About Our Novi International 2024
Dakshika Weerasinghe
I am Dakshika Weerasinghe, a Senior Program Manager at IFS.
I’m aspiring to be a great leader, passionate of collaboration and teamwork, and enjoy coaching people to achieve their best.
Erani Srikantha
A passionate leader with over two decades of experience in the tech industry, specializing in building high-performing engineering teams. Currently the Director of Software Engineering at IFS R&D AI Engineering, leading a skilled global team dedicated to delivering innovative AI solutions. Beyond professional pursuits, a proud wife, mother, and supporter of my child’s aspiring goals.
Laila Berchane
Laila is an accomplished entrepreneur, STEM advocate, and change-maker.
As the co-founder of Robots & More, Laila has spearheaded innovative STEM education initiatives, raising awareness through play among young learners. Her startup has garnered multiple awards. She is also a proud alumna of the US Department of State’s IVLP program “Advancing Women in STEM”
Laila’s passion for digital transformation led her to found Codagile, a software development startup that supports digitization in Moroccan companies. She has also brought some of the best-known STEM programs for schools and young learners, such as FIRST LEGO League and World Robot Olympiad, to Morocco and other French-speaking African countries.
But Laila’s impact extends far beyond entrepreneurship. Through her NGO LOOP For Science & Technology, she has established robotics clubs in underserved populations in public schools and rural areas, empowering young learners with the tools and skills they need to succeed. She also serves as a judge and referee in international robotics competitions, using her expertise to inspire and motivate young learners around the globe.
Prior to her entrepreneurship career, Laila served for 6 years as a management control manager in multicultural contexts, where she evaluated investment projects across multiple fields, including mining, insurance, education, health, and real estate.
Laila holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingénieur and a Master’s degree in Management Control, Planning and Risk Management from Reims Management School.
Sofia Bourhim
Sofia is a Research Scientist specializing in Graph Deep Learning and its applications to AI for social good. With a PhD in AI/DL and a computer science engineering background from ENSIAS, Sofia has made significant strides in addressing societal challenges across Africa and the MENA region through innovative AI solutions.
Her exceptional work has earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Microsoft PhD Fellowship and recognition as an ML and System Rising Star 2024 – distinctions she was the first to receive in Africa and the MENA region. Sofia’s research has garnered best paper awards and best spotlight talk honors, underscoring the impact of her contributions to the field.
Sofia has diverse industry experience spanning data engineering, machine learning engineering, and research scientist roles. Sofia’s influence extends to the broader AI community, where she organizes key events such as North Africans in ML@NeurIPS, IndabaX Morocco, Deep Learning Indaba, Africa Machine Learning Days, and the Learning on Graph Conference. Through her multifaceted contributions, Sofia continues to push the boundaries of AI research while fostering its application to critical societal issues.
Sonja Jost
Sonja Jost is the CEO and Co-Founder of DUDE CHEM, a deep-tech virtual manufacturing company revolutionizing the production of pharmaceuticals through sustainable processes. With over a decade of entrepreneurship experience in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, she has led DUDE CHEM to secure huge commercial contracts with global pharmaceutical companies. Sonja has a track record of driving innovation and has raised successful funding rounds (e.g. from Frontline, Octopus, B2Ventures, Vorwerk etc) to advance DUDE CHEM’s mission. An advocate for sustainable manufacturing, she is an advisor to numerous government bodies and organizations in Europe and the U.S., and a passionate mentor to women in STEM. Her work has earned her multiple awards and has been named as one of “25 female inventors who are changing our world” (EditionF, Handelsblatt, ZEIT online).
She has been appointed to different boards and high-tech juries, e.g. of the Economic Advisory Board of the German Green Party of the Bundestag (2023), the Editorial Board of the U.S. peer-reviewed journal “Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews” (2018) and a jury member of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator (2018) which she also supported with tech due diligences.
Since 2022, she has been the Vice-President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Berlin. In 2019, Jost was appointed as ambassador of the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” of the German Government and the Federation of German Industries BDI. Jost gives advice to governmental organizations, scientific institutions, NGOs, as well as several political parties in Germany, the U.S., and in the EU. She has co-founded and initiated several campaigns and networks that support the translation process of scientific findings into industry which she also promotes as frequent guest on economic and political panel discussions and contributions with guest comments for Handelsblatt, Frankfurter Rundschau, Wirtschaftswoche.
She previously created the spin-off DexLeChem in 2013 from the German Scientific Cluster of Excellence UniCat from TU Berlin. Within a few years, the young company successfully entered the conservative chemical-pharmaceutical market and turned profitable. The young team has been the first to bring chemical reactions in water into the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industry. They received outstanding testimonials for their work from big players e.g. Lonza, Boehringer Ingelheim.
Rohia Munavar
Rohia Munavar is a dynamic marketing leader with a passion for transforming businesses through strategic marketing initiatives. With a strong foundation in B2B marketing, she excels in developing and implementing innovative campaigns that drive customer acquisition and retention. Her experience in building high-performing teams and fostering a culture of innovation has been instrumental in the success of multiple organizations.