21st Century Women in Technology: Aurora Paz 

In the history of scientific and technological research, most women have been relegated to the background while their male counterparts have gone on to achieve great recognition. That’s why, here at Gradiant we’ve created the Women in Technology series to show the history of the pioneering women who have fought adversity to become crucial figures in the development and technological progress.

What’s more, in our 21st Century Women in Technology series we give visibility to the young women in technology today; our colleagues here at Gradiant, as well as the work they do, so their experiences can inspire or encourage other young women to take an interest in the field. That’s just what happened to today’s guest, Aurora Paz, with her high school technology teacher, which goes to show, once again, how important it is for girls and young women to have female role models. Before then, Aurora Paz (Sada, A Coruña) was interested in various careers related to some of her hobbies, from veterinary medicine to astrophysics, medicine and even some artistic careers. Thanks to her innate curiosity and the motivation provided by her technology teacher, Aurora Paz now combines her master’s studies with her work in the area of 5G and Artificial Intelligence applied to communications.

 

What did you want to do when you were little?

Since I was a child, I have always been very close to nature and animals, so veterinary medicine was one of the first subjects I thought of studying. Other areas I’m passionate about are space and astronomy, so physics was also an option I considered for a long time. In general, I would say that I was never very certain about what I wanted to do, I went through typical phases of architecture, medicine or even artistic careers.

 

Why did you choose technology?

What I like most about the technological world is the technical challenges. Working in this field develops the ability to solve practical problems and I personally get a lot of satisfaction when, after a lot of hard work, good results are obtained from this work. Another aspect that influenced my decision was my curiosity about the world of telecommunications, which is not taught in high school. In general, I am a curious person, so it was this curiosity that led me to decide to study telecommunications.

 

Where did you plan to study? Why?

Like many of my close friends, our first thought was to study in a big city as we had lived all our lives in a small town where we all knew each other and life was quite boring. Another thing that was clear to me was that I wanted to live away from home, to learn to live without my parents and to make the most of my time at university. In the end, I decided to study in Vigo because I didn’t want to be too far from home and the university offered several engineering programmes that interested me.

 

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working in the area of Advanced Communications at Gradiant. My tasks are focused on cellular communications, specifically 5G, and on applying Artificial Intelligence algorithms to this type of communication.

 

What do you like most about your work? 

Being in research means working with innovative tools on a daily basis and, above all, learning continuously. Research also involves learning how many low-level processes work and creating new algorithms, always seeking to improve current tools. This is in addition to the good atmosphere and camaraderie that exists in the working environment every day.

 

Who is your female role model or reference in the world of technology?

Sadly, before going to university, I wasn’t all that aware of the role of women in technology. In general, I’m not someone who looks to role models but Patricia Iglesias (my secondary school technology teacher) managed to awaken my interest and curiosity for the technical world and, in some way, with her way of teaching, led me to dedicate myself to what I do today. 

 

What is your reading of the situation regarding women in the technological field?

In my opinion we are still a minority and the gap does not seem to be narrowing as quickly as we would like. The issue of women in technology is very important simply it’s about the inclusion and representation of what is half of our population. Technological solutions also have to respond to women’s problems too, and although improvements are slowly being made, there is still a long way to go.

 

What would you say to the tech workers of the future?

Nowadays technology is everywhere and we have to live with it. I think it should be used to help others and, in a way, to improve society. I would like to think that our daily work serves to facilitate other people’s work and daily lives.