Karolina Kudelina is a doctoral student and junior researcher at the Department of Electrical Power Engineering and Mechatronics of the Tallinn University of Technology, while Ester Oras, PhD, is an associate professor of analytical chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry of the University of Tartu – they were each awarded a €6,000 prize. According to the two researchers, the fellowship is extremely important both for continuing their own research and for encouraging other young women to choose a career in research.

Karolina Kudelina, a member of the electrical machinery research group at the Tallinn University of Technology, is planning to use the fellowship for the development of AI-based solutions for the prediction and prevention of potential electrical machinery failures which could cause economic losses and environmental harm as well as endanger human life. ‘Even the most modern electrical machinery can sometimes fail. To ensure the reliability of electrical machinery and avoid problems, their condition needs to be constantly monitored and they need to be serviced in a timely manner. Monitoring energy systems is labour-intensive and requires considerable computing resources. As such, it makes sense to use novel diagnostic approaches based on artificial intelligence that are suitable for analysing big data. The research I am working on integrates energy systems with cloud computing and proposes intelligent solutions for moving towards a digital, sustainable, and climate-neutral future,’ Kudelina explained.

In Estonia, the ‘For Women in Science’ awards were launched six years ago. The distinction has been awarded to eight brilliant female scientists: Els Heinsalu, PhD; Karin Kogermann, PhD; Tuul Sepp, PhD; Kaarin Parts, PhD; Professor Maarja Grossberg; Lisandra Marina, PhD; Da Rocha Meneses-Nandha; Kaija Põhako-Esko, PhD; and Mari-Ann Lind.

The L’Oréal-UNESCO ‘For Women in Science’ young talents programme is the only fellowship programme in the Baltics supporting, in collaboration with the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO and the Estonian Academy of Sciences, the professional development of female researchers and the achievement of the goals important to them. The Baltic programme sprang from the global ‘For Women in Science’ programme created in 1998 in collaboration between UNESCO and L’Oreal with the aim of increasing the number of female researchers across the globe and promoting gender equality in the world of science.

Programme website: www.forwomeninscience.com

Website of the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO: www.unesco.ee

This news article is based on a press release from the Estonian Academy of Sciences.