Highlighting the importance of women’s participation in the ICT sector, the “Internet Society Armenia Chapter” NGO joined the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) global “Girls in ICT” campaign for the 9th time this year. Within this framework, in cooperation with the “Internet Society” NGO, it organized a meeting titled “AI Developments: Women Shaping the Digital Future” for students of the State College of Informatics.
More than 40 female students had the opportunity to learn from invited speakers Mary Davtyan, a data scientist from COPA, and Ani Alaverdyan, Lead R&D Engineer at the Engineering Excellence Group, Software Modernization Department of Synopsys Armenia.
“Such international campaigns provide a great opportunity for experienced STEM professionals and young people interested in the field to meet, communicate, and discuss professional development opportunities. For future specialists, these meetings can be decisive in helping them find their direction and move forward,” said Vesmira Harutyunyan, Chair of the Board of the Internet Society Armenia Chapter, while welcoming participants. She also noted that the Armenian labor market offers strong opportunities for girls and women to position themselves in the IT sector.
“It is not efficient to use artificial intelligence tools just for simple questions and answers. They are meant to help people—especially students—develop their own ideas and accelerate the learning process. Use them as a supporting tool, not as something that does the work instead of you,” emphasized Mary Davtyan. While presenting the applications of AI, she also reminded students that all technologies, including AI, are resource-intensive from an environmental perspective, and should therefore be used thoughtfully and not excessively.
Ani Alaverdyan added that AI creates new opportunities and enables professionals to grow: “To remain competitive in the job market, it is essential to maintain a willingness to continuously learn and to understand that proficiency in AI tools is already one of the key requirements for employers.
Over the past nine years, more than 400 participants from different age and professional groups in Armenia have taken part in events organized under the “Girls in ICT” initiative. Globally, the initiative spans 175 countries, with more than 11,590 events held so far, engaging around 417,000 participants.
“Girls in ICT Day” has been celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of April since 2011, with the aim of encouraging girls’ interest in information and communication technologies and supporting their educational and professional advancement.
