Cloé Dutil studies software engineering at the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) in Montreal, a discipline that is still predominantly male. A particular situation, but which does not prevent him from feeling in the right place.
Why did you choose software engineering?
In my family, we all study computer science, but I didn’t think I would study in this field. I tried a lot of things. In high school, I did networking… and I hated it! Afterwards, I dabbled a bit in video games, but it was when I discovered the Da Vinci surgical robot at CEGEP that I told myself that I was going to program surgical robots. In one video, he removed the skin from a grape, put it back and made a suture: I found that really impressive. Then, I discovered that I really liked programming while studying natural sciences, health profile.
What challenges do you face?
There are few women around me in class. I had only one teacher and, because I saw few women, I had difficulty projecting myself into the future, telling myself that I could teach at university or succeed in my career. Few female professors have a background in software engineering. It is especially in specialized courses that I notice that there are few of us who are not men. I can find myself alone in a class of men. But I was never made to feel like I didn’t belong.
You are head of the IT Competitions Delegation. What do this type of activity bring you?
Clubs are a big part of student life at ETS. The Computer Competitions Delegation (DCI) allows me to improve, to practice without judgment, to meet passionate, committed people; their eyes shine when they speak. During the pandemic, I realized that it was important for me to not just do software engineering, in classes and in student clubs – it was too much! I wanted to direct my student involvement towards something else. In the DCI executive committee, I take care of the logistics of the competitions.
You won the prize Excellent Science awarded as part of the Hats off, girls! competition. Why does this type of competition remain relevant?
In addition to financial support, the scholarships highlight the extraordinary journey of the candidates. Some routes amaze me! It’s fun to highlight their diversity too.
What do you aspire to?
I want to return to the source of what brought me to software engineering: medical robotics. Aerospace also interests me. Besides, in my Excelle Science application, I said that, when I was a child, I wanted to become a “brain surgeon in space”. I’m a jack of all trades, many areas fascinate me.
What would you say to encourage people to study software engineering?
The beautiful thing about computing is that it’s so vast. We can do both websites and robotics, touch on artificial intelligence, user experience… Everyone can find something that interests them and associate it with software engineering.