21st Century Women in Technology: María González Pintos

Throughout the month of March, to mark the occasion of International Women’s Day, every Friday we’ll share the experience of some of our own young women in technology. Why they were attracted to the technology field, who their role models are or what they’re working on right now, what they think motivate other young women to choose a career in the ICT sector. Today’s guest for the latest instalment of 21st Century Women in Technology is María González Pintos, someone who, before signing up for her studies, wasn’t really sure what she wanted to do. But as a computer engineer she now enjoys seeing the real-world applications of the work she develops in our AI & Data Ops team. She combines that with studying for the Master’s degree in Data Science at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC).

 

What did you want to do when you were little?

When I was a child, I didn’t really know. As I got a bit older, I realised that the subjects I liked the most were physics and maths, but I took the university entrance exams without knowing what I was going to study next. When I got my grades was when I decided.

 

Why did you choose technology?

Because I liked the technological science subjects the most, I looked for related degrees and the Computer Engineering subjects caught my attention.

 

Where did you plan to study? Why?

Since there was Computer Engineering in Santiago and I’m from there, I always planned to stay in Santiago, and if not then Coruña, because it was the next city with Computer Engineering that was closer to home. 

I did an Erasmus in Lugano (Switzerland) for a year, but apart from that, I have never lived outside Santiago. 

 

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a project in the primary sector that aims to improve aspects related to genetics and fertility in sheep. We use machine learning algorithms and data collected from different farms. In doing so, we are trying to discover ways to optimise specific variables that can contribute to improving both fertility and genetics in sheep. We’re also working on the development of a federated platform for the storage, management and efficient analysis of the data.

 

What do you like most about your work?

I like to see the real applications of the work I do. Everything you programme in the race is just for learning. However, when you start working, that’s when you programme with a purpose and help create something that’s going to be useful to society.

I also like the variety of projects I’m involved in at any one time, which prevents the work from becoming too mechanical or routine and forces me to “think” and adapt to different situations.

 

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

I think it’s very difficult to have female role model in the tech sector as it is today, because you have to actively seek them out. In fact, before I started studies, I didn’t have any. 

But in the first term of my first degree I was taught by Dora Blanco Heras, who encouraged my interest and made me enjoy her subject. It was the first time I saw someone close to me do what I wanted to do and what I was preparing for.

 

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

That it is improving, no doubt, but there is something wrong when the percentage of women in this field is still so low. You start to see it at Baccalaureate level, when we are divided according to the electives chosen and, although in biological sciences there is a greater presence of women, in technological sciences there are few of us. 

It’s neither chance nor biology, that’s for sure. It’s much more to do with me skipping the blue pages of toy brochures when I was a child, because I didn’t think they were for me.  

 

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

I believe that anyone can cope with a demanding career, but it’s much more difficult to work for years in something you don’t like, especially in this field, which evolves so fast and requires continuous training.

This Operational Group has been the beneficiary of a grant for the implementation of innovation projects of general interest by operational groups of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (AEI-Agri), in the framework of the National Rural Development Programme 2014-2022, with funds from the European Recovery Instrument (EU Next Generation). The managing authority responsible for the implementation of the corresponding aid is the Directorate-General for Rural Development, Innovation and Agri-food Training (DGDRIFA). This is a 100% subsidised measure.