Dr Montserrat Ros

Inspiring young STEM generation

Dr Montserrat Ros has inspired countless young women to consider a future career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. 

Ros, from the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering, has attracted nearly $200,000 to UOW from industry sponsors for the annual Women in Engineering (WIE) Summit. 

She has demonstrated her ability to lead and inspire others and has been invited to RMIT to present on the topic of increasing female Engineering student numbers following a UOW media article, Number of Women in Engineering Jumps Six-Fold. 

As early as her high school years, Ros was passionate about STEM, attending a number of summer schools selecting the highest level mathematics and science subjects and volunteering with the Young Scientists of Australia. In her university years, she assisted and directed a number of Siemens Science Summer Schools in South East Queensland and upon arrival at UOW set to work establishing the WIE Summit. 

Today, Ros’s teaching and research practices focus on computer engineering and embedded systems. In particular, Ros is interested in how data collected by sensors can be harnessed to obtain a better understanding of the world around us.    

Ros has received a number of awards in relation to her research and teaching, including the UOW Vice Chancellor’s Interdisciplinary Research Excellence Award (Group); the UOW Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning; the UOW Vice Chancellor’s Award for Community Engagement (Individual); and a Certificate of Recognition from the Australian College of Educators, on World Teachers Day. 

Inspiring the next generation of both female and male STEM ambassadors is high on Ros’s priorities.  

“I believe that while the government’s Coding in Schools program in Years 5-8 is a leap forward in this area, more work is to needed to properly prepare the next generation of STEM graduates – and computer engineers in particular – to tackle the challenges in the future of robotics, automation, virtualisation and sensor networks.”