Join us for an inspiring evening dedicated to exploring groundbreaking technology and celebrating the women driving these innovations.
Discover how navigating their careers in impactful tech is shaping Deanna Hood (Vexev) and Rosie Attwell (CSIRO), two leading figures in the technology industry with widely differing paths. Prepare for insightful talks, valuable networking opportunities, and leave equipped with new knowledge and inspiration to apply to your own career.
This is a complimentary event held by Women in Technology QLD and hosted by Universal Field Robotics.
Agenda
4:30pm - Arrivals and registrations
4:45pm - Panel
6:00pm - Networking & Canapes
Meet your Moderator
Petriea Skitek
Petriea gained her Arts degree at Griffith University focusing on economics and women in politics, then studied Education at the University of New England.
During her 20 plus career based in Tokyo she has worked across education, food and agriculture and marketing industries. 15 of those years, she has run her own businesses supplying services to clients ranging from peak government bodies, leading international hotels, supermarket chains, marketing industries and independent schools both in Australia and Asian regions.
Petriea has a depth of experience on boards with the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Japan (ANZCCJ), International Working Women’s Association (IWWA) and a specialist international policy and planning consultant to the board of the World Association of Cooks Societies (63 member nations) and Asia Continental Director (15 countries) for 8 years. She is currently a non-executive board director for Women in Technology and is the co-chair for the WIT Membership and Advocacy Board Committee. Additionally, Petriea sits on the Australian Computer Society’s ICT Gateway to Industry Schools Program committee as an advisor.
In 2017 she co-founded KP International Group a female-owned and operated social enterprise of which she is currently the Managing Director. Since 2019 she has managed the Girls Day Out in STEM (GDOS) events which have grown to nearly 15,531 online enrolments from 640 Australian schools since their inaugural event.
She is a leader and passionate advocate for girls and women in STEM, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Petriea is currently the President for the Zonta Club of Brisbane South and STEM chair for District 22 that covers all of Queensland and the Northern Rivers, NSW.
She is a proud mum of a teenage daughter. And is a keen swimmer, enjoys cooking and river walks with her family.
Meet the panel
Deanna Hood
Deanna is Engineers Australia's 2022 Young Professional Engineer of the Year, awarded in recognition of a career spent designing innovative robots that do what humans can’t. As Vexev’s Senior Robotics Engineer, she designs robotic algorithms and architecture for the world’s first ultrasound-scanning robot to help people avoid the world's leading cause of death: cardiovascular disease. In her previous roles she worked on precision bioprinting of living human cells for burns patients; educational robots helping children with special needs; and on the core of ROS 2 which is used by robots worldwide including in NASA’s VIPER mission.
Coming from an Electrical Engineering background through a Masters of Robotics and Computer Vision, Deanna has curated her career one move at a time, taking her to Silicon Valley and 10 other cities across 7 countries. She is currently working for Vexev from Portugal, part-time.
Rosie Atwell
As a dynamic and results-driven leader with over a decade of experience in digital transformation, Rosie specialises in delivering innovative, high-impact solutions across some of the world’s most challenging and rapidly evolving sectors, including space, defence, robotics, and AI. From pioneering cutting-edge robotics projects with NASA and Boeing to driving strategic portfolio management and governance for CSIRO’s high-value initiatives, she has consistently demonstrated the ability to lead complex, multi-disciplinary teams to success. Her expertise in automation, AI, and strategic leadership empowers her to solve the most complex challenges and shape the future of technology across industries.
Passionate about STEM advocacy and leadership, she serves as a Board Advisor for Women in Technology, where she champions diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.
With a keen focus on strategy and operational efficiency, she thrives in dynamic environments, delivering sustainable, high-impact solutions that contribute to the success of every organisation she is a part of.
With special thanks to event host:
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