Meet Rania SAADI, the Algerian TechGirl 2019

Rania SAADI 

City: Aïn Beïda, Oum El Bouaghi, Algeria

Age: 17-year-old

Level: Baccalaureate Student at Cheikh Lakhdar Boukeffa High School

Interest: Artificial Neural Networks, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, Advanced Algebra, Calculus, Nanotechnology and Neurology.

Achievements:
2019 TechGrils participant in USA

The Mathematic Olympiad Program participant,

Addicted to online learning,she completed data analysis, android app development, python and web development courses on Udacity platform.

Goals:

Integrate technology into the daily life of her village by building a community engagement platform.

Tell us about your learning experience in Verginia Tech  ?

It was my first experience in a university class and what made it even more exciting is that it was also my first time attending coding classes.

If I had to talk about my favorite part, I'd narrate every single session!

The professors were very dedicated and extremely generous while delivering the lessons. The assistants were also very helpful! Coding is about meeting errors after all and letting us toy with them before receiving corrections was very mind developing.

The cyber security classes were particularly enlightening considering that the topic isn't generally taught in workshops.

As beginners, we don't stride too far from the coding part and we always leave security as the last skill to be polished but now I'd confidently say that every TechGirl found a soft spot for one of the cyber security skills.I personally feel tempted to explore more about cryptography.

Java was a nice breather since it was mostly about building games and playing around with image processing. I like the fact that we did both programming in blocs and lines. It was a very efficient way of introducing Java all the while gaining experience with different softwares.

How did you build your impact project?

For my impact project, I decided to give my community what I always wanted to have as a teenager who likes STEM, a family to be around. I found that during my TechGirls experience but as soon as I got back home, I felt like a stranger in my own world again.

That's why I'm creating a web platform to regroup students in middle and secondary school who are interested in STEM to learn, teach and build that kind of give and take environment that all the citizen of Aïn Beïda miss.

I also want to introduce my community through that to the exchange programs and contests they could get involved into but didn't get informed of. That in effort to build the informative channel we lack.

The website's name will be Qilin15, it will start with a family of 15 people and then hopefully expand to change our lifestyle bearing the weight of the name it holds; a legendary creature powerful enough to invoke transformation.

What did you learn from the Job Shadow Day?

I was hosted at AT&T offices in Washington DC with my Algerian friend, Ines BERGADI. Where we had the privilege to visit the AT&T Forum for Technology and Entertainment Policy and the DIRECTV studio. We met AT&T women engineers who inspired us by their career stories and experience in tech world.

It was and unforgettable day J

I’m so happy that our visit was posted on AT&T blog on July 24^th, 2019 BRIDGING THE GENDER GAP IN STEM WITH TECHGIRLS

How was your journey at the campus with new friends from US, MENA and Central Asia?

I have never met so much diversity in my entire life and it was such a refreshing experience. Even though I faced some difficulties blending in at first, I found everyone to be so kind and welcoming.

Every girl had a unique character and a different story that brought her to STEM and it was inspiring to see so many people from different backgrounds share the same passion.

I particularly liked the mix J

The US girls were the most energetic among us and coming from my culture, I didn't value happiness and purpose as much as I should have; If I become any different, it will be thanks to them.

The Central Asia girls were very kind and had a very colorful culture that I found very interesting to explore. We were also happy to find that we had a lot in common.

I then found comfort in spending some time with the MENA girls when I missed my home.

We are very excited to welcome Rania in our  TechWomen TechGirl  Algeria Club

#techgirls19 #DZTWTG