Member stories

Once a month, we are putting a woman who codes in the spotlight, to tell their story and to promote their skills and talent.

Sarah Klein

in the spotlight

Meet Sarah Klein, Senior Data Scientist

Who says data scientists don't sing in choirs?
Meet Dr. Sarah Klein, a German-born multitalented data scientist with a PhD in physics. And yes, Sarah is also part of a local choir since she moved to Belgium.

While Sarah originally didn't set out to start coding, she learned it more or less by chance during her physics studies and it helped steer her towards statistical physics which eventually led to her current job.

Read the story of Sarah Klein, Senior Data Scientist

in the spotlight

Meet Astrid De Ruddere, Full-stack developer

Astrid has been a web developer for over a decade, first working as an employee and later on she made the switch to going freelance. With JavaScript, the Vue framework and PHP as her main tools of trade, Astrid focusses on full-stack web development.

A few years ago she made the bold choice to launch a project of her own, a perfect way to push past her boundaries.

Curious what this entrepeneurial developer does during a normal weekday?

5 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Sarra Laksaci, Machine Learning Engineer

Sarra is a soon to be Machine Learning engineer, who became fascinated by computer vision and artificial intelligence during her studies. As you read this she is finising up her Master thesis, a study that identifies fire salamanders through their spot patterns.

In her free time, you might run into Sarra while she's visiting musea, exhibitions, local cities or trying out a new hobby. But her true passion lies in comic books, which has been reignited since she moved to Belgium.

Sarra is also a very gifted public speaker, something we were fortunate enough to learn at one of our previous events.

8 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Leonor Drummond, Data Scientist

Switching careers isn't always easy or straightforward. The same can be said after reading about Leonor's journey into tech. The road was bumpy, but thanks to her eagerness to learn and persevere, Leonor has become the data scientist she is today.

A big part of her job consists out of doing research, brainstorming and problem solving together with team members.

Outside work, Leonor is adventurous and has a big love for sports, such as snowboarding, hiking mountain trails, kite surfing and so on... but on a regular weekday, you are more likely to find her going on walks with her trusted labrador by her side.

6 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Asma Oualmakran, Software Security Consultant

Where there is software and data, there is usually a security risk. Asma specialises in both AI and cybersecurity and her work includes a variety of client work and internal work. Some days she spends time researching how AI's can be trained to be less biased, while other days she might be looking into clients' codebases to spot vulnaribilities and presenting them with solutions and best practices.

Asma is also an avid fish keeper, who has several fish tanks filled with colourful fish and corals. She even managed to find Nemo!

9 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Lisa Trapletti, Tech Lead

Sustainability is a big part of our future and it's thanks to Lisa that we had the chance to learn some good practices and ways to move forward. Lisa is a tech lead and senior software developer who's passionate about many things. Sustainability definitely being one of them.

But above all she's kind, emphatic and full of energy! ⚡️ The kind of person you wish to have as a mentor.

11 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Floriane Magera, Innovation Engineer

For Floriane, it wasn't exactly love at first sight with programming. It was only after she had to retake the course that she came to love it. Which led her to become an innovation engineer.

Floriane enjoys to challenge herself and sets out various objectives in order to grow. Whether it's on an athletic or a professional level. Besides cycling, running and hiking, she is also into slow fashion and upcycling clothes. But her biggest interest might be trying out all the different kinds of beer in the world!

11 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Laila Bougria, Software Engineer

Laila is a true source of inspiration. From early on in life she has enjoyed learning new things, wether it is out of sheer interest to try out a new hobby or to strengthen her career as a software engineer. But at some point she realised that it's actually the learning journey that appeals to her the most.

When Laila's passion for software engineering and her love for sharing knowledge was combined with the encouragement of fellow peers she pushed forward as a public speaker. Nowadays you can find Laila speaking at events such as Techorama and international dotNet conferences.

11 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Aline Lanckneus, Frontend Developer

Aline started out in veterinarian medicine, but after a while she realised that she wanted something different in life. A decision she didn't take lightly.

Her next career had to be intellectually challenging, have a decent salary and flexible hours So after doing research she came to the conclusion that IT was the obvious choice.

7 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Léa Heitz, Game, Tools & Systems Developer

Have you ever wondered what the career of a game developer looks like?
We certainly did! Meet Léa, who works as a game, tools and systems developer and who recently applied to a pretty well-known game studio!

Besides working on games, she's also an avid gamer herself, with a love for Sci-Fi / space-related games such as Astroneer and Deep Rock Galactic. But that's just a fraction of her many interests!

7 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Anna Varzina, Data Scientist

Anna came to Belgium for her PhD in civil engineering and applied mathematics, not long after she discovered her love for data science. And as it happens, one day she found her current job through our member network.

5 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Evelien Rutsaert, Teacher and Freelance Web Developer

Evelien is a college/university teacher who helps shape the young adult minds of our society and guide them through the world of media and tech. Besides teaching, Evelien is also a freelance web developer, helping companies build a better digital experience.

4 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Sophie Ragas, Accesibillity Consultant

Sophie is specialised in accessibility and helps clients understand that certain changes are needed to make their website accessible to as many people as possible. She also happens to be a big fan of everything related to royal families and runs a very cool and interesting website where you can read up on the history and facts of the royal families across the world!

7 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Aagje Reynders, Front-end Developer & UI/UX Designer

Aagje is a creative soul who has many skills and talents. One of her hobbies is cosplaying and creating parts of her costume. But she is also someone who cares a lot about diversity and working towards a more inclusive industry.

6 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Marta Luffarelli, Remote Sensing Scientist

A scientist, PHD candidate and yoga instructor are just a few parts to describe Marta, who has been working in the Earth Observation field since her studies. 🛰

6 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Stefanie Gevaert, Freelance Developer

Meet Stefanie Gevaert, an early Devine graduate who has been working as a front- and back-end developer for nearly a decade. Nowadays, Stefanie works on international projecta as a freelancer specialised in Craft CMS.

6 min read
in the spotlight

Oya Canli, Android Developer

Meet Oya Canli, who's got an impressive educational background in industrial engineering, philosophy and applied ethics! After becoming a mom, she made the switch to become an Android developer.

7 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Imane Benyecif K, web developer and graphic designer

Meet Imane Benyecif K., a talented graphic designer and web developer, who spends time mentoring students and is also part of a collective called 'We Cannot Work Like This'.

8 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Anna Gajecka, Software Tester

Meet Anna Gajecka, a software tester who transitioned from literature to software. While coding isn't necessarily required for manual testers, Anna's curiosity pushed her to take the first steps towards learning how to code.

10 min read
in the spotlight

Marie Hargitt, Full-stack developer

Meet Marie Hargitt, a full-stack developer, formerly working in digital communications and co-organiser of DataBeers Brussels.

5 min read
in the spotlight

Lisa Becker, Machine Learning Engineer

Meet Lisa Becker, who moved here from Germany, recently finished her masters degree in Science - Cognitive Systems and started working as a Machine Learning Engineer.

7 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Siu Soạn, Front-end developer

Siu is a former medical lab technician who made a career change after yearning for more creative work. It was her love for design and eagerness to learn that actually spiked an interest in digital and tech. Which in turn, pulled her towards a specialisation in frontend development.

6 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Christina Wunder, Corporate Communications Manager

It was only last year during the February edition of our TechTalks at Hackages that we had the pleasure of inviting Christina as a speaker. I think that everyone who has ever heard her speak will agree that she is an amazing speaker!

7 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Marijke Meersman, .Net consultant

Meet Marijke, a junior .Net consultant with mad nail art skills and a love for gadgets. Before switching to tech, Marijke graduated as an applied psychology major where she focused her thesis on e-mental health.

6 min read
in the spotlight

Meet Griet Van Loo, .Net consultant

Our newest interviewee, Griet is a software developer who’s trying to combine her work with running a household, a social life and keeping her cats alive. She keeps herself busy with putting things on her bucket list and trying to complete them, sadly not always at the same rate.

7 min read
in the spotlight

Zeynep H Kapusuz, Full-stack Developer

This months interviewee Zeynep, a woman, mother, wife, teacher, refugee, student and developer. Always pushing the boundaries to be the best version of herself.

6 min read
in the spotlight

Elke Heymans, Front-end consultant

Elke is a front-end developer with a strong interest in a variety of web technologies and who’s currently focusing on everything Vue related. In her spare time, you can find her taking photographs at events, training for half marathons.

9 min read
in the spotlight

Dr. Janine George, Computational Chemist

For this month’s issue we had the chance to interview a special type of programmer. Meet Janine George, a computational chemist using code and supercomputers as part of her research. 🤩

6 min read
in the spotlight

Silke Henderickx, Java /.NET Developer

Meet Silke, our newest spotlight member, She’s a Java/.NET developer and the co-founder/organiser of the newly-born Antwerp Java User Group. Besides being an all round geek, you can probably catch her playing Guild Wars 2 and reading fantasy novels.

10 min read
in the spotlight

Janique-ka John, Software Engineer

Meet Janique-ka John, who moved all the way from St. Vincent and Grenadines! She is a software engineer currently focussing on front-end and founder of the Women in Tech Caribbean community.

6 min read
in the spotlight

Ksenia karelskaya, Front-end Web Developer

Meet Ksenia Karelskaya, who's part of the NG-BE conference team and one of the people who's putting her shoulders under the NG-girls workshop.

4 min read
in the spotlight

Veerle Herbert, Freelance WordPress Developer

Meet our very first spotlight member, Veerle! Veerle works as freelance web developer for Con Impeto, doing mostly custom WordPress and front-end development.

8 min read