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IX-WAI Women in Science Career Day 2025

Key Details:

Time: 10.00-17.00
Date: Wednesday, 11 June
Location: In Person | I-X Level 6
Translation and Innovation Hub (I-HUB)
Imperial White City Campus
84 Wood Lane
London W12 0BZ

10:00 - 17:00
11/06/2025
Register

Speakers

Marion Brooks

Senior Product Analyst, Bloom & Wild (Raw Truth Panel Member)

Dr Marion Brooks-Bartlett is a Senior Product Analyst in Bloom & Wild where she is responsible for experimentation, insights and analysis of new product features across web and apps for almost 4 years. Prior to this, she was a Senior Data Analyst working on merchandising and email performance and generally has a passion for the Data Analytics sphere. She obtained a PhD in Material Physics from UCL and Uppsala Universitet, Sweden, which involved numerical investigations of phase transitions in magnetic materials resulting in two publications and she has a first class MSci in Chemistry. In her spare time, she is a mental health advocate through her independent projects: “One Times You Massage” and “PhD Mindfulness”. 

Ola Hekselman

CEO and Co-Founder, Solveteq (Raw Truth Panel Member)

Dr A.K. Ola Hekselman is an award-winning entrepreneur, chemist, and battery scientist dedicated to advancing sustainable energy technologies. She is the CEO and Co-founder of Solveteq, an Imperial College London spinout developing a solvent-based platform to decarbonise metal extraction processes. Her transition from academic researcher to entrepreneur was supported by Imperial’s extensive support system, including programmes like Techcelerate, IVMS, the Faraday Institution Entrepreneurial Fellowship, and the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award.

Nora Kassner

Research Scientist, Google DeepMind (Raw Truth Panel Member)

Nora Kassner is a Research Scientist at Google DeepMind. Before that she was a researcher at Meta AI and a PhD student at the Center for Information and Language Processing, Munich. During her PhD, she was a Research Intern with the Allen Institute for AI and Meta AI. Her research focuses on knowledge integration and reasoning in Large Language Models and Language Model Agents.

Niki Kotecha

A PhD researcher, Imperial College London & Founder of Transpexa (Raw Truth Panel Member)

Niki Kotecha is a PhD researcher at Imperial College London, working on multi-agent reinforcement learning for decentralized decision-making in supply chains. She’s the founder of Transpexa, an early-stage startup developing AI-powered decision support tools to help supply chain managers coordinate inventory, logistics, and demand forecasting across distributed networks. The idea was born from her research and aims to bring cutting-edge AI tools into the hands of real-world operators. She’s developed the concept through accelerators such as We Innovate 2024 and Conception X and was awarded the Engineers in Business Fellowship. Alongside building Transpexa, she’s an Associate Student Investor at Creator Fund, a leading pre-seed VC fund investing in PhD-led deep tech startups where she works on sourcing and evaluating technologies emerging from university labs.

Sabrina Li

Assistant Professor, School of Geography, University of Nottingham (Raw Truth Panel Member)

Dr. Sabrina Li is an Assistant Professor in the School of Geography at the University of Nottingham, having been appointed to the role immediately following the completion of her DPhil at the University of Oxford. An environmental engineer by training and a medical geographer by trade, she is primarily interested in understanding the complex interactions between human health and the environment. To address the complexity of this research focus, Sabrina utilises large spatial data sets and tools from geographic data science and GeoAI. Sabrina is passionate about science communication. She has been recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30 in in Science and Healthcare, by the British Science Association as an Award Lecturer in Medical, Agricultural, and Biological Sciences, and a nominee for the UK Asian Women of Achievement Awards in Science.

Francesca Toni

Professor in Computational Logic, Imperial College London (Raw Truth Panel Member)

Francesca Toni is Professor in Computational Logic and Royal Academy of Engineering/JP Morgan Research Chair on Argumentation-based Interactive Explainable AI (XAI) at the Department of Computing, Imperial College London, UK, as well as the founder and leader of the CLArg (Computational Logic and Argumentation) research group and of the Research Centre in XAI . She holds an ERC Advanced grant on Argumentation-based Deep Interactive eXplanations (ADIX).  Her research interests lie within the broad area of  Explainable AI, at the intersection of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, Machine Learning, Computational Argumentation, Argument Mining, and Multi-Agent Systems.  She is EurAI fellow, IJCAI Trustee, in the Board of Directors for KR Inc., member of the editorial board for  Theory and Practice of Logic Programming,  and general chair for IJCAI2026.

Tracy Bussoli

Consultant, I-X Centre for AI in Science & Imperial Early Career Researchers Institute (Workshop Leader)

Tracy is an experienced trainer, facilitator, and coach working with Schmidt AI in Science Fellows at the Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI), Imperial. Her background is in genetics, having obtained a PhD from the Medical Research Council. She then completed a Masters in Genetic Counselling and was a clinician for 8 years within the Clinical Genetics Department at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. She has spent the last 16 years working with a range of organisations across the UK and Europe, offering coaching and training to scientists, doctors, academics, and administrative staff. She has a diploma in Executive Coaching, is MBTI qualified and delivers 121 coaching and training on a wide range of subject areas including leadership, communication skills and career planning. She has a passion for supporting individuals in all aspects of their lives and career.

Emma Francis

Researcher Developer, Imperial Early Career Researchers Institute (Workshop Leader)

Emma is a professionally qualified careers coach, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a researcher developer. Her work at Imperial builds on over twenty years’ experience working in the people development field in Higher Education, HR, management and leadership development roles, spanning the public, private and charitable sector in the UK and Asia. Emma provides tailored career development coaching, professional skills training and facilitates development opportunities for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Through the ECRI Ones to Ones, she supports ECRs on a range of topics with a large proportion focused on exploring and applying for Fellowship opportunities. Emma chairs the mock interviews, which include Fellowship interviews for a range of funders from  UKRI, Wellcome, European Funders and Charities. Feedback from the one to ones and mock interviews consistently commend her insightful and supportive approach.

Milette Gillow

Co-Founder, The Tech Bros (Workshop Leader)

Sedinam Simpson

Co-Founder, The Tech Bros (Workshop Leader)

Talk Summary

Join us at our very first Women in Science Career Day! Whether you are interested in academia, industry, or launching your own startup, our Career Day offers something for everyone. Through three streams of workshops and panel discussions, you will have the opportunity to connect with leading researchers, partner companies, and emerging start-ups.

 

Why Attend?

  • Tailored Workshops: Participate in three streams of workshops focused on career development, including topics like funding your research, exploring industry careers, and building your personal brand.
  • Networking Opportunities: Engage with top researchers, professionals from leading companies, and start-up founders.
  • Hands-on Learning & Expert Insights: Gain valuable skills and knowledge, and learn from successful women in STEM who have been where you are and can guide you on your journey.

 

Who Is This Event For?

This event is designed mainly for PhD students and early career researchers, but anyone with a passion for STEM and a curiosity about the diverse career paths available is very welcome! Whether you are considering a career in academia, industry, or even launching your own start-up, join us to connect, learn, and explore the diverse career paths! 

 

Agenda

09:30 AM – Registration and Coffee

10:00 AM – Opening Talk

10:30 AM – Mornings Workshops

  • Research Funding: Securing Fellowships
  • Unlocking a New Career: Opportunities Beyond Academia
  • Starting a Business: Testing and Growing your Ideas

12:00 PM – Lunch

1:00 PM – Afternoon Workshops

  • Landing Your First Post-Doc
  • Building Your Personal Website (and Personal Brand)
  • Fundraising 101: What Makes a VC-backable Start-up

2:30 PM – Coffee Break

2:45 PM – Panel of “Raw Truth” (Industry, Academia, Start-up Founders)

3:30 PM – Closing Remarks

3:45 PM – Networking

 

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