Moroccan AI Expert Nominated for Berkeley’s "Woman of the Year" Award

In a statement to the MAP, Fella Seghrouchni says she welcomes this nomination with joy. The Berkeley trophies are reserved for people working for a more ethical, more human and more relevant approach to technology and the use of Data. In addition to "Woman of the Year", there are "Project of the Year" and "Young Talent of the Year", which are the other categories in which the trophies are awarded in order to honor the actors and actresses who are shaping Business Analytics.

This is the first time that the Berkeley World Business Analytics Awards are being organized to encourage and instill new momentum in women who play an essential role in innovation ecosystems around the world. The African continent will be represented by the Moroccan and other women from several countries. The competition is organized by the Fisher Center for Business Analytics (FCBA), one of the most prestigious research centers in the world. "My nomination in the ’Woman of the Year’ category at the African level is a great distinction and recognition not only of my scientific expertise but also of my ethical approach in the field of science and technology and in particular of digital and Artificial Intelligence," she said.

But who is Amal El Fallah Serghrouchni? She is a Moroccan woman, holder of a doctorate from the University Pierre and Marie Curie and a habilitation to supervise research in artificial intelligence, she is an exceptional professor at the Sorbonne, at the Faculty of Science and Engineering where she heads the Multi-Agent Systems research group and co-leads the artificial intelligence and data science research axis within the Computer Science laboratory of this prestigious university. In 2020, she was appointed to the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) for a 4-year term. She recently became the director of the International Center for Artificial Intelligence of Morocco at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P).

Another woman will defend the colors of Morocco in this competition. There is Samira Khamlichi, CEO of WafaCash, who has been nominated in the "Women-led Business Analytics Projects of the Year" category. She is a member of several professional organizations such as the CGEM (General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises), the Professional Association of Financing Companies (APSF) and the Professional Association of Payment Institutions (APEP).