe ins i u ions
spanning 30+ coun ies. The o ganisa ion ad oca es o sha ed p io i ies and
suppo s policy making in Educa ion, Resea ch and he Social Impac o
in o ma ics in Eu ope. EUGAIN builds upon he g oundwo k laid by he
In o ma ics Eu ope Women in In o ma ics Resea ch and Educa ion (WIRE)
Wo king G oup, which has since e ol ed in o he Di e si y & Inclusion Wo king
G oup. Mo e in o ma ion: www.in o ma ics-eu ope.o g
COST (Eu opean Coope a ion in Science and Technology) is a unding agency o esea ch and inno a ion
ne wo ks. Ou Ac ions help connec esea ch ini ia i es ac oss Eu ope and enable scien is s o g ow hei
ideas by sha ing hem wi h hei pee s. This boos s hei esea ch, ca ee and inno a ion.
Au ho s
•Anna Szla i
No wegian Uni e si y o Science and Technology, No way
•I ene Zana di
Uni e si `a della S izze a i aliana, Swi ze land
•Ka olina Boles a
Wa saw School o Economics, Poland
•Se ena Ve sino
Uni e si y o Pisa, I aly
Reasons o Become an In o ma ics S uden
In o de o c ea e ma e ials ha can uly speak o a young audience, we ha e decided o p oduce
a se o social media con en close o he a ge audience’s consump ion habi s. Along wi h wo
ideos sha ed on YouTube, ou sho ideos we e also c ea ed and sha ed on YouTube Sho s
and TikTok. The p esen documen is he ex -based supplemen o his social media p ojec ,
composed o he ansc ip s o he ideos, sligh ly edi ed o cla i y. ”In o ma ion Technology
(IT) jobs a e in cons an g ow h. Acco ding o he Bu eau o Labo S a is ics, a 22% inc ease
in demand is p ojec ed be ween 2020 and 2030. This will c ea e mo e han 400.000 jobs. The
a ie y o posi ions makes i mo e accessible o e e yone o en e he IT wo ld. Thanks o he
wide ange o ields ha use In o ma ics, such as heal hca e, clima e, digi al communica ion,
and ideo games, i is easy o ind a meaning ul posi ion. Fo ins ance, a da a analys collec s
and analyzes da a o make in o med decisions. A Use In e ace designe deli e s an imme si e
use expe ience by c ea ing beau i ul sc eens. A so wa e enginee builds, es s, and deploys he
code. The e is also a place o scien i ic jobs, like esea che s and p o esso s, who de elop new
concep s and ools. In addi ion, he e a e nume ous ad an ages o IT, jus o men ion a ew:
high compensa ion, coun less bene i s, and limi less lexibili y. I you a e eady o a g ea u u e,
don’ hesi a e o s ep in o he IT wo ld! Fo mo i a ion, we ha e collec ed some es imonials
om people al eady in he ield.”
P o esso (Academia), No way, So wa e o a Be e Socie y
“I am a p o esso in In o ma ics. I was in oduced o he ield o In o ma ics when I
was 16 yea s old by my Ma hema ics p o esso who explained o us how o p og am
a calcula o . I s ayed in he ield as an ac ion o imp o e my independence and
o do a p o ession whe e I could ha e an impac on he wo ld because he e we e
many p oblems and he e we e many p oblems o sol e. I enjoy e y much wo king
wi h young people and wi h hose ha I belie e a e he challenges o ou socie y,
di e si y, en i onmen , and in gene al, how o de elop solu ions ha imp o e he
li es o he people. The mos memo able hing in my ca ee is maybe when we
managed o de elop a sys em ha was able o exchange many emails each minu e
a he end o he 80s. I was like magic and i was e y memo able when one o
my s uden s go a memo able momen . I hope ha hey wo k in en i onmen s
ha we a e ying o shape he e, a he Depa men o Compu e Science, a he
No wegian Uni e si y o Science. Technology is an inclusi e one, i is an en i on-
men ha s imula es young people o achie e hei d eams bu his is no up o
me. To say, i is up o hem. Nex , I am planning o do a bi less o be able o
emp y my head o all he wo ies, o all he small p oblems, and o hink abou
mo e impo an p oblems, and o y o be a be e men o and a be e acili a o
o my eam.”
Senio Resea che (Academia), Swi ze land, Compu e Science in IT
“The pa I like he mos abou being in In o ma ics is he c ea i e side. The ac ha you can
eally look in o he needs, and eal needs o di e en use g oups and look a how echnology
could suppo and help hem ul ill hese needs. The icky pa is when in ol ing he use s, o
unde s and hem, and ha akes ime.”
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Assis an P o esso (Academia), Hunga y, IT Educa ion
“Acco ding o my quali ica ions, I am a high school IT eache bu cu en ly I each
IT eache s and IT p o essionals a he uni e si y. I belie e ha e e yone should
lea n a leas he basics o p og amming because i can de elop p oblem-sol ing
s a egies and me hods ha can be used in sol ing e e yday non-IT p oblems. As
a p o esso I lo e passing my knowledge o he s uden s, bo h IT eache s and IT
p o essionals because I belie e ha hey will be use ul membe s o socie y.”
Pos doc o al Fellow (Academia), No way, Gende Balance in IT
“Wha I lo e abou IT is ha I ge o wo k on p ojec s ha ma e , ma e o me,
and ma e o he wo ld. Now he e is his idea ha I wan ed o make a change
in he wo ld and because o IT I eel ha ha is wha I’m doing and his is awe-
some. As a esea che , I ge o wo k in a di e se eam. Cu en ly, in my esea ch
g oup, he e a e people om I aly, No way, he Uni ed S a es, Bangladesh, om
Hunga y, so basically om 3 di e en con inen s. And ha means ha I ge o be
exposed o di e en cul u es, di e en languages, and di e en ways o hinking.
And basically, we also ge o a el a lo , and ha means ha i ne e ge s bo ing.
I is always some hing new all he ime.”
PhD S uden (Academia), Swi ze land, HCI o Inclusi e Educa ion
“In o ma ics can help us na iga e mode n socie y. As a designe , I hink ha ’s
especially aluable and i you a e an inquisi i e pe son i ’s inc edibly s imula ing
and exci ing. I belie e i ’s becoming an impo an knowledge domain no only in
i sel bu also in conjunc ion wi h o he humanis ic and scien i ic ields, as in my
case.”
PhD S uden (Academia), I aly, Explainable AI
”I am a PhD s uden a he Na ional PhD p og am (in Al) and I ha e a Mas e ’s
deg ee in Compu e Enginee ing. I chose IT because my IT high school eache , ba-
sically, walked me h ough he IT ield and made me lo e i . The mos memo able
momen I emembe is one nigh du ing my mas e hesis I emembe suddenly
waking up wi h he idea ha I de eloped and published in a scien i ic wo kshop.”
PhD S uden (Academia), I aly, AI o socie y
“I am en olled in he I alian Na ional PhD in A i icial In elligence o Socie y
a he Uni e si y o Pisa. I am a g adua e in quan i a i e inance and insu ance.
Since my g adua ion, I ha e wo ked as a business and da a analys o almos i e
yea s in di e en indus ies. A ha ime da a science was a necessi y. I wan ed
o ill he gap in coding skills. Bu hen, du ing he mas e ’s p og am, my p o-
esso s helped me o ind he igh PhD p og am in line wi h my academic and
p o essional backg ound and also in line wi h my esea ch in e es s. They e iewed
my applica ion, and hey ga e me eedback abou my esea ch p oposal and also
e e ence le e s. I belie e ha In o ma ics is a ield whe e I can be c ea i e and I
can wo k on echnologies ha can imp o e he quali y o li e o people.”
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P o esso (Academia), Spain, A i icial In elligence
“I am a p o esso a Uni e si a Poli `ecnica de Ca alunya in Ba celona, Spain. I am
he leade o he so wa e compu ing esea ch g oup ha is pa o he In elligence
Da a Science and A i icial In elligence esea ch cen e . Ou g oup is composed o
7 esea che s who a e also colleagues and iends, 5 men and 2 women. Wha ex-
ci es me mos abou my wo k is doing esea ch in he a ea o a i icial in elligence
applied o medicine and la ely o men al heal h. Wo king side-by-side wi h my
colleagues om bo h he IT and also medicine and psychology ields and applying
you knowledge o help imp o e he daily li es o he elde ly and people wi h men-
al heal h p oblems is some hing inc edibly ewa ding o me.”
P o esso (Academia), Po ugal, In o ma ion Re ie al
“I am a p o esso a he Uni e si y o Po o and a esea che a INESC TEC. In
my esea ch, I am in e es ed in de eloping ools ha p omo e in o ma ion access
and help people sea ch mo e success ully. I knew I liked ma h and science when
choosing wha I wan ed o s udy in highe educa ion. Ha ing an aun wo king in
his ield, e y passiona e abou he wo k, pulled me o choose In o ma ics engi-
nee ing. I ended up lo ing In o ma ics. Fi s , i le s you c ea e echnology ha
can po en ially imp o e people’s li es. Second, i is e y di e se in e ms o ac i -
i ies you can do and in e ms o eams. You can be in con ac wi h a clien o
equi emen s analysis. You can wo k on he concep ual design o he applica ion,
o you can be in ol ed in use in e ace de elopmen . Thi d, being consis en ly
applied, In o ma ics le s you connec and lea n abou new domains such as med-
ical science, humani ies, o a s. Fou h, i enables you o build some hing e y
s aigh o wa dly. Compa ed wi h o he ypes o enginee ing, i ’s much quicke o
make some hing wo k, gi ing you a good sense o accomplishmen .”
P o essional (Indus y), Hunga y, UX S a egis
“I am om Budapes and I end o hink o echnology as a can as o c ea i i y
and inno a ion o sol e issues, big and small ones, like o de ing a bu ge online i
you a e hung y, by managing money in in ech se ices, sa ing li es by using cas-
cade da a o jus ha ing un and memo able i ual expe iences. IT is he la ges
ech indus y in he his o y o humankind and is changing e e y hing a ound us
and no las ly is he p e y up pe li ing eeling o being pa o . And no o
o ge , unde s anding he na u e o echnology makes he u u e less sca y o me.
Wi hou any ques ion, echnology has some da k sides also o cope wi h, howe e ,
I i mly belie e ha only echnology can sa e us om o al des uc ion in he long
un. IT is huge and g owing a a e y as pace o e y di e se, ela i ely happy
oppo uni ies o wo k. I’ll ha e o say e e y company is an IT company o some-
hing simila as we go h ough digi al ans o ma ions, e en he lowe shop a
he co ne which is using e-comme ce home deli e y and digi al in oicing so you
can join en e p ises, iny shiny s a ups, o local SMEs, as you wish. You can do
esea ch, design, enginee ing, digi al ma ke ing, people managemen and so on and
so o h. Based on you so and ha d skills, in e es , p o essional h ea s, u u e
plans. So, do no miss o join he wa e, belie e me, you won’ eg e i .”
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P o essional & Resea che (Indus y), Uni ed Kingdom, Inclusi e Digi al Lea ning
“The eason why I chose IT is because I lo e compu e s and echnology. I ha e
been imme sed in and exposed o echnology since I was a e y young child and I
belie e ha i is a e y powe ul ool ha can be used o c ea e use - iendly and
inclusi e expe iences o many s akeholde s and use s. Speci ically, I’m wo king a
Sponge UK. I is a company based in he Uni ed Kingdom whe e we y o c ea e
bespoke solu ions o a se ies o cus ome s and clien s and ou main objec i e is o
each as many cus ome s and use s as possible and o make su e ha ou p oduc s
a e inclusi e, use - iendly and e icien .”
BSc S uden (Academia), Uk aine, Cybe secu i y
“I s udied a he Na ional Uni e si y o Radioelec onics in Uk aine and I will ge
a bachelo ’s deg ee in June. Why did I choose an IT sphe e? My eache showed
me my hidden po en ial in IT and a e ha , we s a ed a science p ojec abou
3D modeling in Blende and c ea ing applica ions in he Laza us en i onmen . He
was eally decisi e o me o choose a ca ee in IT. Wha do I enjoy he mos ? I
hink i is being a s uden because I ha e plen y o oppo uni ies and I especially
lo e wo king in a eam on di e en p ojec s and also I can be qui e c ea i e and
uncommon. The mos memo able hing ha happened o me in he ield, jus
speaking om my mind, I emembe wo king on my p ojec wi h my supe iso .
This is lo i y idea, his inspi a ion, and a he end o he scien i ic wo k, we we e
so p oud and de e mined. I hink ha his emo ional pa o he ac i i y makes
me happy. Wha abou wo king en i onmen s? F ankly speaking, a lo depends
on he goals and he mood o he eam. A he same ime, we can wo k oge he
sha ing ideas, e c. and we also can hold di e en backg ounds. Nowadays, his
balance is ex emely impo an . Wha I’m planning nex ? The main hing o me
is o en e he mas e ’s deg ee p og amme and o con inue wo king on scien i ic
p ojec s and a e ha , I wan o wo k as a g aphic o 3D designe .”
Enginee ing Di ec o (Indus y), Swi ze land, IT Enginee ing
“I wo k as an enginee ing di ec o and I’ e been in IT since 2005. I eally enjoy
wo king in IT because you can eally sol e complex p oblems and you can ha e and
disco e a lo o big challenges ha you can add ess and you ha e all he ools and
all he b ain powe o do so. So wo king in IT is eally special in a sense because
you can eally each any pa o he wo ld. Wi h all he connec ions, you can eally
wo k in emo e eams. You can eally ge social i you wan i o be, and you ha e
eally a a ie y o ools o enable you o wo k and be as e icien as possible. So
IT is a eally colo ul wo ld and eally nice place o wo k in wi h i s challenges, o
cou se. Bu I de ini ely would encou age anybody who is conside ing joining his
indus y sec o o join and ge expe ience, ge o know he ools, ge o know he
people, and eally make su e ha he indus y’s ge ing s onge and s onge wi h
e e y con ibu o .”
PhD S uden & P o essional (Indus y & Academia), Poland, AI in Economics
“The eason why I s a ed a ca ee in IT can be desc ibed in one sen ence: jus
ind a job ha you lo e and you will ne e ha e o wo k a day in you li e. In
4
such a dynamic en i onmen you need o be up- o-da e and his is wha is eally
d i ing you pe sonal de elopmen . E e y single day, I ge o lea n some hing new.
De eloping new ways o sol e he challenge is also e y ewa ding: i makes us
awa e he e is no jus one way o do some hing and we should always y o ind
he mos e ec i e solu ion. Fo me, he mos in e es ing ac abou In o ma ics is
ha he e is s ill so much o be disco e ed and his is wha is d i ing me e e y
single day.”
Associa e P o esso (Academia), Se bia, Compu e Science in IT
“I wo k as a p o esso a he Depa men o Compu e Science, Facul y o Ma he-
ma ics, Uni e si y o Belg ade. I lo e In o ma ics as i is c ea i e like a bu i ’s
much simple o accomplish you isions. You can imagine wha e e you wan o
do and he compu e is he only ool you need. You can choose o wo k on a p ojec
ha can make people’s li es be e . Ano he hing ha I lo e abou my job is ha
I ha e a chance o each and ans e my knowledge o young people. This posi i e
ene gy ha exis s be ween me and my s uden s is some hing ha keeps me going.”
PhD S uden (Academia), No way, In e ac ion Design
“Hi, you could say ha my pa h in explo ing compu e in e ac ion design s a ed
a li le bi la e because I’m igh now I’m beginning my PhD in compu e sci-
ence he e in T ondheim bu despi e ha ing a backg ound in in e io in e ac ion
and communica ion design I’ e always been in igued o app oaching a p oblem,
a concep , a phenomena om he echnological poin o iew. In ac I’ e always
been cu ious abou he idea o explo ing possible deploymen , and implemen a ion
and also abou he ac ha hese hings can ha e on use in e ac ion. In ac , I
would like o de elop powe ul in e ac ion pa adigms in o de o enhance usabili y
o wha conce ns di e en kinds o echnology and in pa icula he ones in he
lea ning ield.”
PhD S uden (Academia), No way, Heal h In o ma ics
sen ence was my s a ing poin in o de o s udy heal h In o ma ics. I did my Mas-
e ’s hesis in one o he bigges Pedia ics hospi als in he Middle Eas in Tehe an;
a e ha , I came o No way o imp o e he ca e pa hway o mul iple pa ien s o
pa ien s who ha e se e al diseases oge he . Based on many s a is ics, we see he
Pa e o ule in mul iple pa ien s. Fo example, we can see hese pa ien s a e only
20% o he hospi al’s pa ien s bu hey consume mo e han 80% o i s esou ces.
So I came o No way o wo k on his p ojec , since heal h ca e is in e es ing o
me and I hink NTNU is a good uni e si y o esea ch and o he hings. I wo k in
Heal h In o ma ics and mainly I ocus on a subjec ha is called p ocess mining.
P ocess mining can be conside ed a subdiscipline o da a mining in he sense ha
ou goal is o ind wo k low ac i i y in da a. So, o example, he ca e pa hway o
pa ien s in he hospi al can be a p ocess, he e o e ou goal in his p ojec is o
ind his p ocess and unde s and how we can imp o e i . The o e all goal o he
p ojec is how we can ind a be e ea men o hese pa ien s, mul iple pa ien s
o pa ien s wi h se e al diseases oge he .”
5
Mas e S uden (Academia), No way, Da a Technology
“Ha e you e e wonde ed i an app could inc ease di e si y and inclusion? We a e
cu en ly wo king on a Mas e ’s hesis abou in e sec ionali y in compu e science.
We a e going o be de eloping a men o ship p og am ha will help inc ease inclu-
sion o e e yone in In o ma ics. Du ing ou hesis, we will ge o do in e iews,
use ’s es s and also design and de elop an app. Fo ou hesis, we will u ilize bo h
ou heo e ical and p ac ical skills o add ess he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals
and also p omo ing so wa e o a be e socie y.”
P o esso (Academia), Swi ze land, Da a Science in Economics
“Du ing my bachelo ’s deg ee, he p o esso o In o ma ics dedica ed a lo o ime o
answe ing my cu ious ques ions and was challenging me o code small ‘hello wo ld’
ype o examples. No e: My bachelo was in Economics, so In o ma ics was a single
exam I had o ake. So a mix o cu iosi y on my side and a ailabili y on he p o es-
so ’s side. My cu iosi y has always been encou aged and mo i a ed by my pa en s.”
PhD S uden (Academia), Swi ze land, In o ma ics
“My main mo i a ion o s a a ca ee in In o ma ics was my mom, she always
belie ed ha his would be he u u e. She wo ked as a banke and saw how he
job was s ongly dependen on In o ma ics. Wha mo i a es me daily is he idea o
con ibu ing o a highly compe i i e communi y as a woman. I’m om Mo occo, a
coun y whe e gi ls ge ma ied soon (a ound 22, o 23 o educa ed gi ls and e y
ea ly a ound 17, o 18 o non-educa ed gi ls), and doing a PhD in In o ma ics is
a p ide o all hose a ound me.”
PhD S uden (Academia), Swi ze land, So wa e Enginee ing
“I wan o con ibu e o he p ojec , bu I ne e hea d be o e joining USI ha
In o ma ics is only o boys. Nei he I el any disc imina ion du ing my bachelo ’s
and mas e ’s s udies in Bolzano-Bozen (Sou h Ty ol, I aly). I only s a ed o hea
his kind o alk a USI. Bu I ne e el any hing in my esea ch g oup, ou ins i-
u e, and he whole USI in gene al. Maybe his sen ence, exp essing my hough s
could be bene icial: I he e is any disc imina ion, we should be s ong and s and
o each o he and always do e e y hing possible o s op i . And i does no ma e
which gende o sexual o ien a ion he pe son has. Any kind o disc imina ion is
w ong pe se, and we should show he wo ld ha his way o hinking is mis aken
and ha all humans a e equal and e e ybody dese es he same ea men . When
I was a child, I saw mo ies wi h hacke s and always wan ed o become one. Since
I also liked ma hema ics a school bu did no wan o s udy pu e ma hema ics, I
ha e chosen o s udy In o ma ics. A e I inished my bachelo ’s s udies, I ealized
ha I p obably would ne e become a good hacke and al eady go e y in e es ed
in So wa e Enginee ing. Hence, I decided o do he mas e ’s in So wa e Enginee -
ing, and la e he Ph.D.”
Mas e S uden (Academia), Swi ze land, In o ma ics
“Fo me, i was he same hing ha bo h hinde ed and helped me: I was a bi
6
