IAPER Guest Speaker Series - WMG - University of Warwick

Inspiring Women in STEM Guest Speaker Series

Thursday 25 May 2023

As part of the Improving Access and Participation in Engineering Research (IAPER) Project, we are running a series of guest speaker seminars showcasing successful women in STEM from underrepresented backgrounds.

For our second seminar, we welcomed guest speakers Bingqian Gao, the Senior Director of Advanced Analytics at Aktana; and Simran Mohnani, a Chemical Engineer leading Circularity and Sustainable Supply Chain Ventures at Deloitte Ventures. Both speakers have received several national awards and recognitions for their work.

Those who attended this seminar had the opportunity to hear about:

The obstacles that the speakers have faced during their careers;
Advice on how to navigate through difficult situations as being a minority in your field;
Tips and tricks for a successful career in the data analytics field.

Participants also had the chance to network and connect directly with our guest speakers.

Bingqian Gao

About Bingqian

Bingqian Gao is a freediver, explorer, and award-winning data leader currently working in the Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) space. She is the Senior Director of Advanced Analytics at Aktana, an AI-driven company that fuels intelligent customer engagement in the life sciences industry.

With a Bachelor's degree in Statistics and a Master's degree in Economics and Management, Bingqian began her career as a market research analyst, applying quantitative methods to business challenges. She then worked for a London-based analytics consultancy where she built a data science team from the ground up.

Bingqian is passionate about data storytelling, mental well-being, diversity and inclusion, and supporting the next generation of talent. Her initiative, the Women in Data Hackathon, supported over 300 women from 41 countries to learn and practise analytical skills, tangibly bridged the diversity gap in data and technology. She founded the non-profit community Tiny Viz Talks which provides a friendly space for novel data presenters to bring more inclusion to the presenting world. Her commitment to DEI has been recognised by awards and nominations such as Asian Women of Achievement, Lord Mayor's Dragon Award, Women in IT Data Leader of the Year, DEI initiative of the year, and the Most Influential Women in UK Tech.

Born and raised in China, Bingqian now calls London her home, but her adventurous spirit takes her to warmer countries to explore the underwater world while working remotely. Whether she's pushing her limits by freediving to depths of over 50 metres on a single breath, encountering humpback whales ten times her size, or finding a creative outlet shooting underwater films, those experiences help her appreciate the breadth and depth of life, and give her space to experiment, explore her personal limits, learn and grow.

5 Questions With Bingqian

Where did your journey in the engineering/tech industry start and what are the key milestones of your career so far?

My journey went from quantitative studies (statistics, economics) to market research (econometrics) to analytics consultancy (data science) to AI tech.

Key milestones are discovering analytics as a passion and career, becoming a recognised analytics expert and thought leader by getting prestigious certifications and writing / speaking about trendy topics in the industry, and becoming a voice for diversity and inclusion in data and tech through various initiatives.

What skills does it take to be successful in your role?

A combination of technical, business and people skills. For example, Analytical Expertise and Strategic Thinking is important to bring customers value in helping them maximise their data potential; Stakeholder Management and Communication skills are important in connecting technical solutions with business problem-solving; Leadership and Collaboration is important to build a strong team that collaborates and serves across functions.

What’s the best piece of advice someone else has given you?

Don’t negotiate yourself down! (You are good enough to deserve great opportunities!)

What excites you the most about the industry you are working in?

The superpower of analytics: the ability to decipher information hidden in data and tell a captivating story about it.

Why is it important to inspire young women to consider a career in the industry you are working in, and what advice would you give them?

A career in data analytics and technology offers so many possibilities, and women could thrive in so many different ways! There is simply no good reason to discriminate based on gender. Inspiring more women (and diversity in a broader sense) in data or tech fosters innovation through diverse perspectives, helping organisations create more inclusive solutions for all.

Explore your passion and find what lights you up!

Embrace Experimentation Mentality, and allow yourself to try things!

Build confidence from small successes, and maximise learning from challenging times.

Be YOU! Keep your authenticity and integrity!

Simran Mohnani

Simran Mohnani is a Chemical Engineer working in the Climate Change and Environment Studio at Deloitte Ventures. She leads on Circularity and Sustainable Supply Chain ventures: building innovation concepts, pilots and corporate ventures across startups, accelerators and private sector to decarbonise manufacturing and supply chains. She has experience ranging from Process Engineering to R&D and Industry4.0 Consulting, having worked on cultured-meat scaleup, drinking water treatment, chocolate-making and most recently COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing.

Simran is a strong advocate for demystifying the typical role of an engineer and leads a Diversity in Tech network at Deloitte called Codename MAXINE which aims to diversify the future tech pipeline and support women and underrepresented minorities. Simran also co-founded the Speak-Up pillar for Deloitte Consulting's Black Action Plan, served as the Vice-Chair for Bath's Women's Engineering Society and now sits on the London board for the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers movement. She has been recognised as one of the UK's TechWomen100, INvolve's 100 Future Role Models, JCI Malta's Top 10 under 40, Salters' Top 5 Graduate Chemical Engineers, and has just been shortlisted as one of the Asian Women of Achievement for driving Tech and Digital Innovation in the UK.

Interested in our Inspiring Women in STEM Seminar Series? Discover more of our events here.