Drawing on the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funding program "StartUpSecure," the CISPA Incubator supports aspiring IT-security entrepreneurs in implementing new business models. Seeking to specifically encourage female entrepreneurship in the tech sector, CISPA hosted it first Fem Future Forum this year. The event was aimed at a gender-diverse audience from across the spectrum of STEM entrepreneurship and highlighted female perspectives on technological innovation and the startup ecosystem. A central goal of the event was to increase the visibility of women in leadership positions and showcase female role models in STEM careers.
Taking place at the CISPA main building, the Fem Future Forum opened with welcome speeches by Elena Yorgova-Ramanauskas, State Secretary of the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digital and Energy; Jürgen Philippi, Head of Startups and Entrepreneurship at CISPA, and Sibylle-Annette Dümont, Gender Equality Officer at CISPA. Dümont highlights: "At CISPA, equal opportunity is not just about numbers and statistics. We are convinced that equal opportunity positively impacts the quality of both research and startups. This is why Networking-events like the Fem Future Forum are so valuable. They help us connect experienced female leaders, who are already role models, with our young female scientists and founders."
Elena Yorgova-Ramanauskas, State Secretary of the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digital and Energy, says: "Despite major advances in science and technology, women are still underrepresented in scientific and technical fields, in IT professions and leadership positions. At the same time, the IT industry is a central driver of digital transformation, and Saarland and its cutting-edge research play a key role in areas such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. To strengthen our society's innovative power, we must actively promote diversity and make women visible as leaders – because only in this way can we shape the future as effectively as possible."
In the first keynote of the day, CISPA-Faculty Dr. Lea Schönherr introduced her research on the trustworthiness of generative artificial intelligence. This was followed by a high-profile panel discussion focused on the future of women in the tech industry. The panelists were CISPA-Faculty Dr. Mridula Singh, Carolin Ackermann, CEO and founder of Seawater Cubes, Vera Sikes, Head of Section IT-Infrastructures at the Federal Office for Information Security, and Sabika Ishaq, CISO and Head of Information Security at Grant Thornton in Luxembourg. They highlighted the great social significance of supportive networks and strong role models for women in STEM professions.
About her participation in the Fem Future Forum, Carolin Ackermann says: "I didn't have to think twice about actively contributing to the Fem Future Forum. It provides greater visibility for women in the science and tech scene and offers them the opportunity to forge strong bonds and share valuable experiences. This event is a crucial step towards more diversity and thus sustainable success for research spin-offs."
Sharing facts as well as personal insights, Lisa Ihde, publicist and Technical Account Manager at Google, highlighted the importance of not only having women present in the IT world but also ensuring their visibility – be it in leadership roles, academia, or the startup scene. She encouraged women to step forward with confidence and actively shape the spaces in which they work. Her appeal also extended to men: “Be attentive when working in a team, reinforce statements from 'ignored' members, and share your knowledge while informing others about biases.”
In her lecture, Sabika Ishaq spoke about diversity as a crucial factor for high performance teams. Combining her experience as CISO and Head of Information Security at Grant Thornton with her roles as President of Women Cyber Force and Luxembourg Lead for EWOB (Empowering Women on Boards), Ishaq brought an European perspective to the event. She highlighted the transformative power of mentoring and explained how the creation of inclusive teams can succeed in Deep Tech. Her call to action was: "Invest in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion", "Encourage Leadership to be Advocates for Gender Diversity", and "Measure and Track Progress in Inclusion".
The event concluded with a celebration at Halle 4 in downtown Saarbrücken, where the founder of ROTERFADEN shared insights about her decision to operate the company as a cooperative. Live music was provided by "Blacks Groove" and CISPA's very own "Firewall Fantasies", while participants had ample opportunity to mingle and network.
About the CISPA Incubator
The CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security supports entrepreneurial initiatives and the development of innovations in cybersecurity, funded through the StartUpSecure initiative by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). CISPA maintains close collaboration with four partner incubators, which have also been selected as competence centers by the BMBF: ATHENE in Darmstadt, Cube 5 in Bochum, StartUpSecure KASTEL in Karlsruhe, and the Digital Hub Cybersecurity in Darmstadt.
