The submission of candidatures for the Gladys Award, which recognises the work of women in the Basque digital environment, is now open

The Gladys Award aims to reward the careers of women up to 40 years of age and to promote the projection of female role models.

The deadline for submitting nominations is 20 June 2023 and candidates may submit their candidacy or may be proposed by an organisation or company.

This year, as a novelty, the winner will receive a prize of 4,000 euros, and will have the opportunity to give several conferences to publicise her work.

Organised by PUNTUEUS and the Faculty of Computer Science of the UPV/EHU, with the support of the Body for Equality of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and Emakunde, the Basque Women’s Institute, and the collaboration of the industrial group Danobatgroup and the UPV/EHU’s Equality Department, the third edition of the Gladys Award is getting underway.

The award recognises the role of women working in the Basque digital environment, rewarding their career and projection. The aim is to encourage young women to embark on their technological journey, in order to create new Basque benchmarks.

The steps to present the candidatures, as it can be done by oneself, or on the other hand, an organisation can propose the name of the candidate. In the latter case, they must explain the candidate’s merits when submitting their candidacy.

The registration period for the Gladys Award will be open until 20 June 2023 on the website www.gladyssaria.eus.

Prize of 4,000 euros

This year’s prize money will be higher than last year’s, as last year’s winner received 3,000 euros, while the 2023 winner will receive 4,000 euros. In addition, the winner will record a short video in which she will explain her work in order to disseminate it among young people, and will give motivational talks in the schools agreed with the organisers and at the Kaixomundua.eus competition prize-giving ceremony.

Various profiles in the sector

When it comes to selecting the winner, the jury takes into account a series of criteria. “It is aimed at women up to the age of 40 and will take into account the impact that the personal situation of the candidates has had on their professional career,” the organisers have pointed out.

The Gladys Award was created in 2021 by the PUNTUEUS Foundation and the Faculty of Computer Science of the UPV/EHU, with the support of the Equality Body of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the industrial group Danobatgroup. In this edition, Emakunde, the Basque Women’s Institute, has also joined as a sponsor of the award. In last year’s edition, 20 candidatures were evaluated and the organisers have pointed out that “the proposals presented showed a very high level and we believe that it is a prize that is here to stay”.

Ane Iturzaeta, first prize-winner

Ane Iturzaeta Agirre (Donostia, 1995) was the winner of the first edition of the Gladys Award. She studied a double degree in Business Administration and Management + Computer Engineering at the University of Deusto. She currently works as a Custom Engineer and is responsible for helping her clients’ companies, both in the public and private sectors. To do so, he tries to respond to day-to-day challenges using artificial intelligence and data.

Olatz Perez de Viñaspre, winner in 2022

Olatz Pérez de Viñaspre (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1987) was the winner of the Gladys Award 2022. As for her academic career, she is a Technical Engineer in Computer Systems and a Computer Engineer, studies she completed at the Faculty of Computer Science of the UPV/EHU. Subsequently, she completed a master’s degree in Language Analysis and Processing (HAP) from 2011-2013.

Finally, in 2017 she completed the PhD programme in Language Analysis and Processing at the Faculty of Computer Science of the University of the Basque Country, in San Sebastian. She is currently an assistant lecturer in the Department of Computer Architecture and Technology at the Faculty of Computer Science of the UPV/EHU and also works in the world of research.

About the Gladys Prize

The aim of the award, named after the computer scientist Gladys del Estal, is to reward young Basque women working in the digital environment, to create new points of reference for young people and to disseminate their work. This scientist studied at the Faculty of Computer Science in Donostia and remembering the work she did is also one of the project’s objectives.