By the first-year students of the Computer Science Department, SSST: Hana Ćatić, Nikola Obradović, Rim Amal Šopović, Adna Jašarević, Nijaz Andelić and Tarik Bašić
On the 8th of March, students of Computer Science at University SSST had the privilege to attend EDIRE’s lecture regarding International Women’s Day. The lecture was held by professors from the Complutense University of Madrid- Olga Kolotouchkina and Liisa Irene Hanninen who held a presentation about gender equality.
The presentation was informative and enjoyable, as we discussed the issue of gender equality and looked at many different points of view in order to come to a consensus on what needs to be done to achieve equality in different fields of work.
Despite the stereotype that jobs in the IT industry are tailored only towards men, the professors acknowledged that the IT industry is more and more welcoming towards women. The professors’ way of presenting was very appealing because it was interactive and related to the student’s field of study, Computer Science, as the students were prompted to come up with a solution to design an outline of an application that would filter out different locals in Sarajevo based on gender, personal preferences, as well as age. The goal of the application was to make both men and women feel safer while traveling to Sarajevo and make their overall visit more enjoyable. The students were split into groups while making the design of the application, which they presented afterward as the solution to make travel more enjoyable.
Apart from learning about the importance of gender equality, we developed communication skills and team-building skills which are crucial to us in the IT industry, as we will be working with other people throughout our careers. The ideas for the application were unique among the groups. It was an enjoyable experience to participate in such an activity and work with others to achieve a certain goal.
To sum up, the experience was very pleasant, and we would be more than happy to participate in similar activities in the future, especially having the professors from the Complutense University of Madrid as our lecturers again.