Six students from La Salle - Universitat Ramon Llull, all enrolled at the La Salle-URL School of Engineering, have won first and third prize in the 'Mujeres por la IA Abierta' challenge, a nationwide initiative that promotes female talent in the technology sector and encourages the development of more diverse and inclusive artificial intelligence. The two La Salle-URL teams stood out in a competition focused on using AI to analyse the role and prominence of women in digital content.
The Women4AI team, made up of Júlia Serra, a student on the Bachelor in Computer Engineering, and Júlia Escoriza and Sara Gibert, both studying the Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, won first prize in the competition. As the winning team, the three students will travel to Madrid on 18 November to present their project at the II Encuentro de Mujeres y Tecnología (Second Women and Technology Conference), organised by Spain's Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration.
A second team from the School of Engineering secured third prize. The team consists of Kyara Avril Gamarra, a student on the Bachelor in International Computer Engineering; Luna Ospina, studying the Bachelor in Electronic Engineering; and Judith Caralt, studying the Bachelor in Multimedia Engineering. This double recognition highlights the diversity of backgrounds and specialisations among the School of Engineering's students, as well as their ability to connect knowledge, work collaboratively and develop impactful solutions to today's challenges.
How can AI help highlight women's roles in digital content?
How prominently are women featured in digital content? What roles do they play? These are two of the questions at the heart of the 'Mujeres por la IA Abierta' challenge, which invited participants to develop intelligent systems capable of analysing videos, audio or text to extract data on the representation of women in digital content. The aim is to gain a better understanding of this reality and move towards more diverse, inclusive and bias-free artificial intelligence.
The initiative was organised by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA) as part of the Open Source AI Community. Throughout the competition, participants were required to combine technical knowledge, innovation and a gender perspective to develop viable, reusable solutions based on open-source principles.
The recognition received by the two La Salle-URL teams highlights the talent of the campus's future female engineers and the potential of technological education to address real-world challenges. Drawing on disciplines such as artificial intelligence, computer engineering, electronics and multimedia, the six students took part in an initiative that connects technology with social responsibility and explores new possibilities for developing artificial intelligence that makes a positive impact.
