In a world where technology shapes our daily lives, women technologists are not just making waves; they are at the forefront of groundbreaking innovations. They are redefining how governments can enhance their services for citizens and communities while empowering businesses to unlock new avenues for growth.
As a way to showcase the achievements of women technologists, the Asia Women Tech Leaders Award is highlighting three extraordinary women technologists who have been featured in The Curious Podcast, a podcast initiative to highlight the women in tech trailblazers in Asia. This podcast was created by Grace Chng, the co-organiser of the Asia Women Tech Leaders Award and her co-host Lena Soh.
Tune in to listen to their inspiring journeys and achievements.
Episode 2 – Developing robots to react to the way humans feel
Published on 7 January 2022
Gentiane Venture is a French roboticist and Professor at the University of Tokyo. In this podcast, she shares how her passion for robotics led her to leaving France to work in Japan which is a leader in robotics. She has been in Japan for about 20 years.
Her speciality is on how to make robots more human so that they can be used to help people in their daily lives. Listen to Prof Venture describe how her work is highly interdisciplinary, that she has to collaborate with philosophers, artists, designers and athletes to understand human motion science. Prof Venture was Distinguished Professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology before her current appointment at the University of Tokyo.
Episode 1 – Leading the way to a smart city
Published on 17 October 2021
In 2012, data scientist Dr Erika Legara received a recruitment email. She paid it no attention until an executive from the A*Star (Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore) arrived in Manila to offer her job. In this podcast, she recounts her relocation to Singapore and shares her work applying data science to solve various challenges.
Over five years in Singapore, she engaged government agencies and industries to address research needs and requirements. In 2017, she returned to the Philippines to work at the Asian Institute of Management where she is currently a senior scientist and an Associate Professor and the Aboitiz Chair in Data Science. She is heavily involved working with government agencies, using data science to enable city planning officials make informed decisions.