Our colleague Shanna Cloet is one of eight candidates competing for the title of Rising Tech Star at the DataNews She Goes ICT Awards. We asked her why this nomination is so important for her and what ambitions she still has.
What does this nomination mean for you personally?
“When I studied ICT, I was one of five girls in a group of over 200 students. It’s no secret that our sector is still very much a man’s world. Awards like this give the many girls in the IT world a boost and show that it is indeed possible to build a great career in IT as a woman.”
“What’s more, I’m convinced that women offer important added value in our field. We dare to look past the purely technical side of things and pay far more attention to the human aspect. I myself, for instance, think it’s crucial that decisions are not only technically sound but are also upheld by the whole organisation.”
What is your role within Fost Plus?
“As an IT Manager, I lead a team of about thirty-five people. Many of them are external staff – which is not unreasonable for a small organisation like Fost Plus. Together we provide the digital support for all our activities. And there are quite a few of them, because we coordinate the collection and recycling of household packaging throughout Belgium and for that, we work with companies, intermunicipal organisations, waste collectors, sorting centres and so on.”
“By focusing on digitalisation, we help colleagues to make our services more efficient and more user friendly. I like doing that in a small organisation where you get direct feedback from users. It also makes it particularly important that we explain clearly why we do something. The human aspect pops up again here.”
What are your ambitions for the coming years?
“Data are our gold. I know that sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. The data we gather and process are crucial for our entire ecosystem: our partners and our members, but also the authorities and public. They give us an insight into new trends and developments and they form the basis for future innovations.”
“Over the past few years, we have laid the foundations to systematically increase the quality of our data. The introduction of MyFost, the new declaration system for our members, really was a milestone here. But it’s not the end. On the contrary. We aim to make it as easy as possible for everyone to share their data. Artificial intelligence – one of my pet peeves – is sure to be able to help us with this, for example by automatically detecting errors in the packaging declaration.”
“At the same time, we want to offer our stakeholders more possibilities of working with their data themselves, as well. So with our IT systems, we offer added value not only for our own organisation, but for the outside world, too. Security is another pillar that requires our constant attention. We don’t want to expose our valuable – and often confidential – data just like that.”
“But as far as I’m concerned, the essence is always the same. Our IT systems must be at the service of our people and the achievement of our mission – a world in which no packaging is lost.”
Vote for Shanna!
Inspired by Shanna’s story? Then support her candidacy for the Rising Tech Star award on https://shegoesict.be/vote-for-rising-tech-star/.
