Having followed a scientific path since high school, I’ve always felt more at ease in scientific disciplines than in literature, and over time this has become a real passion.

My role models are my parents. Having only daughters, they encouraged me to follow my own path and to dare to explore fields and professions that were once the reserved for men.

I’m the only woman in the manufacturing team, yet I’ve never felt alone with my colleagues. I can be myself and work serenely.

The first time I was asked to do the mechanical assembly and commissioning of a sub-assembly of the ion implanter (gasbox and electrical parts), there were no errors during debugging and installation.

My advice to young girls and women who want to pursue a career in our sector is to follow your convictions; it’s also a sector that’s open to everyone, regardless of gender or background.

My main values are caring, respect, responsibility and honesty.

To further develop my technical skills so that I can be more autonomous and put my know-how to good use.

By 2030, I hope to have a position that allows me to share my knowledge while continuing to explore my potential.

Like many girls, I faced obstacles and discouraging remarks, saying that I couldn’t do it and that it wasn’t the right field for me. At first, I wasn’t particularly interested in science, especially maths. Over time, however, my perspective changed, and I could not see myself following a literary path. In high school, my technology teacher told me that studying medicine wasn’t for me, pointing out that I was ignoring an area in which I excelled. He encouraged me, even going so far as to talk to my parents. From that moment on, I knew that engineering was for me, and I followed that path with determination.

My inspiration has been and always will be my mother. From an early age I saw her working hard at an important job. Her independence and strength of character shaped the person I am today. I wouldn’t be the person I am without her. She inspired me from the very beginning and continues to do so every day.

When I arrived, there was already a Women’s Rights Day webinar showcasing women’s careers in the company, which was an excellent initiative. I was the second woman to join the digital team since Starchip was founded, which was something new for them. We have been working to achieve 50/50 parity in the team and we have succeeded. There are now 3 women and 3 men and I’m very proud of that. Achieving parity is a challenge because the work has to start much earlier. It’s difficult to recruit women, not because there aren’t enough candidates, but because few women are interested in these fields at school. Even at engineering school, only one tenth of the students were women.

What’s more, in terms of diversity, our team of forty people is very international, with members from Venezuela, Senegal, Brazil, Italy, Indonesia, Morocco and me from Tunisia.

I’m proud to have made my parents proud and to have risen to the occasion. For me, That is my greatest achievement.

For me, there’s only one golden rule: never let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do. If you believe in your ability to achieve something, don’t pay attention to other people’s opinions, just go for it.

I’d say seriousness, because in this field you have to be rigorous. Dedication is also crucial, because this job requires total commitment to your work. And finally, thoroughness, because the smallest mistake can have far-reaching consequences.

New Project, new challenge.

In a few years’ time, I’d like to have deepened my expertise in my field and acquired a wide range of additional skills. I also plan to manage a larger team, with a higher proportion of female graduates.

Since I was a little girl I loved to know about all sorts of topics. Everything I learned was fascinating and I tried to learn something different every day. I loved to read all the texts on my hands. And through reading, I found a lot of opened doors to other dimensions. Marie Curie was a brilliant role model for a girl like me, but also a very sad one, because of the sadness in her eyes. But “a future as a scientist” (even sad) seemed the most interesting option for me, because curiosity about knowing everything, was the main incentive.

Hedy Lamarr, Irene Joliot Curie, Laura Tremosa, my mother’s grandmother, my mother, my female friends and my students.

I am very proud of the girls mentoring program, “M2m”. I started it 11 years ago and has allowed many girls to reach their professional lives with a huge development of their empowerment skills. They are very good in their profiles, but by using the M2m program, some of them have improved their abilities for leading or for feeling strong in their workplaces, even when they are part of a minority.

I would like my students, years after they left the classroom, to remember me fondly. I love it when my former students greet me at any place with their smiley faces. This is very pleasant for me.

They must have their dreams, no matter how impossible they look, because someday they will realize that dreams have come true.
Their dreams are their own, and nobody can tell them about the right to have them. Those dreams can become a reality (or a part of them), and it will take a lot of work, and a lot of effort, but in the end it will be worth it. No hurries, no worries.

My main challenge is that it is not necessary to highlight relevant profiles like mine, that the work of the women who have had to promote STEAM vocations naturally is part of history, without having to highlight it.

A challenge is that all boys and girls have the information and freedom to be what they want to be, without limits, without prejudice and without having to justify themselves.

Ambitious maybe.

I read, watch theatre, listen concert music, make sports, love scuba diving and travel all around the world.

I cannot remember a specific moment when I began to be interested in STEM. I suppose it’s a matter of character, but I was always curious and dreamy, and that naturally led me in school to prefer those disciplines where abstract thinking is more useful.

When you are a female engineer, you learn to develop your career without relying on female role models, since they are few and little known. In school, the only female scientist talked about is Marie Curie, and in high school and university, your only references are your teachers. Once you start working, especially in the field of scientific research, your references are older colleagues who play the role of mentors and teachers, whom you meet at conferences, courses, or, in my case, in the office across the hall. Thanks Mar, by the way.

Age has taught me that nobody is perfect, which makes it difficult for me to have a role model that I find inspiring. However, it is true that I have been fortunate to meet great professionals and individuals in my environment, both men and women, whom I respect and who help me continue to want to improve myself.

Within the University of Cantabria, there is an area of equality and social responsibility that provides the university community with a series of initiatives and programs. Among these, I would highlight those related to family reconciliation, such as the Concilia Plan, the Nursery School, and the regular organization of Children’s Campuses during holiday periods. These are the longest-running programs and facilitate the exercise of motherhood and fatherhood, contributing to promoting the co-responsibility of women and men.

As I have already mentioned, I am a very perfectionist person, which makes it difficult for me to name any professional achievement that I am particularly proud of. I believe there is still much for me to learn and teach, but if I had to choose, I am left with three achievements. In terms of research, probably the project I am most proud and grateful to have participated in is a collaboration with the Cardiology Department of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, opening the way to the research and development of ultra-low power active implantable devices based on MEMS sensors and wireless power transmission. The other two are much more general: I continue to enjoy learning and facing new challenges, despite the difficulties and the effort it will entail, and having students who remember me and stop to talk with me on the street to tell me that they are doing well and thank me.

My advice for women who want to pursue their work at the university is to be patient and persevering, as it often takes many years to achieve a certain level of job stability. Being a university lecturer encompasses multiple aspects that can be very satisfying both personally and professionally, but also very demanding, as you often must prioritize which aspect you need to pay more attention to at a particular moment in your career, without abandoning the other. You must enjoy research and try to complete your PhD within a good group that provides support. But you also should train yourself as a good teacher. We all know examples of teachers who knew a lot but were not able to convey it to their students.

On the other hand, research from a public institution allows you greater freedom, in terms of time, scope, and priority lines, than research within a company which is subject to the demands of its own circumstances. As a counterpoint, you often compete with these companies, directly or indirectly, and usually with fewer experience, economic, personal, and equipment resources. In this sense, having a good network of contacts from other research groups is extremely useful, so you will have to develop your social skills and dedicate time to attending conferences and meetings, as well as carrying out, at least, a research stay of several months, preferably abroad.

My values are effort, respect, resilience, equality, empathy, ethics, honesty, camaraderie, critical thinking with others and with myself, and hope.

From the perspective of my work as a teacher, I will have to make a significant study effort to adapt the methodology and content of my classes to new technological advances, for example, in terms of AI, and to make them more attractive to my students. As the person responsible for an engineering curriculum, my challenges will be: First, to identify those aspects of it that need to be updated, so as to better respond to the current and even future needs of the labor market, within a global framework, and to improve my negotiation skills to reach a consensus solution with the different actors involved in its implementation. And second, to promote innovative and creative actions to disseminate engineering studies to bring the profession closer to society, trying to eliminate preconceived ideas and misconceptions that hinder the attraction of talent, especially female talent. Finally, from the point of view of research, the challenges here are the usual ones, to obtain innovative solutions in a short period of time, since technological development in electronics technology is characterized by a demanding time-to-market and a high competitiveness.

I hope to continue in the same place, because I like what I do, but I would like to further develop certain aspects of mixed and heterogeneous circuit design that would allow me to collaborate with other groups on larger multidisciplinary projects.

Since primary school, mathematics was my favorite subject; while I grow up my interests were more related with physics and experimental science.

I was deeply inspired by one of my professors who taught me for the first-time physics using dedicated physics experiments at the age of 15. Now I am still inspired by scientists who are trying to push the frontiers of knowledge and engineers who try to provide new technological solutions for better and efficient devices.

Design new electronic sensors based on microelectronics technology.

Develop Strong Foundations and Embrace Challenges.

honesty, integrity, fairness, and creativity.

Provide the adequate environment to develop novel microelectronic devices for future applications in health using ultrasound and supervising new PhD students.

Ideally, I envision myself being at the forefront of innovative projects, collaborating with diverse teams, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices.