My first steps towards STEM
AI has been at the centre of development for all STEM subjects . The interest in STEM subjects has grown, but the number of Women graduating in that subject has been around 35% for the last decade (1).
The first time I really remember having an interest in computers I was watching my dad fix a computer we had at the time. I remember looking at all the wires and the motherboard not really understanding what it is but knowing I found it fascinating.
I didn’t start out in cyber security. However I remember that I found it interesting when discussing a cyber attack that happened on a very popular games studio and how the studio recovered afterwards.
When it came to my time to choose which course I would pick, after a gap year and completing my Level 3 Games Design course, I knew I wanted to go back to Uxbridge College since it was somewhere I felt comfortable and supported. I thought that cyber security was a mixture of programming and maths but included a creative element of finding ways to prevent cyber security attacks. So I decided to do something I knew I enjoyed and that I could not only continue my learning, but make my skills better than before.
Overcoming self-doubt and challenges
At the age of 17 I had to refine my knowledge of the English language for my studies, and I had to manage a new country, a ‘new’ language and a new course. I am thankful to have great people who helped me when I started experiencing Imposter Syndrome.
After I turned 18, I decided to get a job at a pub in White City that surprisingly turned out to be helpful with developing my IT knowledge. I used to assist when the computers stopped working correctly and the PoS (Point of Sale) machines would often malfunction.
However, I wasn’t the best student during my Level 4 and Level 5 studies because that’s when the Imposter Syndrome was at its worst. My grades were not great and I didn’t feel like I belonged, especially with other students around me doing well and I wasn’t.
This changed after I went to university, especially with the environment change and getting more free time helped me stop feeling like I didn’t belong. Plus there were people from all walks of life, some people older than me and some people younger than me, but I saw that everyone there was just focussed on finishing their education, and that’s it. I stopped feeling like I needed to compare myself; I was on my own path and as long as I felt that I was doing well that’s what mattered.
No straight lines
I didn’t take a straight line approach with my education and it’s a very rare occurrence when someone does. More people are taking gap years to figure out what they want to do for their education. Even for master’s degrees, people sometimes go on to a master’s straight after finishing their bachelor’s degree, but more often than not people seem to prefer to get some experience before continuing their education. There are many paths to get to the finish line and the only thing that matters is that when you reach it you are happy to be there.
Artificial intelligence and its effects on women in STEM
AI has advanced so much from just 5 years ago to now. We have gone from the infamous Will Smith spaghetti eating video to now having ultra realistic videos where people debate if it is AI or not.
With this very fast evolving and developing technology with multiple different companies competing to see which one can do it better, it is concerning to see that female contributions globally are still only 30%, at most (2). This can cause the creation to have the same biases as its creator. For example, a study published by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) showed direct gender biases to more female sounding names when looking at a CV using recruitment automation algorithms (3).
AI is not all negative however, we have seen it be used in medicine and technology in very positive ways. In medicine we have seen it used to improve treatment recovery and in technology it has automated a lot of the pattern recognition of cyber security.
When it comes to cyber security, AI is increasing the speed, accuracy and scalability of threat detection and response. AI can be used to analyse a massive amount of traffic and find anomalies better than traditional systems. It can isolate compromised devices, block malicious IPs and trigger containment protocols without delays.
I am excited to see what other things AI can be used for in everyday items and tasks to make our lives as fulfilling as possible, especially in sectors such as healthcare, education and accessibility.
AI can be used to support students. One of the main things I used ChatGPT for was to explain different cyber security concepts in both English and Croatian, which is my native language. The best thing about it was that I kept asking it to simplify the terms until it made sense to me. AI can bridge that divide in knowledge which can appear if something is not understood fully.
Building a future in STEM
The future of STEM is being decided by the current students who are still discovering what they want to do in their careers. All perspectives are important in a constantly evolving environment, even with people coming from different backgrounds and with different experiences, this can be a positive influence on the course of research and the future of STEM.
My take would be to keep pushing and advocating for yourself. I never thought I would make it to university and now I will go to Newcastle University for a Cyber Security Masters.
By engaging with AI now, students and emerging professionals can help define a STEM future that is not only intelligent, but ethical, human-centred, and open to everyone.
Citations
(1) Unesco, "Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)", Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and
(2) Women Tech Network, "Women in Tech Stats 2026: Uncovering Trends and Unseen Data by WomenTech Network", 2025-2026, Women in Tech Stats 2025 | Women in Tech Network
(3) S. Njoto, M. Cheong, R. Lederman, A. McLoughney, L. Ruppanner and A. Wirth, "Gender Bias in AI Recruitment Systems: A Sociological-and Data Science-based Case Study," 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS), Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2022, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/ISTAS55053.2022.10227106.
