Ctrl Alt Tech

The Journey of an Ontology with Rebecca Foulger 

Rebecca Foulger is Head of Scientific Curation at SciBite. In this episode, Rebecca discusses the importance of ontologies – what are they and why do they matter. We track the journey of an ontology, from its initial use case to evolution over time. We explore the necessity of ontologies in improving data management and analysis, and I get Rebecca’s thoughts on what the future of ontologies might entail. 

Nathalie takes us through her career journey from studying chemistry to climbing the corporate ladder; and how the most challenging points of a career can lead to the most rewarding opportunities. Nathalie is the Chief Commercial Officer for High Force Research (HFR), where she leads the strategy direction and business development. 

Nathalie is passionate about opening doors for the next generation, and this has led her to carve out time for mentorship. We talked about the benefits of mentoring, finding a mentor, and the importance of giving back to your industry. Nathalie also shares some of her key advice, relevant for all stages of your career journey. 

Ben Lomax is a lead software engineer at Kraken Technologies, and is passionate about creating high-quality, meaningful software. The inspiration for today’s show comes from Ben’s talk at EuroPython 2024, titled ‘The Art of the Pull Request’. In this episode, we chat about PRs, code reviews, and crafting the ultimate review experience. Also joining us is Brandon Walts, a fellow software engineer at SciBite, who brings a wealth of software development experience to the conversation.

If you are interested in finding out more, check out the following resources mentioned in this episode: 

The Art of the Pull Request - Ben Lomax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2upWetU_vUc 

“How to Make Your Code Reviewer Fall in Love with You” - blog post by Michael Lynch: https://mtlynch.io/code-review-love/ 

In this episode, we chat to Em Haydon about SciComm, public engagement, and online learning. 

Em is a digital education and public engagement professional with an extensive background in science communication (SciComm) and public engagement. She is currently working as a Digital Education Developer at the University of St Andrews. 

If you are interested in finding out more about this area, check out the following resources: 

STEM Ambassador programme: https://www.stem.org.uk/stem-ambassadors 

#Scicomm Tips on notion (Em contributed to this) 

Organisations to know about in SciComm/PE – PCST, BIG (Em’s personal favourite), NCCPE, ASDC, STEM Ambassadors, National STEM Centre, ASE 

Great newsletter resource – The SciCommer by Heather Doran 

In this episode, I am bringing together some highlights of EuroPython 2025. It includes thoughts from myself and my colleagues during the conference itself, as well as short interviews with some of the speakers whose talks I really enjoyed. We'll also hear snippets from some of the wonderful on-site volunteers, who contribute hugely to the fantastic community at this conference. 

Thank you to the speakers, named here with links to their EuroPython speaker profiles. This page also includes a link to an overview of their conference talks. 

Iulia Ferroli https://ep2025.europython.eu/speaker/iulia-feroli/ 

Mykalin Jones https://ep2025.europython.eu/speaker/mykalin-jones/ 

Petter Salminen https://ep2025.europython.eu/speaker/petter-salminen/ 

Thank you to Mark McDowall and Brandon Walts for their contributions. 

Thank you to the volunteers; Pujan Thapa, Betty Zoulek, and Vega Cherkassova. 

To keep up to date with EuroPython: https://www.europython-society.org/europython/  

Keep an eye on the EuroPython YouTube page, where the talks will be available to watch later in the year: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC98CzaYuFNAA_gOINFB0e4Q  

We chat to Steph Jones about her experience of learning to code, helpful advice for those starting out on their own coding journey, and the importance of community in the tech space. Steph Jones is a Senior Clinical Analytics Engineer at the AI Centre for Value Based Healthcare. Steph began her career as a pharmacist before weaving her way into the world of data analytics and ultimately learning to code and working in tech.  

To find out more about Steph’s journey into tech, and for lots more advice and resources, head to: https://www.codingwithsteph.com/ 

Resources mentioned in this episode: 

https://pyladies.com/ 

https://womenindata.co.uk/ 

https://codefirstgirls.com/ 

https://newsletter.codinggrace.com/ 

In this episode, Kerry and Emma chat about the role of an AI ethicist, her research areas of feminism, gender and AI, and the ideas and themes behind her own podcast The Good Robot.

Dr. Kerry McInerney is a Senior Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, where she leads research in the field of AI ethics; as well as an author, researcher, podcaster, and educator. 

Check out The Good Robot podcast: https://www.thegoodrobot.co.uk/ 

For more about Kerry and her work: https://www.kerrymcinerney.com/ 

Resources mentioned in the episode: 

Books: 

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez 

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/435554/invisible-women-by-perez-caroline-criado/9781784706289 

Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock 

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262043458/design-justice/ 

Programmed Inequality by Mar Hicks 

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262535182/programmed-inequality/ 

Papers: 

Drage E, Mackereth K. Does AI Debias Recruitment? Race, Gender, and AI's "Eradication of Difference". Philos Technol. 2022;35(4):89. doi: 10.1007/s13347-022-00543-1. Epub 2022 Oct 10. PMID: 36246553; PMCID: PMC9550152. 

Cave S, Dihal K, Drage E, McInerney K. Who makes AI? Gender and portrayals of AI scientists in popular film, 1920-2020. Public Underst Sci. 2023 Aug;32(6):745-760. doi: 10.1177/09636625231153985. Epub 2023 Feb 13. PMID: 36779283; PMCID: PMC10413781. 

Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence: https://www.lcfi.ac.uk/