plovdiv-press.bg
They study computer science and artificial intelligence. Twelve girls from the first to the fourth year gather every Friday after classes in one of the lecture halls of the Technical University – Plovdiv branch. They are the JAVA Girls club. Two years ago, Associate Professor Dr. Maria Marinova – a researcher and lecturer in the Department of "Computer Systems and Technologies" at the Technical University – Plovdiv branch, had an idea. "I decided that girls in the technical university are somewhat neglected. We joke that even the word 'engineer' has no feminine form, and somehow female engineers are underestimated. But there are exceptional girls who study here. I have had courses where not a single boy could solve the problem as well as a group of girls did. And these were hardware tasks in the field of 'Computer Architecture', which I teach. We deal with processor design, and it is very complex. The girls' solutions surprise and delight me." – relates Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Marinova.
The creator of the JAVA Girls club is a truly broad-minded scholar. Her scientific interests and the multitude of disciplines she teaches confirm this. Recently, besides artificial intelligence, she has become interested in psychology, because she is convinced that this is a way to make machine intelligence better understand humans and their behavior. Together with her kindred spirit, she is preparing a book about women leaders in programming and artificial intelligence. And with a former student, she forms a partnership and buys a powerful computer to create artificial intelligence for a robot using it.
Why JAVA
Among programmers, there is a story about how the programming language JAVA was created. The young men and women who created it liked to drink JAVA coffee during their joint work. Both the coffee and the joint labor were so pleasant for the team that they decided to name the new programming language after their shared pleasure. According to specialists, this language is the "Cyrillic" in which microcontrollers most often communicate in any technology. Therefore, students should learn it early to train the machines.
Since JAVA is a new discipline, at the beginning the lecturer must find the balance so that students do not give up if it seems too difficult to them. But she always asks herself: was it not easy? It is important for her that future engineers do something independently, to gain confidence and then continue to search on their own. "I have exceptional students. I am surprised that in every new generation that comes to study with us, there are very smart children. I strive to stimulate them individually." – rejoices Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Marinova.
Who are the members of the girls' club
One of the students who has been a member of JAVA Girls since the very beginning is Maria Babanova. She is a fourth-year student majoring in "Computer Systems and Technologies" at the Technical University – Plovdiv Branch. She studies here in this specific major because she believes it offers the best prospects for her career development. "I learned about JAVA Girls last year during one of the exercises we had with Associate Professor Marinova on computer architecture. Together with my colleagues, we decided to join the club. At first, our meetings were not very regular – our semester exams for the third year were approaching, and the summer vacation was also near. This year, we started meeting and working in the club more regularly." – shares Maria Babanova.
The topics for the girls' meetings are determined mainly by the club members, because everyone wants the time spent here to be interesting and useful. Therefore, they discuss new things they have seen in the field of information technology. And yet, why a women's club? "I think it is precisely because male energy and male presence dominate in our field, while women are somewhat overlooked. Our participation in the club makes us feel valued, more special, and equal to male computer scientists." – explains the student. She believes that artificial intelligence created by women would not differ from that created by men. However, there is a certain "division of labor," as women would likely be better at the design aspect when creating smart machines and generally in matters related to aesthetics. Meanwhile, men would probably work more on the logical part.
"I believe that our club gives me competitive advantages for my future career development. I am looking for my niche in the field of information technology and exploring the area of cybersecurity, because this is very interesting to me. And unfortunately, such interest from young professionals is greatly lacking in Bulgaria." – concludes Maria Babanova
plovdiv-press.bg, 07.03.2024
They study computer science and artificial intelligence. Twelve girls from the first to the fourth year gather every Friday after classes in one of the lecture halls of the Technical University – Plovdiv branch. They are the JAVA Girls club. Two years ago, Associate Professor Dr. Maria Marinova – a researcher and lecturer in the Department of "Computer Systems and Technologies" at the Technical University – Plovdiv branch, had an idea. "I decided that girls in the technical university are somewhat neglected. We joke that even the word 'engineer' has no feminine form, and somehow female engineers are underestimated. But there are exceptional girls who study here. I have had courses where not a single boy could solve the problem as well as a group of girls did. And these were hardware tasks in the field of 'Computer Architecture', which I teach. We deal with processor design, and it is very complex. The girls' solutions surprise and delight me." – relates Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Marinova.
The creator of the JAVA Girls club is a truly broad-minded scholar. Her scientific interests and the multitude of disciplines she teaches confirm this. Recently, besides artificial intelligence, she has become interested in psychology, because she is convinced that this is a way to make machine intelligence better understand humans and their behavior. Together with her kindred spirit, she is preparing a book about women leaders in programming and artificial intelligence. And with a former student, she forms a partnership and buys a powerful computer to create artificial intelligence for a robot using it.
Why JAVA
Among programmers, there is a story about how the programming language JAVA was created. The young men and women who created it liked to drink JAVA coffee during their joint work. Both the coffee and the joint labor were so pleasant for the team that they decided to name the new programming language after their shared pleasure. According to specialists, this language is the "Cyrillic" in which microcontrollers most often communicate in any technology. Therefore, students should learn it early to train the machines.
Since JAVA is a new discipline, at the beginning the lecturer must find the balance so that students do not give up if it seems too difficult to them. But she always asks herself: was it not easy? It is important for her that future engineers do something independently, to gain confidence and then continue to search on their own. "I have exceptional students. I am surprised that in every new generation that comes to study with us, there are very smart children. I strive to stimulate them individually." – rejoices Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Marinova.
Who are the members of the girls' club
One of the students who has been a member of JAVA Girls since the very beginning is Maria Babanova. She is a fourth-year student majoring in "Computer Systems and Technologies" at the Technical University – Plovdiv Branch. She studies here in this specific major because she believes it offers the best prospects for her career development. "I learned about JAVA Girls last year during one of the exercises we had with Associate Professor Marinova on computer architecture. Together with my colleagues, we decided to join the club. At first, our meetings were not very regular – our semester exams for the third year were approaching, and the summer vacation was also near. This year, we started meeting and working in the club more regularly." – shares Maria Babanova.
The topics for the girls' meetings are determined mainly by the club members, because everyone wants the time spent here to be interesting and useful. Therefore, they discuss new things they have seen in the field of information technology. And yet, why a women's club? "I think it is precisely because male energy and male presence dominate in our field, while women are somewhat overlooked. Our participation in the club makes us feel valued, more special, and equal to male computer scientists." – explains the student. She believes that artificial intelligence created by women would not differ from that created by men. However, there is a certain "division of labor," as women would likely be better at the design aspect when creating smart machines and generally in matters related to aesthetics. Meanwhile, men would probably work more on the logical part.
"I believe that our club gives me competitive advantages for my future career development. I am looking for my niche in the field of information technology and exploring the area of cybersecurity, because this is very interesting to me. And unfortunately, such interest from young professionals is greatly lacking in Bulgaria." – concludes Maria Babanova
plovdiv-press.bg, 07.03.2024
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