In recognition of International Women’s Day, and with Dr Letetia Addison, Shannon-Rae Hackett and Riana Kandhai of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus and Women in Data Science (WiDS), the Trinidad and Tobago chapter, they discuss, among other things: the difference between data analytics and data science; their own journeys to pursue careers in the STEM and ICT fields, and how their perspective on their career has evolved; and why organisations have been dragging their feet to integrate data science/data analytics into their operations.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music and Stitcher!

in technology and getting more girls to pursue careers in ICT have been getting considerable attention over the past several years. Although female enrolment in many disciplines at the tertiary level has increased, there are still technology and engineering segments that are overwhelmingly male.

Without a doubt, girls and women may still be subject to familial and societal biases regarding ‘suitable professions’ for them. However, we also ought to be cognisant of the fact that for many girls there are few, or even no, exemplars of women in their circle who have blazed a path in the ICT or technology space, who could act as role models for what is possible.

Moreover, facilitating and supporting greater inclusion is good economic sense. It is often overlooked that women tend to have significant spending power, particularly in their families. So actively ensuring that the views and perspectives of half of the world’s population are incorporated into the innovations and systems that are to serve consumers and our communities is not only fair and practical; but could also result in increased revenues and economic impact.

This week’s podcast episode is being released on 8 March, which is International Women’s Day, so we thought it opportune to feature women in tech.

 

Introducing our guests

Dr Letetia Addison holds a PhD in Mathematics and a Master of Philosophy in Statistics from the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Campus. She is currently a Project Officer and Statistical Consultant at the University Office of Planning at the UWI, St. Augustine Campus. She has over 10 years of experience lecturing tertiary-level courses in Mathematics, Probability, and Statistics, as well as active involvement in statistical consulting, research and outreach. In addition to this, she builds data-driven models for Higher Education data and her research interests include multidisciplinary applications of mathematical and statistical models for sustainability in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) fields. 

Letetia is currently a Women in Data Science (WiDS) Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador, as part of the annual WiDS Worldwide conference organised by Stanford University, featuring outstanding women in the field of Data Science. At the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States/Eastern Caribbean Currency Union’sGrowth and Resilience Dialogue (GRD) 2022 Climate Resilience Data Challenge, her team secured first place for developing AI application prototypes on key climate data issues. She has also participated in the WiDS Datathon 2022 Challenge and is a member of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and the ASA GivesBack Leadership Team, which uses outreach to promote the importance of Statistics and Data Science in various fields.

Shannon-Rae Hackett is a self-taught aspiring Data Scientist. She has a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Renewable Energy Engineering student at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical and Process Engineering from UWI.  Her research focused on increasing energy efficiency and sustainable energy locally using photovoltaic energy. Her MSc capstone project highlighted Machine Learning applications to the Renewable Energy sector. She is currently a Data Science Intern at CIBC First Caribbean International Bank and an active member of the innovation venture, TTLAB.

Riana Kandhai recently graduated from (UWI) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (First Class Honours) and is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy degree in Mechanical Engineering. She works at the UWI, as a Teaching Assistant, in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and as a Lecturer at the School of Business and Computer Science Global Learning Institute (SBCS GLI) Limited. She is also a Volunteer and Team Lead for the MindWise Project. Her interests are in women and gender, mental health and climate activism. 

 

Insights into our conversations

Data science as a discipline can be quite intimidating, and many people may inherently appreciate that it may be more rigorous than data analytics. However, what has been interesting in the many conversations we have been having with data scientists recently, is the many routes they each have taken to get into Data Science, be it Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or Statistics.

It was surprising during our conversation when Shannon-Rae indicated that organisations, such as those in Trinidad and Tobago, seem to be downplaying the importance of Data Science, which led to some insightful discourse on confidence, comparison and capacity in organisations to better leverage Data Science and Data Analytics.

Below are some of the questions posed to Letetia, Shannon-Rae and Riana during our conversation.

  1. Ladies, as a way of helping you introduce yourselves, do tell us how you got into Data Science.
  2. Let’s touch on the fundamentals with some basic questions:
  3. What is the difference between a data scientist and a data analyst?
  4. What are the career prospects for data scientists versus data analysts?
  5. To what degree are data science and data analytics fields male-dominated?
  6. What are some of the skills individuals should possess if they wish to pursue careers in data science?
  7. Data Science has gained some visibility over the past last five years, which is reflected in the growing demand for data-related skills. What are some of the ways in which you are using your data science skills, and what might interesting projects that are happening in the region, or in which you are involved?
  8. Letetia, what is the Women in Data Science initiative, and why do you think it is important to be part of that initiative?
  9. For your own academic and professional pursuits, did you have role models who inspired you? If not, how were you able to decide to pursue these seemingly uncharted waters?
  10. What were some of the things you did not know or realise when you started your university journey, versus what you know now?
  11. What upcoming events will the Women in Data Science Trinidad and Tobago Chapter be been having, and what are you hoping to achieve?

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  L Addison;  S-R Hackett;  R Kandhai; Claudio Schwarz (Unsplash); rawpixel (freepik)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez