In the third episode of the "Women in Blue" interviews series we talk with Anja Babić about the unique possibilities offered by the field of marine robotics, but also about courage, vision and normalizing women’s image in male-dominated fields.
Anja Babić is Research Associate at the University of Zagreb and a member of the Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies. Her research interests cover evolutionary, neural, and bio-inspired robotics, emergent behavior, high-level mission planning, task allocation and scheduling, and communication between both heterogeneous agents and members of a swarm. Anja has been involved in international projects such as subCULTron (submarine Cultures Perform Long-Term Robotic Exploration of Unconventional Environmental Niches), EXCELLABUST (Excelling Labust in Marine Robotics) and CADDY (Cognitive Autonomous Diving Buddy).
In the interview, Anja discusses her passion about marine robotics, stressing the importance of being exposed early on, to the things we enjoy doing and we are good at. In addition, she explores the unique potential offered by marine robotics, as well as the importance of fighting biases, deconstructing stereotypes and normalizing women’s image in this research field: “I do think that as this sort of ratio and the statistics are changing, just by the presence of women in the field brings good shifts.”
To find out more about Anja’s approach to a successful career in marine robotics, as well as the advice she has for those wanting to pursue a career in this sector, click on the image below to listen to the full podcast:
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