From June 10 to 12, eight female researchers from the CASA Cluster of Excellence visited Google’s European head office and ETH Zurich in Switzerland. The visit took place as part of a newly established partnership between Google and CASA and is part of the Cluster of Excellence’s Equity & Diversity (ED) initiatives to promote women in cybersecurity research.
The initiative was launched by CASA Research Coordinator Kirsten Jäger in collaboration with RUB alumnus Felix Gröbert, who works at Google as a Principal Engineer in the Product Security Engineering / Google Cloud division. Together with eight other female researchers from ETH Zurich, the Bochum-based researchers took part in a two-day program designed to promote professional exchange, international networking, and their individual career development.
Insights into Research and Industry
Led by Clara Schneidewind, CASA PI and spokesperson for the ED Board, the group visited Google’s Zurich office on the first day, which is Google’s largest research center outside the United States. The program included technical presentations, a panel discussion, and talks about career paths in academia and industry. The second day was dedicated to exchanges with researchers from ETH Zurich. Under the guidance of Kristina Hostáková, the participants gained insights into various research areas and departments at the university and discussed potential avenues for future collaboration.
Sabrina Manickam, PhD and spokesperson for the CASA Early Career Researcher (ECR) Board, reports on the visit: "This visit was truly one of a kind. It gave us the opportunity to interact with leading engineers at Google as well as top researchers at ETH. Such experiences help us think about our own career paths more concretely and are truly inspiring."
Support for Women in Cybersecurity
The goal of this initiative is to strengthen international networks, highlight career opportunities through interaction with role models, and foster new scientific collaborations. At the same time, the initiative aims to support female researchers in shaping their own career paths in research and industry.
About Equity & Diversity at CASA
Women remain underrepresented in technical fields such as cybersecurity. Through its equity and diversity initiatives, CASA is committed to actively promoting talented female researchers, advancing equal opportunity, and supporting the balance between academic careers and family life.
General note: In case of using gender-assigning attributes we include all those who consider themselves in this gender regardless of their own biological sex.