Maha Hoteit

General Info

What will be your most valuable contribution to your TechWomen mentorship?

I am sure that the TechWomen mentorship will provide me with experiences in the field of "Sciences in the era of Digital age". My community service has allowed me to use my knowledge of development and research to help non-profit groups with an educational mission. After returning home, I will share what I have learned and mentor women and girls in my community.

The Top Three Things I Would Like to Learn or Experience During my Mentorship

1. How AI tools and models are developed and used to optimize diet in low-income countries.
2. Further use of machine learning to predict food insecurity.
3. Team leadership skills.

Mentorship Characteristic

• Visit an office or attend a site-visit
• Participate in a skills-building course, either provided by my mentor’s company or identify a free resource online
• Identify workshops or certificate programs to further my learning after the program has ended
• Focus on leadership skills building

Ideal Company Type

My desired industries are those attached to the concept of precision nutrition and artificial intelligence. The main outcome of these industries is to predict macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies among nutritionally vulnerable populations living in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Working on topics related to the concept of "From Farm to Fork" is a must for me, for this concept covers the area of food safety, food security and its 4 pillars.

What are three adjectives that best describe you in the work place?

1. Reliable
2. Serious
3. Active

What impact will your mentorship have on your career and professional path?

My collaboration with a U.S. based mentor will help me in achieving with my goals of the sustainable development, mainly in SDG5, 10 and 17. This collaboration will enrich my experiences and will help in having new network that is based also on culture differences, not only sciences. In the future, being a TechWomen alumni, will open the door to ameliorate my career and professional path through developing new roads and maps, communicating with people with other interests and cultures and building capacity with regards to my topics of interest.

After participating in the TechWomen program, how will you leverage your mentorship experience to make an impact in your home country?

A resourceful experience of TechWomen will enable me to ensure women’s access to science, technology and innovation (STI) systems including AI that are necessary for us in the Arab world to realize the sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) including SDG2, SDG5 and SDG9 and achieve our goals of Planet 50:50 by 2030. STIs have potential for not only making incremental progress in the everyday lives of Arab women but also as the source for truly disruptive and game changing solutions. Through my mentorship with TechWomen, I will stimulate the ability of Arab women to access, benefit from, develop and influence these sectors. As a food sciences advisor at the National Council for Scientific Research-Lebanon, I seek to understand the benefits of AI and machine learning in the broader context of nutrition, food security, environment and economy. I embarked on a career exploring the nutrition implications and applications of artificial intelligence and advocate for mindful and respectful AI development in the field of Nutrition in the Middle East and North Africa.

Work History

Years of Full-time Work Experience

12

Primary Professional Focus

• Database/systems/networks
• Scientist and researcher
• Software

Education History