WHETHER YOU ’ RE FROM A COMPUTING BACKGROUND OR A MECHANICAL , ELECTRICAL OR CIVIL ENGINEERING BACKGROUND , THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE .
EDUCATION HAS A CRITICAL ROLE TO PLAY IN THE FUTURE OF DATA CENTRES AND IT ’ S IMPORTANT WE GENERATE THE TALENT .
WOMEN IN DATA CENTRES
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WHETHER YOU ’ RE FROM A COMPUTING BACKGROUND OR A MECHANICAL , ELECTRICAL OR CIVIL ENGINEERING BACKGROUND , THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE .
From a non-technical perspective , you need to be active on social media in this digital era . Don ' t hesitate to connect with senior people on LinkedIn who have been in the data centre industry for a while .
I ’ d also recommend attending industry events that take place in all corners of the world every year . Speak to the people that inspire you who are doing talks at the event .
Lastly , I would recommend connecting with the female leaders of the data centre industry – this can be via LinkedIn or in person at industry events . They are always ready and willing to help you out and be a listening ear .
How critical is the education sector for determining the future of data centres ?
Extremely critical . Education has a critical role to play in the future of data centres and it ’ s important we generate the talent . It ' s about creating training and workforce development opportunities which start at the education level .
Considering the amount of research and innovation being introduced to the data centre space regarding energy efficiency and sustainability processes , as well as AI capabilities , these ideas and innovations all result – directly or indirectly – from academia .
We can also help to encourage women at the education level to adopt STEM careers . If women have a STEM degree and wish to enter the data centre industry , they can hit the ground running compared to those coming from a non- STEM background .
People are still unsure of how to get into STEM because they haven ’ t been taught about the data centre industry in school . From my perspective , if you want to reach the leadership level within data centres , you need to take up a career in STEM and we as an industry need to do more to promote this and raise awareness of the wide-ranging possibilities it offers .
From an academic perspective , how can we encourage more young women to take up a career in this field and why is this important ?
We need to share the success stories of females in the data centre space . We need to consider how they balance their personal life and their professional life . We need to bring women together to share their experiences with one another and a way of achieving this could be via networking opportunities at industry events where female leaders can unite .
What key messaging should we be communicating with young women and students to highlight the opportunities / benefits / advantages of being part of this community ?
This is a field that is ever growing , particularly because of AI , and I don ' t see this growth trajectory slowing down any time soon . The great thing about this industry is that it requires such a diverse range of expertise – whether you ’ re from a computing background or a mechanical , electrical or civil engineering background , there is something for everyone . There is also the option to transfer your skills within the industry , rather than switching to another organisation . There is always an opportunity to learn and to broaden your skillset and it ’ s a fascinating industry to be a part of .
What sorts of challenges do you face as an academic when raising awareness to your students about this crucial industry and the need to appeal to more women ?
There are several challenges we face but there are becoming less and less compared to when I entered the industry eight years ago . In the UK , we lack in providing a good curriculum related to data centres . I ’ m only aware of a couple of universities in the UK that would teach data centres as a separate module or at a high level .
Even at my university , seven or eight years ago we didn ’ t teach anything data centre-related . Now , I lead the cloud computing module where I have over 500 students per term . The curriculum is designed in a way that I can introduce more data centre aspects into it and if just one of those 500 students takes up a career in data centres , that ' s a big achievement for us .
The other challenge I face is students often request to see how data centres work in-practice . During the last academic term , I reached out to many data centre operators and they opened their doors to us . If there are any data centre operators willing to do the same , particularly in London , we have lots of students who are keen to get involved and will be more likely to take up a career in data centres after having practical exposure . �
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EDUCATION HAS A CRITICAL ROLE TO PLAY IN THE FUTURE OF DATA CENTRES AND IT ’ S IMPORTANT WE GENERATE THE TALENT .
Women in data centres 9