Name: Saga Ulfarsdottir

Country: Iceland

Highest level of education: Master’s Degree

Major or field of study: Industrial Engineering – Mathematical Modelling and Computation

Current position: Independent advisor with a focus on AI applications

Saga Ulfarsdottir is an Independent Advisor specialising in AI applications. Based in Iceland, she holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, with a focus on Mathematical Modeling and Computation. Saga leverages her expertise to provide strategic guidance in the application of AI technologies across various industries.

Obstacles Saga encountered throughout her educational and professional journey

Throughout her educational and professional journey, Saga encountered several obstacles, each distinct depending on whether she was in a startup or a large corporation. In large corporations, she observed that lobbyism often played a significant role in determining which projects were prioritised—sometimes, the most deserving initiatives didn’t always get the attention they deserved. On the other hand, in startups, Saga frequently found herself as the sole expert, which could be isolating and challenging. This environment made it easy to lose confidence, as she often had to navigate problems that, by her own standards, she felt she should already know how to solve.

Strategies and actions adopted by Saga to overcome these obstacles

When working for a company, Saga made it a point to connect with everyone, from customer service to the C-suite. This approach led her to discover an incredible group of women at one of the companies she worked for. Outside of her day-to-day role, she actively sought out meetups and reached out to people in her industry, recognising that many were tackling or had tackled similar challenges. These connections, and the ability to reach out for advice and support, have proven invaluable, especially in her role as an independent advisor.

Key lessons and insights gained from Saga’s experience

Saga found that people are far more willing to help when you’re not simply reaching out to ask them to complete tasks. Additionally, just making sure they know you exist can often lead to a wealth of ideas and opportunities coming your way. She also believes that being able to communicate technical projects to a non-technical audience is a valuable skill, particularly when you can spark excitement about the project. Finally, Saga is consistently impressed by how genuine and supportive most people in the tech community are.

The importance of increasing female representation in STEM education and careers

From a business and policy perspective this should be a no-brainer. Having diverse teams gives the best result (and this is scientifically proven). From a personal perspective it is important that STEM becomes an environment where women can spend 100% of their mental capacity on solving the exciting technical challenges at hand, not having to dedicate any to adapt to a male dominated field.

Encouraging more girls and women to pursue careers in STEM

Saga believes that the increasing focus on making STEM a more female-friendly field is incredibly important. Having role models that women can identify with is crucial, even for those in senior positions. However, she emphasises that the role models of the future won’t become a reality unless we also address the obstacles that hinder women’s advancement in STEM. It’s not enough to simply get more women through the door; companies must create environments that actively support and foster women’s growth.

Initiatives and Programs Driving Women’s Empowerment in STEM

There are some great initiatives in Iceland; 

ADA: Ada’s purpose is to create a platform to empower women who are pursuing an education in tech related fields. The women there are doing a great job giving women insight into the diverse careers following a CS education. 

Vertonet: is another great association of women and non-binary in IT, and is soon publishing an open source playbook for more diverse and inclusive workplaces. 

WomenTechIceland: is a non-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging equality in the Technology industry, serving as a bridge between segmented communities in Icelandic society to foster greater diversity and inclusion. It has held some awesome events and of course there is this one!

Saga’s advice to young girls considering a career in STEM

“You got this. Knowing the women I know you are probably three times as smart as you think you are. You will get more confident in yourself and your capabilities and if you ever fail remember that failing is learning. As a good friend of mine says: you don’t score if you don’t shoot.”