Create and innovate in technology

RIA KARIM, the brains behind mobile app D’Junction, is encouraging women to be creative and innovative in the ever expanding field of technology.

A featured speaker on April 26 at the TT IPO’s open house forum at the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs offices in Port of Spain, Karim emphasized that the development of a solutions-oriented mindset at personal, organizational and societal levels is essential for driving the innovation and creativity that will result in our progress as a nation.

Karim lamented, however, that according to WIPO, less than a third of all international patent applications filed in 2015 included women inventors and that globally, women lag behind their male counterparts in the creative industries. These findings are indeed disturbing, given the massive creative abilities and potential of women, our progress in education globally, and the immense benefits that workforce diversity brings.

“Women have an important role to play! Our participation in organisations contributes to improved performance, innovation and profitability. We bring a different perspective and energy, and we understand our challenges and needs as women better than men ever could! We must therefore encourage each other to step out into uncharted territory, and most importantly, protect our work, our inventions and our creations”. She congratulated her fellow speakers and exhibitors on their truly impressive initiatives and products and innovations.

D’Junction was developed in 2016 to serve as TT’s entertainment hub. The band tracking feature, operational during carnival Monday and Tuesday, solves an age old problem for masqueraders and spectators of not being able to locate their bands on the road during the festivities. This year, 16 bands across the country were featured on the app, which was heavily utilized by locals and foreigners alike.

Year round the app is used to find out about a wide range of events taking place; from parties, to limes, to restaurant specials, to shopping fairs, fitness events and many more. The ongoing partnership with Lime.tt also allows users to access photos from recent events right there within the app. D’Junction is available for download in the itunes and google play stores for FREE.

On the genesis of the app as a solution to dilemmas she and thousands of others faced during Carnival celebrations and year round, Karim said she is not a software developer by profession, but a business consultant, who identified a problem that technology could solve. She went about creating the solution, in the form of her mobile application. Partnering with the Gillette Group, the platform was developed and Ms. Karim immediately utilized the IPO’s services to protect the product.

Later that day, Karim spoke to students at the Telecommunications Authority’s (TATT) head office, for International Girls in ICT Day, organized by CANTO. She joined D’Junctions’ sponsor for Carnival 2018, bmobile, at their booth, and spoke to the girls at the career fair session about her app, and the opportunities available to them through a career in ICT.

Karim spoke to the entire group of participants, encouraging them to view information technology as a means to solving problems and enhancing everyday life for all. She encouraged them to hone their natural talents and sharpen their skills in the areas they are passionate about, and not just look to jobs that others may say are “appropriate for girls”, and reiterated that “no career, no job, no profession is beyond your reach.”