As part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a key day to show rejection of the violence suffered by girls, teenagers, young people and women around the world and to express the need to address them and to respond in a clear, direct and effective manner with the aim of eradicating them completely, we interview Martina Massana Massip. Martina Massana Massip was awarded in the last edition of the DonaTIC Awards, organized by the Secretariat of Digital Policies of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in the category of University ICT Student. Get to know his experience!
1. What is your career in the IT world?
Martina: My career in the IT world began in high school, when I consolidated my interest in new technologies with research work. I have always considered myself a very curious person and I have had a great interest in the world around me. In fact, with the aim of discovering everything that this sector can offer me – and pursuing my curiosity to be an engineer – I started to study the Degree in Data Science and Engineering at the UPC. I am in my third year and it is very clear to me that this path has only just begun.
2. For you, what does receiving a DonaTIC Award mean?
Martina: For me, receiving the DonaTIC Award is a great honor. Also, being able to share this recognition with brilliant women with diverse and impactful trajectories is a great motivation to continue learning and training to help build the future of ICT. Knowing all that the DonaTIC Awards represent, I am filled with pride to be part of this beautiful community of women in technology.
3. How important are references for other girls who want to work in ICT?
Martina: Referrals play a very important role for all those people who want to work in ICT. Seeing other women in these fields is proof that it is more than possible to be a part of it. All these reference women are still a direct materialization of the dreams of many girls and women.
4. And you, what references have you had?
Martina: My main reference has always been my mother. She is part of the biomedical field of technology, but has always retained a great passion for outreach, which has made me learn and inspire me a lot to undertake a career within the ICT field. She has always been my main mentor and her involvement has led me to personally meet incredible references such as Elisenda Bou-Balust, whom I now have the great fortune to consider a mentor, and whom I value for the work she carries out with a social background.
5. Finally, can you tell us about your project related to cyber security?
Martina: My project was born with the desire to solve a problem that is unfortunately very present in the lives of children and boys and girls, school bullying. Over the last few years, with the increase in the presence of new technologies in our lives, a new variant has been added to this problem, the digital variant, but new transformative and innovative solutions have also emerged. The 'Trustbot' tool wants to be a resource for all those boys and girls who feel vulnerable at school.
So, by answering some questions anonymously, the 'Trustbot' tool is able to detect these situations of harassment and give encouraging messages to boys and girls who may be suffering from these situations. In addition, with the information collected, action mechanisms are proposed with a class and course perspective, which are sent directly to the teaching staff so that the educational center implements actions with the aim of putting an end to the problem and create a safer and more enjoyable school environment for all students.