Dr. Mahsa Mohaghegh on founding She# and connecting Women in Tech

Mahsa is an expert in Artificial Intelligence working as a senior lecturer at AUT.  In this interview we talk about her background and childhood in Iran and what first got her interested in computers (at age 7) as well as machine translation and AI.  We also discuss how she ended up in New Zealand (by chance), what her first impressions were, why she founded She# as a networking platform for women in tech to connect professionals with high school and tertiary students.  We also discuss what it would take to encourage more diversity in tech and the plans for the future (anyone want to help She# expand outside of Auckland?).  I really enjoyed this interview and the diverse topics we were able to cover.  If you enjoy this you might like some of the other interviews in the back catalogue.

We also discuss this Benjamin Franklin quote:

"Tell me and I forget,

Teach me and I remember,

Involve me and I learn"

From She# Facebook page: "We aim to encourage women in Computer science, computer engineering, IT, and tech-related fields to develop academically and professionally, to network and learn with each other and to foster the advancement of women in high-school, university and industry."

She Sharp: https://www.shesharp.co.nz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/shesharp/

AUT page: https://www.aut.ac.nz/profiles?id=em9073

About Anita Borg: https://anitab.org

About Margaret Hamilton (Apollo missions software engineer): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamilton_(software_engineer)

Future of Learning Conference: https://www.futureoflearning.nz

A big thanks to the team who organised the conference as it allowed us to sit down with him, in particular Louisa as well as:  

Hamish Duff from Recalibrate: https://www.recalibrate.co.nz

Cheryl Doig (a former Seeds Guest) from Think Beyond: https://www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

Cheryl's earlier interview on seeds: http://seeds.libsyn.com/cheryl-doig-on-the-future-of-learning