Ebtisam semifinalist in the competition Young IT Woman of the Year
Ebtisam Mohammedsalih studies software technology at Linnaeus University and has now reached the semifinals in Microsoft’s competition Young IT Woman of the Year. The competition is arranged to highlight skilled IT women who can inspire others to choose an otherwise male-dominated industry.
Ebtisam studied an international baccalaureate programme in Stockholm and therefore got English upper secondary school grades, which made it necessary for her to apply to a programme that was offered in English. One such programme was the software technology programe at Linnaeus University and that is why Ebtisam ended up in Växjö. It was here that she got interested in programming.
“I wasn’t particularly interested in IT before I started studying at the university. I realised how much fun programming is during my second course in Java programming and I really enjoy solving problems. I’m now studying the second year on my programme and I absolutely love it!”, says Mohammedsalih.
In 2017, the share of women in the IT industry was 29 percent. Ebtisam has some ideas on what can be done to make more young women choose professions in the IT industry:
“We must reach them at an early age, already in compulsory school. It’s important to tell them that IT is a diverse industry. There is so much more than just programming and it’s definitely not a 'male' job”, explains Mohammedsalih.
The competition Young IT Woman of the Year is arranged for the 17th consecutive year and the winner will get to experience a rewarding year as ambassador. The winner will become a member of a network with the previous 16 winners of the competition and be invited to a number of inspiring events during the year and take part in a lot of networking.