“I feel very honoured and happy to have received this award. It feels like proof that what I do actually matters, and it serves as a motivation to stay involved and inspire more young girls and women to choose a career in tech,” says Amanda Sternberg.
The prize is awarded annually by Microsoft Sweden and Amanda Sternberg has been awarded it because she is “a talent with energy, drive and passion that is very impressive. She is also a person with courage who dares to go her own way.”
In order to attract young girls to the tech industry, Amanda Sternberg believes that we need to reach out to girls before they choose educational orientation at upper secondary school and that we have to break the norms about tech being something complicated.
“We need to make it easy to understand, so that young girls feel at an early stage that they want to be part of driving the innovation of the future. It’s about using platforms where they already exist and giving them understandable information about what tech is, without complicated terms, and how it drives change.”
She believes that girls want to understand the big picture and see what technology can be used for in practice.
“When they do, it becomes easier to feel that they can also be a part of that world, no matter what their background is.”
From horseback to future innovation
“I started riding when I was five years old and got my first horse when I was eight.”
A career in riding took off from there. She became an elite rider and part of the youth national eventing team. She participated in several championships and collected several medals.
“It’s probably all the years in the stables that have shaped me into the person I am today – an ambitious girl who always wants more and never gives up,” she says.
At upper secondary school, Amanda Sternberg studied science and then moved to Germany to pursue her riding career. After a year, she decided to ´change horses`. She moved back to Sweden and started studying at LiU – which was not an obvious course of action.
“I’m interested in how digitalisation and AI affect society and globalisation in general, especially considering that we’re living in a new technological era where what feels new today will be a natural part of our everyday life tomorrow. But I was worried about going into a male-dominated industry where women have different challenges. Since I’venever been a girl to back away from challenges, I thought that I can always give it a try. If it doesn’t suit me, I can always take a different path.”
What attracted her to the IT programme at LiU, and meant she remained there, was that it combines technological aspects with societal benefit in a way that feels both relevant and applicable, without getting too niche or purely technical.
“The programme provides a broad and deep understanding of what tech and IT really is and how it can be used in practice. We learn not only the technical parts, but also how technology can be linked to business development, innovation and societal benefit.”
Another major benefit of the IT programme is problem-based learning (PBL) in groups.
“This allows us to practice working together, solving real problems and thinking critically – just as we will do in working life,” says Amanda Sternberg.
An ambassador who makes technology understandable
“I’m really looking forward to both of these mentorships because they both give me tools to grow as a leader and to deepen my technical skills,” says Amanda Sternberg.
As an ambassador, she will work with experts from Microsoft to create materials on different platforms that explain tech on a simple and understandable level.
“The goal is to break down complex topics such as AI, machine learning and the cloud in a way that feels accessible and inspiring to show that tech doesn’t have to be difficult or scary. Because basically, tech is just about solving problems with innovation.”
Since women today only make up one third of tech professionals, it is particularly important to reach out to young girls.
“We still see an imbalance in terms of gender distribution in the industry, but by promoting and providing support to women in tech, we can both inspire more people to dare to take the step in and show that women have a natural place in this industry.”
“The tech industry is so diverse and there’s room for everyone – whether you like programming, design or solving societal problems through technology. It’s about finding your own way and daring to believe that you can make a difference. I really believe that more girls could thrive and flourish in tech and the more of us there are, the more we change the industry and create a more inclusive future,” says Amanda Sternberg.
