Supriya Bhuwalka is the CEO of Coding & More and one of the speakers at Reis Informatica’s “Women in Tech” webinar that will be hosted on March, 31, 2022. Supriya completed her Bachelors in Math & Economics from Wellesley College. Post-graduation she worked on Wall Street at CSFB (Credit Suisse First Boston) on the derivatives floor. Upon return to India, she opened Kumon for Math & English franchise.
While running Kumon she realized the importance of teaching children coding. Coding teaches children logical problem solving, creativity and lateral thinking. That is when Supriya started to research the best coding curriculum and in her research discovered AI for kids. This is when Coding and More was born!
Coding and More is a personalized EdTech startup on a mission to
make a difference. The team is run by women with a common goal – to engage, inspire and empower. Coding and More are the forerunners for AI for students of K-12. The curriculum is curated from the best resources around the world. They follow the framework laid out by the AI4K12 Committee that focuses on the ‘5 Big Ideas of AI’.
At Coding and More there is weekly live training for all of their educators. “We encourage collaborative work so that everyone can reach out to each other for problem-solving”, says Supriya. The program also offers their employees a flexitime, work from home option so that women can work without the guilt of having to choose between family and career. Supriya likes to keep her workplace a proactive, positive environment where everyone treats each other with respect and is not afraid to ask for help. This helps people grow and feel safe and nurtured and needless to say – people always pay forward the way they are treated. They are building an ecosystem where the earlier members mentor the new and so forth.
“I believe we are in a new world – where if we continue this hybrid workspace – it will help women be more efficient and manage their work-family life balance,” Supriya reinstates. She also mentions how she believes the transfer to online and work-from-home options is great for women in tech! There is now the ability for online learning daily and there is no excuse to not continue to grow and educate yourself.
When it comes to professional advice she encourages everyone wanting to succeed in their career to “just start”. You may not have all the answers, but once you begin, you see the gaps, you improvise and repeat. It’s important to start. You have to make self-discipline a ritual. “Women can take action and ownership of their professional futures by first believing that they can. The real first step is to believe in yourself. The second step is, to be honest with yourself and to learn what you may not know. Thirdly, do not be afraid to ask for help. And most important – Just do it.”
“I believe a positive attitude, a desire to learn, humility and empathy are simple attributes we can condition ourselves to imbibe. These qualities not only keep us ‘happy’, they also help us persevere to stretch and achieve our best. We must remind our young girls and women not to let mindsets get in their way – there is nothing we cannot do – we have to will it.”
Join Supriya and women across the world on March 31st as they discuss their experiences, challenges and achievements of working in the tech industry as a woman.
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