PROGRAM FOR THE 2025 IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WOMEN IN SERVICES COMPUTING (WISC 2025)
MONDAY JULY 7, HELSINKI- FINLAND 

WISC SESSION 1
14:00 – 15:10
Room: F3005
Session Chair: Karuna Pande Joshi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County , USA

• Opening Remarks (5 min)
• WISC Award acceptance speech (5 min)

Keynote: Jian Yang, Co-Director of Data Horizons Research Centre,  Deputy Director of Applied AI Research Centre, Director of Industry HDR Program, Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, Macquarie University,  Sydney, Australia.

Title: Ecosystem-based Data Products, DaaS & AI Agents: Where is Service Computing Heading?

Abstract: Effectively unlocking data values and enabling seamless data flows across businesses, companies and organisations has become the ‘holy grail’ for data technologies and the data-driven world. The current practice and conditions in data management and governance in many areas or most organisations, and existing data sharing solutions, however, have significantly limited applications of data for internal and external applications crossing companies and organisations. The question on how to effectively unlock the data value remains to be answered. This necessitates a more holistic research on the concept of data economy and its ecosystem, rather than narrowly focusing on a single element, such as sharing technologies, trading platforms or marketplaces. Data ecosystems (DEs) are the future of data management that they allow companies to share data and collaborate in order to get valuable insights and develop value added services. In this talk, we will outline a key component, Data Product, as a technical enabler to support DEs, and the considerations and challenges in the data product design and development.

WISC SESSION 2
15:30 – 16:40
Room: F3005
Session Chairs: Lorraine Herger, Retiree and Former Director of AI Infrastructure, IBM Research, T.J. Watson Research Center and Houda Chakiri, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, AI Akhawayn University

Student Scholarship Announcement

Interactive Panel Discussion: Shaping the Future of Women in Services Computing : Insights, Reflections, and Community Voice
Moderator: Houda Chakiri, Akhawayn University
Panelists:
Ruchi Mahindru, Distinguished Engineer – IT Automation Research, IBM Master Inventor IBM Research 

Ruchi Mahindru is a Distinguished Engineer at IBM Research, leading technical strategy for AI-based IT Automation and serving as a thought leader in AI’s impact on IT operations, FinOps, and enterprise innovation. Over the past decade, she has driven IT solutions from on-premises to microservices-based architectures in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, now leading integration of generative AI agents into production IT pipelines with focus on responsible AI practices. As an IBM Master Inventor since 2016, Ruchi holds over 120 patents, has authored 45 technical papers with 2,000+ citations, and received multiple prestigious awards including Outstanding Technical Contributor at the Women of Color STEM Conference (2022). She earned her M.S. in Computer Science from CUNY and is deeply committed to mentoring and empowering others.

Meriem Aoudia, University of Sharjae

Meriem Aoudia is a Master’s student in Machine Learning at the American University of Sharjah, specializing in automating software testing using machine learning. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (Spring 2024, with honors) and was a winner of the 2024 WISC Scholarship, an experience she considers pivotal for her growth and network in tech. Her research contributions include publications in two top-tier journals, and she has further honed her skills through an internship at NYU Abu Dhabi. Passionate about advancing women in computing.