Grace Jansen

Grace discovered software engineering during her degree in Biology,  where she modelled biological simulations using Python and R. After graduating  she "jumped headfirst into the world of software engineering and enterprise application development" in her role as a graduate at IBM.

This year she was personally requested by ABN AMRO to help with its application modernisation plan and was key in convincing the bank to migrate to her team's product.

And she was invited by IBM CEO, Arvind Krishna, to present to IBM's board of directors. Plus, her work advocating in the Java space was recognised globally when she was awarded the lifetime achievement title of "Java Champion", becoming the youngest ever female recipient.

"It is vitally important for women in technology to be comfortable with change, adapt to the competition, and continuously learn new skills. This is where curiosity can really set them up to succeed," says Grace.