From code to career: towards our digital future

Dr Ruwangi Fernando is an accomplished IT expert and AI specialist with a strong academic, industry and consulting background. Dr Fernando completed her PhD at Victoria University in collaboration with Data61, CSIRO and the Department of Transport in Victoria. She chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Australian Computer Society Victoria.

Dr Fernando has a strong history of advocating for gender equity in STEM especially addressing the intersectional challenges faced by Women of Colour (WOC) in STEM. She was recognised for her efforts and awarded a STEM Women Changemaker by the Australian Academy of Science and the Melbourne Asian Game Changer award by Asia Society. Dr Fernando founded STEM Sisters, a pioneer organisation that empowers STEM women of colour. She spearheads six award-winning programs to break down systemic barriers and promote equal access to opportunities in STEM for WOC. Under her leadership, STEM Sisters won many awards, including the Techdiversity Business (2023)  and  Media (2023) Awards, the Victorian International Education Excellence Award 2022,,the Multicultural Excellence Award 2022 and and WISE grant from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. She is also the founder of iSTEM Co., a research, consulting and talent-sourcing company that enables employment for women in STEM, including WOC and CALD. iSTEM Co. was nominated as a finalist for the Women in Digital awards and has recently launched DEIR, a recruitment-tech platform that eliminates recruitment bias for women in STEM. DEIR has also received recognition in STEM and won the Lift Women Social Impact Award.

With a completed PhD, a love for science, an enormous appreciation for science communication and a knack for Word doc formatting, Alina has fallen headfirst into Publishing wonderland and is currently developing print and digital education resources to support secondary students and teachers, nationwide, as they trek through their science curriculum. Outside of her career, she’s also doing a lot of falling at her local skating rink. 

Julie King, Senior Manager, Curriculum, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) works with the learning area curriculum specialists on projects such as the development of work samples, resources, and professional learning. She was the Project Lead, Digital Technologies in focus and Curriculum Specialist, Technologies. Julie coordinated the development and review of the F–10 Australian Curriculum: Technologies. She has previously worked as a teacher, distance education writer, curriculum advisor and manager for the NSW Department of Education.