A New Era of Women in STEM on Qatar Foundation’s Edutainment Show
DOHA, Qatar, Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Five out of seven — that’s the groundbreaking number of female contestants in season 16 of Stars of Science. This historic representation is more than just a statistic; it is a testament to the quiet yet powerful revolution unfolding in the Arab world, within the laboratories, workshops, and brilliant minds of these female innovators. This season does not simply shine a spotlight on their achievements; it celebrates a shift in what it means to be a woman in STEM, challenging age-old gender norms and redefining innovation across the Arab world.

Since its inception, Stars of Science has supported 37 female alumnae, enabling them to develop countless brilliant innovative ideas that would eventually become products or services. In a recent previous season Eiman Al-Hamad from Qatar landed third place with her Arabic conversation fraud detection program, and for the first time, a woman—Omani scientific researcher and mother of three, Soumaiya Al Siyabi—was crowned the winner. The barriers that once seemed insurmountable are crumbling, with the women of season 16 leading the charge.
Historically, women have faced significant barriers in STEM fields, but the Arab world is witnessing a profound shift. According to UNESCO, countries such as Qatar, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia are recording higher percentages of female STEM graduates than many Western nations. Dr Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, spoke at the International Telecommunication Union’s celebration of International Girls in ICT Day, highlighting the importance of enhancing and empowering women. Dr Al Muftah noted that in 2021, women made up 70% of graduates in fields such as information systems, computer engineering, general engineering, medicine, pharmacy, and sciences. She emphasised that providing access to technology is essential for transforming Qatar into a knowledge-based economy that is inclusive of all, particularly women. This surge reflects a broader societal transformation, where women are increasingly recognised as key contributors to scientific and technological advancements.
The innovative ideas of the women in Stars of Science season 16 are more than technical achievements — they are powerful catalysts for change, addressing critical challenges in the Arab world and beyond. From Khadidja Fellah Arbi’s work in healthcare with her ‘ECG-based glucometer’to Emma Sleiman’s efforts in enhancing the diagnosis of ADHD in children with the ‘ADHD multimodel classifier,’ their contributions are filling critical gaps in regional healthcare.
Nada Raafat Elkharashi and Mariam Montaser are setting new standards in sustainability and healthcare. Elkharashi’s achievements in sustainable technology with a ‘Self-powering biosticker’ and Montaser’s ‘Testing kit for bacterial respiratory infections’ highlight the pivotal role women in STEM play in addressing global issues. Meanwhile, Sanaa Belkoutbi’s ‘Drone structure inspector inside mosques’ demonstrates how women in STEM can uniquely blend cultural preservation with modern engineering, ensuring that progress does not come at the expense of heritage.
Female enrolment in STEM programmes continues to rise, reflecting the growing recognition of women’s vital role in these fields. Platforms like Stars of Science, championed by Qatar Foundation, are pivotal in driving this transformation, offering essential visibility and unwavering support that empower women to excel and lead.
As Sarah Aboerjaib, a distinguished alumna and guest mentor of Stars of Science, stated: “As women, we invent not just to create, but also to inspire. Every invention is a story of resilience, a testament to the power of imagination, and a beacon for those who dare to dream beyond boundaries.”
Season 16 of Stars of Science is more than just a competition; it marks the dawn of a new era. The future of STEM in the Arab world is driven by the determination of these extraordinary women. As they forge ahead, they’re not just playing the game — they are rewriting the rules. The future is female, and it has never looked more promising.
Stars of Science airs from 7 September 2024 to 19 October 2024 on five channels in the region and online. Please visit the broadcast guide for channels and timings.
About Stars of Science:
Throughout 16 years of success, Stars of Science – the edutainment TV initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF) – has leveraged its position as the premier innovation show in the Arab world to empower Arab innovators to successfully transform innovative ideas into tangible solutions, strengthening the culture of innovation among Arab youth. In its sustained journey that started in 2009, the show has demonstrated how young Arab innovators develop technological solutions for their communities, aiming to improve people’s well-being, provide financial opportunities to their local citizens, and advance sustainable development.
Over a 12-week process, the contestants develop their solutions experimentally in a shared innovation space, competing against time with the mentorship and support of a team of experienced engineers and product developers.
An expert panel of jurors assesses and selects more promising innovators and their projects every week across several prototyping and testing rounds until three finalists remain to compete for a share of the Grand Prize. Jury deliberation and online voting from the public determine the rankings of the two top winners.
To know more about Stars of Science, please visit: Website, Facebook, X, Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, and LinkedIn.
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PUNE, India, Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Persistent Systems (BSE: 533179) (NSE: PERSISTENT), a global pioneer in Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization, today announced the intent to acquire Arrka, a Pune-based company renowned for its decade-long data privacy expertise, its pioneering Data Privacy Management platform and growing expertise in AI governance. This strategic acquisition significantly enhances Persistent’s AI-led, platform-driven services and strengthens its ability to provide comprehensive offerings in digital governance, including data privacy, AI governance, and cybersecurity, among others. With Arrka’s expertise, Persistent will help clients accelerate their transformation journeys while ensuring ethical, responsible, and compliant AI.

With the widespread adoption of AI, implementing and managing digital governance in general and data privacy and responsible AI are taking center stage for enterprises across industries. Persistent is addressing the opportunities in AI through strategic investments in innovative platforms like SASVA™, an in-house cutting-edge platform using generative and deterministic AI, as well as through tuck-in acquisitions such as that of Starfish Associates, to strengthen its position in AI-powered Contact Center and Unified Communications. The integration of Arrka is a critical component in scaling Persistent’s AI practice and addressing the rising demand for digital governance. It is a key to the Company’s strategy to deliver responsible, ethical, and comprehensive platform-driven digital solutions.
Arrka’s Data Privacy Management platform enables organizations to manage their data privacy risks and comply with multi-jurisdictional legal and regulatory requirements in an integrated manner. Persistent will integrate and significantly broaden Arrka’s offerings to establish deep capabilities across the digital governance and trust domain, including:
AI Governance and Ethics: Equipping organizations to implement and manage AI risks, ensuring trust and governance across their AI initiatives.Data Privacy: Scaling Arrka’s Data Privacy expertise to help businesses enhance and mature their ability to comply with multiple privacy laws and regulations in a holistic manner.Privacy in AI Product Engineering: Offering privacy-by-design capabilities that help embed ethical and trustworthy practices into AI development, thus ensuring transparent and explainable systems.Consent and Rights Management: Developing tailored solutions for managing user consent, handling data subject rights requests, and ensuring transparency in data processing across multiple platforms and jurisdictions.AI Systems Auditing and Compliance Management: Offering continuous compliance and auditing solutions to ensure comprehensive monitoring of AI systems.Sandeep Kalra, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Persistent: 
“Arrka’s acquisition perfectly aligns with our vision to deliver AI-driven services that fuel innovation and ensure data privacy, ethics, and compliance at every stage. By integrating Arrka’s expertise with our AI-led, platform-driven services strategy, we are empowering businesses to innovate responsibly while managing risk and compliance more effectively. Their mature frameworks and Data Privacy Management platform provide a scalable foundation to ensure this new capability is platform-driven and embeds governance from the outset, which is now critical for successful AI implementations. We’re delighted to welcome Shivangi and her talented team as we strengthen our digital governance and data privacy offerings and shape the future of responsible AI together.”
Shivangi Nadkarni, Co-Founder, Arrka: 
“The acquisition by Persistent catapults Arrka onto the global stage. With the strength and resources of Persistent, we now have the opportunity to go from what has been a specialist, boutique business working with select long-term clients in India, to expanding our footprint into global markets and deepening our expertise rapidly in multiple areas of digital governance. Moreover, this has come at an opportune time, just when this domain is experiencing significant growth globally with the rise of AI. The Arrka team is excited by the opportunities ahead.”
Chirag Mehta, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research: 
“As customers accelerate their adoption of AI, the urgency to address data privacy and compliance challenges has never been greater. Persistent’s acquisition of Arrka strengthens its AI-led, platform-first approach, empowering customers to confidently pursue their business goals while tackling these critical security concerns head-on.”
About Persistent
Persistent Systems (BSE & NSE: PERSISTENT) is a global services and solutions company delivering Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization to businesses across industries. With over 23,500 employees located in 19 countries, the Company is committed to innovation and client success. Persistent offers a comprehensive suite of services, including AI-enabled software engineering, product development, data and analytics, CX transformation, cloud computing, and intelligent automation. The Company has been recognized as the “Most Promising Company” of the Year by CNBC-TV18 at the 2023 India Business Leader Awards. As a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, Persistent is committed to aligning strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, as well as take actions that advance societal goals.
www.persistent.com
Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
For risks and uncertainties relating to forward-looking statements, please visit persistent.com/flcs
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With collaboration from Cohere, Fujitsu promotes the utilization of generative AI by achieving advanced customization in a secure private environment
News Facts:
Fujitsu launches Takane, a Japanese-language large language model (LLM) designed for secure enterprise useIntegrated into Fujitsu’s AI service Fujitsu Kozuchi and offered through the all-in-one operation platform Fujitsu Data Intelligence PaaS (DI PaaS)Specialized and tailored for industry-specific use and trained for the Japanese language (world-class score on the JGLUE benchmark) to address the challenges of using LLMs in sensitive industries that require a high degree of accuracy and reliabilityTOKYO, Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Fujitsu today announced the launch of Takane, a large language model (LLM) designed for enterprise use in secure private environments. Developed in collaboration with Cohere Inc., (1) Takane represents a significant leap forward in generative AI capabilities, offering world-class Japanese language capabilities.

Fujitsu will integrate this new LLM into its generative AI services on Fujitsu Kozuchi and offer it through Fujitsu Data Intelligence PaaS (DI PaaS), an all-in-one operation platform that is part of Fujitsu Uvance, Fujitsu’s portfolio of solutions addressing cross-industry societal challenges. Takane will be available globally starting September 30, 2024.
Takane, which has achieved world-leading results on the Japanese General Language Understanding Evaluation (JGLUE) benchmark (2), is designed for enterprise use in a secure private environment. Fujitsu will offer Takane alongside its generative AI framework for enterprises which comprises knowledge graph extended RAG technology for referencing large-scale text and monitoring technology for generative AI that ensures output is compliant with laws, regulations, and corporate rules. With this comprehensive approach, Fujitsu aims to create an LLM that supports customers’ business transformation.
With the launch of Takane, Fujitsu elevates its generative AI offerings on Fujitsu Kozuchi with a high-precision LLM tailored for secure private environments. This strategic move aligns with Fujitsu’s vision for seamlessly integrating generative AI into business operations.
Takane will also be provided under an initiative to deliver total support for customers’ generative AI journeys by combining the LLM with its Uvance Wayfinders consulting service and broader Fujitsu Uvance offerings. With this comprehensive approach, Fujitsu aims to empower customers to unlock new value and address societal issues by enhancing productivity, creativity, and innovation in their business operations.
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