Business
Sarala Paliwal is today’s guest. She is Senior Engineering Director at Mentor Graphics, A Siemens Business, and manages a worldwide group of software engineers and a worldwide group of quality software engineers. Sarala also volunteers with Girls, Inc., and is on the Advisory Board that helps with their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program for young girls. Join us as we cover technology education for young women, the gaps in education and what needs to be changed, and much more! Show Highlights: Many people think of engineers as just being analytical and not creative, but you will often that find engineers are both. Sarala believes that educating girls in the sciences should not even be a topic, but rather an expectation of it being part of the course material for everyone that they would take up to a certain level. It’s important that you be very good at the fundamentals, and confident in the domain. When this happens, that is going to come through. Attacking the problems, researching them, and understanding them is the key to confidence in complex issues. Sarala often sees young women (and some men) who get frustrated and want to give up on a project if they don’t understand everything about it. Knowledge is power, and gives a sense of confidence during public speaking, such as meetings. If the fundamentals are not given more focus in the education system, there will be less people going in to the sciences. Strong core curriculums are necessary for a better education system. Investing in training for teachers and using teachers who are specialized in their fields is very important. Having a good attitude makes learning a little easier and a lot more fun. When volunteering your time in the education field, teacher training exposure to industry and bringing that in to school should be advocated. What would happen if we trained our students in science and technology as well as we train them in sports? What if parents were as involved with academics as much as they are with the sports programs? Sarala explains the programs at Girls, Inc., and her role on the Advisory Board. Sarala is seeing a lot more intersection in varying fields. Links & Resources: Email Website SUBSCRIBE & SHARE! Podcast Sarala’s Suggested Podcasts Freakonomics: http://freakonomics.com/hours/ Hidden Brain: https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain Throughline: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510333/throughline