How UAE female coders are bucking the trend

Abu Dhabi: It may be a male-dominated field right now, but women in the UAE are bucking the trend in coding and software development.

Additionally, 42 female tech enthusiasts in Abu Dhabi, a peer-to-peer free coding school that is part of a global network, is passionate about inspiring more women to join what they see as the future of the UAE and both countries globally.

Hamda Al Wahedi, 28, an Emirati student at 42 Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News: “I have no background education in coding, but the course at 42 Abu Dhabi In between, I’ve been able to develop three games and a messaging app. A woman must [inspired to learn coding and software development] By seeing other women prove themselves in this field, this is actually one of mine [goals]: to succeed and be a role model for other female programmers,” Hamda Al Wahedi, 28, a 42-year-old Emirati student in Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News.

“As women, we are naturally good at critical thinking and analysis. I believe the future lies in digital transformation and the automation of manual tasks, which is why I wanted to delve deeper into machine learning and artificial intelligence,” said Maha Al Hosani, 23, who is another coder at the school.

The two women are among many other students in 42 Abu Dhabi, which has one of the highest ratios of boys to girls in the entire network of 42 coding schools around the world. Currently, more than 30 percent of the school’s 353 students are women.

Marcos Muller Habig, the school’s acting chief executive, said: “We have seen a major shift in recent years as more and more women choose to go into coding and pursue careers in technology. 42 Abu Dhabi has played an important role in supporting Abu Dhabi’s strategic vision to create a diverse and inclusive educational infrastructure that will prepare the workforce for the future by empowering women from all walks of life to learn to code.

“I am proud to say that in 42 Abu Dhabi, 111 of our students are women or 32% of the total student body and 49 of our students are Emirati female coders. 42 The ratio of male to female coders in Abu Dhabi is One of the highest of all 42 online schools, which in itself is an incredible milestone for us and further accelerates our efforts to foster an educational ecosystem that empowers women to thrive and succeed at work in tech .”

42 The women of Abu Dhabi firmly believe that they have a place in the coding world, and look enthusiastically back to the fact that the first computer programmer in history – British mathematician Ada Lovelace – was a woman, since the discovery of the first computer error, American computer scientist Dr. Grace Hopper.

“Today everything depends on technology, and that was clear to me when I worked as an operational petrophysicist. For example, a lot of my work in oil drilling requires remote sensing, which relies on software, and I Hopefully we can create this software ourselves instead of paying a fortune to buy or upgrade it,” Al Wahedi said.

She taught herself to code, taking nearly 20 online courses. Then, looking for a training camp to develop her skills, she stumbled upon 42 Abu Dhabi and entered an intense four-week qualifier called Piscine.

“Piscine was intense, it wasn’t even a coding language I’d been learning. But when I got through it, I knew it. So I quit my job, joined 42 Abu Dhabi, and started a Masters in Data Analytics,” Al Wahedi explain.

She completed her master’s degree in January 2023 and will complete her 42nd Abu Dhabi project this year. Al Wahedi has found a tech job where she plans to lead a foray into data analytics and machine learning in the UAE.

“I want to be the guy who creates software, not pays for it, and that’s what I want to do. I also want to make other women proud and inspire them,” she said.

Like her, Mona Al Hadrami, 27, knows nothing about programming, but she sees a future in the field.

“I didn’t know how to write a single line of code because I graduated as a chemical engineer. But I could see that the whole system was built on code, and that inspired me to join 42 Abu Dhabi,” said Al Hadrami.

Although she found the school’s peer-to-peer teaching system a challenge, Al Hadrami was determined to succeed.

“Coding is dominated by men, but I am proud to be an Emirati woman in the field. In fact, even before I finished my program, I had developed an app to support local productive families and enable them to The platform sells their products,” Al Hadrami said.

Al Hosani, on the other hand, decided to become a coder to compensate for the lack of women in the industry.

“I graduated with a degree in Information Security and noticed that many people switched careers away from their field of study because they found coding and software development a challenge. skills. Beyond that, I hope to pursue a master’s degree and work in software engineering,” she said.

It’s not just Emirati women who are drawn to the dynamic world of coding and programming.

Syrian sculptor Reem Aldahhan, 23, also recently joined the program at the Abu Dhabi-based coding school.

“I see my future in this field. But I also believe that coding will become more refined due to more women who bring a meticulous, detail-oriented approach,” she said.