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24 women awarded at the Department for International Trade’s European Tech Women Awards.

The UK Department for International Trade (DIT) announced the winners of the first edition of the European Tech Women Awards. This took place virtually during London Tech Week on 2 September.

The event recognised the accomplishments of 24 women from 12 countries who delivered revolutionary projects in the UK and Europe. It celebrated the UK’s diversity, openness and willingness to champion female leaders.

The winners

The winners’ fields of expertise include: mathematics and computer science, IT, artificial intelligence, tech apps, Internet of Things, engineering, sustainability, energy, telecommunications, legal tech, science and research, mobility, 3D technologies and specialised talent placement.

The winners from the UK are:

• Career Recognition Award: Anne-Marie Imafidon, STEMettes
• Career Recognition Award: Sheila Flavell, FDM Group
• STEM Pathway Award: Amanda Heslop, Rolls Royce

The winner from the Czech Repulic is:

• Business Revolution Award: Sara Boutall, Innovation Disrupt House

The winners from the Israel are:

• Visionary Tech Leader Award: Maya Gura, Missbee
• Leadership for Change Award: Hillary Harel, Serenus.AI
• Disruptive Digital Entrepreneur Award: Orit Hashay, Brayola
• Green Innovation Award: Inna Braverman, Eco Wave Power

The winners from the Denmark are:

• Data Innovator Award:Camilla Ley Valentin, Queue-it
• Innovation for Change Award: Natasha Friis Saxberg, IT-Branchen - The Danish ICT Industry Association

The winners from the Slovakia are:

• Tech Inclusion Award: Petra Kotuliakova, Aj ty v IT
• One to Watch Award: Maria Vircikova, Matsuko

The winners from the Italy are:

• International Clean Energy Award: Sabrina Malpede, ACT Blade
• Corporate Innovation Award: Elisabetta Romano, Telecom Italia Sparkle
• Talent Booster Award: Eva Ratti, Find your Doctor
• Academic and Research Award: Graziella Pellegrini, Holostem Terapie Avanzate

The winners from the Spain are:

• Technology Leadership Award: Laura Lozano Lominchar, Chargy
• Legal Tech Award: Laura Fauqueur, CEU IAM Business School

The winners from the Austria are:

• Start Up Founder Award: Lisa-Marie Fassl, Female Founders
• Professional Tech Services Award: Sophie Martinetz, Northcote.Recht/Future-Law

The winner from the Ireland is:

• Social Responsibility Award: Iseult Ward, Foodcloud

The winner from the Germany is:

• Future Mobility Award: Tamy Ribeiro, Wunder Mobility

The winner from the Hungary is:

• Tech Good Award: Andrea Pánczél, Women in Energy in Hungary Association (WONY) and White Paper Consulting

The winner from the Swizerland is:

• Smart Solution Innovator Award: Anne Mellano, Bestmile

Keynote speakers

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Co-Founder of STEMettes yesterday said:

It is really important for all of us to realise that the change starts with us and it’s us changing our attitude towards digital things and technology that helps influence those around us.

All of these technologies are exciting and they are trends but ultimately they need the creative minds of many, they need the many perspectives of many to ensure that we are building technology that actually solves problems and helps people.

That is why it’s important to have women in technology, to have great people in technology, to have disabilities in technology and to have all kinds of people working and taking their rightful place as innovators.

Sheila Flavell CBE, Chief Operating Officer of FDM Group, yesterday said:

Now is the time for us current and future women leaders to show up as the very best version of ourselves. As we have moved forward out of this crisis, there has never been a more urgent need for women to step forward and lead our great STEM industries into the future.

It’s not about women being better than men, it’s about being different to men, bringing different values and ways of working to the table. If decisions are increasingly executed by algorithms, we better make sure that the teams that design, build and test them are diverse, otherwise we will create a digital world that doesn’t work for everyone.

If we want more women into technology, then we have to empower and enable more role models to inspire them. If you can see it, you can be it.

Oriel Petry, Director for Technology and Advanced Manufacturing, UK Department for International Trade yesterday said:

Some of the most influential people in the British government responsible for technology are women, but we know that is not the case across the economy as a whole.

Too few women are shaping our future, too few women are writing the algorithms that are going to determine everything about our life in the years to come, too few women in fact are successful in raising capital.

This to me is inexplicable. So, these are important issues that the British government cares about. These awards celebrate the wonderful diversity, creativity and innovation that women bring to tech.

Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe Richard Burn yesterday said:

Whether building businesses in a range of sectors including healthcare, mobility and renewable energy, creating social enterprises or putting together programmes designed to support and empower women and girls. We have seen some truly inspiring stories of how women across Europe are powering the tech revolution.

These awards are hugely important to DIT and to DIT Europe as they highlight the role of women in Tech and the important contribution of tech to the British economy. I hope that the amazing stories we have heard from our winners will encourage more women to join tech businesses and that tech leaders will work harder to ensure that women play a bigger part in their companies, which will of course drive their success.

London Tech Week provides DIT Europe with a launch pad for our own pan-European Technology campaign designed to showcase the UK’s expertise across many different sub-sectors.

Europe Technology Campaign

Over the next 3 years, the DIT Europe Technology Campaign will deliver an innovative programme of landmark ministerial-led events. This will expand the impact of the UK presence at major exhibitions and focus on core UK strengths such as:

• big data and artificial intelligence
• cyber security
• smart Cities
• the Internet of Things

It will represent an innovative and exciting platform for the UK to deliver confident, consistent messaging on technologies where the UK is a global leader and supporting UK priorities in exports, investment and trade policy.