Back to the Hall of Femmes

Hall of Femmes

Mostaghim, Sanaz

A moment with...
Professor Sanaz Mostaghim

“I’m Professor of Artificial Intelligence in the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Magdeburg. Prior to this, I completed my doctoral degree at Paderborn University (2001-2004), worked as a post-doc student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (2004-2006) and habilitated at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (2006-2013).”

(1) What I love about my current job is...
...that I have all the freedom I need and can take my research in almost any direction I want – that’s what I enjoy most.

(2) One of the highlights of my career so far has been...
...being admitted to the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

(3) When I look back on my career so far, I’d say that what has particularly shaped me has been...
...I’ve always done what I love and can only recommend others do the same. I’ve always tried to stay down to earth and to do a little more every day. This career requires a lot of patience and perseverance.

(4) I’d advise any young women wishing to pursue a career similar to mine to...
...not give up too soon – stick at it! Dream big; start small; grow gradually! Take on extra work and try to build up networks early on.

(5) I associate my time at Paderborn University with...
...hard work!

(6) For the next 50 years, I wish Paderborn University...
...good luck, and I hope that in 50 years’ time, 50% of all professors at the university will be female!

Also worth seeing

Raphael, Sabine
Dr Sabine Raphael
Sabine Raphael currently works as a data scientist at insurance company HUK in Coburg and completed her doctorate on “Characterisation of mesopic vision for luminance photometry” at Paderborn University in 2010.
Read interview
Ishag, Lissy
Lissy Ishag
Lissy Ishag studied American Studies, English and Media Studies at Paderborn University and worked as a radio presenter. She’s been working as a TV presenter for German TV channel ZDF for 9 years now.
Read interview
Jakob, Eva
Junior Professor Eva Jakob
Eva Jakob is Junior Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Bayreuth. From 2014 to 2021, she worked as a research assistant and post-doc at TecUP – Paderborn University’s business start-up centre.
Read interview
Mehner-Heindl
Professor Katharina Mehner-Heindl
Katharina Mehner-Heindl completed her doctorate at Paderborn University and has been Professor of Computer Science, specialising in web applications, at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences in Baden-Wuerttemberg since 2010.
Read interview
Helmling, Meike
Dr Meike Helmling
Meike Helmling currently works as Head of Business Area at Project Management Jülich in research funding for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). She completed her doctorate in Automotive Lightweight Design in Paderborn in 2017.
Read interview