In Ecuador, there are still not many companies developing different types of technology, and those that exist to offer their services are leaving the country. This is pointed out by Jennifer Samaniego, research professor and educational innovation analyst at the Private Technical University of Loja (UTPL).

Samaniego was recognized by the international company Globant as the global winner in the category An inspiring leader at the Women that Build Awards 2023, which recognizes managers, directors, managers, founders with more than five years of experience and who make a significant impact in the Steam field. More than 190 women around the world were nominated in this edition.

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“At the country level we still don’t have many companies, from what we know there are four companies that are clearly developing these technologies, there may be small ventures emerging, but what we have seen is already quite advanced, with several years of experience, there are more or less four companies that we know are in Quito, Ibarra and Guayaquil,” he says.

According to the teacher, these companies, which offer services in the financial, cultural and educational fields, can still hardly be considered local and therefore have the need to go abroad. “They have to leave the country to offer these products, because it is often not seen as a contribution in local companies,” he claims.

Under this argument, he points out that various events are held in which entrepreneurs, businessmen, the academic community, etc. participate, in order to truly see the power of using new technologies that help improve certain processes.

A teacher from Ecuador won an award at the Globant – Women who build awards

Tourism, mining and medicine are some of the areas where the technology can be implemented, he says.

As examples, he states that in tourism you can give a better experience to the user. As for mining, he points out that in Mexico, Chile and Peru, companies are currently being trained with virtual reality. “It’s much easier to train a person who already has the whole program in virtual reality.”

For the field of medicine, he comments that it is ideal for students who are training, instead of doing it with a real patient, it is better to train in a virtual environment.

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When implementing these new technologies, Samaniego says that the focus is not to replace the real environment, but the idea is to improve the processes that are carried out, so that there are fewer risks and costs.

International award winner

For Samaniego, the Globant award is an honor, “to represent women who work in the technological field and at the same time so that the world can know what is happening in Ecuador in this field.”

“I work with immersive technology, all these emerging technologies in education, so for me that means yes, to be able to bring a story not just my story, but a story of different people and women who are really doing big things, really reducing the little. is a gap. Behind the award is eight years of work experience,” he says.

And citing United Nations figures, she says that 35% of women work in the Steam field and that one of the reasons would be that the number of women who study or have careers related to the field is “very small” and therefore, one of its goals is to encourage them to get more involved in this area.

Samaniego is responsible for the UTPL Virtual Reality Club, which started with eight students and currently has between 30 and 40 students. In addition, it is part of the Immersive Learning Network, which includes several universities, which were initially four and now twelve. In that area is the deputy director.

“The Women that Build Awards were created four years ago to encourage more women to join the tech industry by highlighting pioneering women who are making a positive impact. There is still a lot of work to be done to reduce the gender gap in our area. That’s why we take every opportunity to foster innovation and collaboration while promoting plurality and connecting women from different parts of the world,” said Patricia Pomies, Chief Operating Officer at Globant.

This year’s nomination process received the largest turnout to date: Women that Build Awards 2023 received more than 3,100 nominations, more than 1,100 female candidates, collected more than 120,000 votes and included 83 international judges. After final consideration, two overall winners were selected: