‘On Her Care’ with Ikran Mahad & Sophie Greco | Rising Stars
"Collaboration is key for innovation. The opportunity we had to share our experience and knowledge and learn from others is exactly the kind of exchange we need in order to positively impact the society we live in." - Sophie Greco
EIT Health Rising Stars
Interview with Ikran Mahad & Sophie Greco
European Collaboration: How students from Italy and Finland teamed up to tackle gender inequalities in healthcare
It was a pleasure to catch up with Ikran Mahad and Sophie Greco from Team ‘On Her Care’ to learn about their recent success in the Girls Go Circular Programme. These young girls have perfectly showcased that we don’t need to be nearby to work together, collaborate and innovate. Their determination, creative thinking and enthusiasm brought Finland and Italy together to combat gender bias in healthcare…. exactly the kind of international teamwork we love. This definitely won’t be the last you see of these two young rising stars!
Sophie: I’m currently in my third year of high school in Italy where I study the humanities: psychology, anthropology, sociology and besides the usual subjects we also focus on law and economics. I am so passionate about psychology because it helps me understand myself and the people around me on a deeper level and I also love learning as much as possible about law and economics to equip me for future. In three years, when I graduate, I want to pursue a degree in international relations, with the ambition to become a diplomat one day and collaborate with organisations across the European Union!
Ikran: I am in my last year of high school where I’m doing advanced Mathematics, advanced English, Chemistry and Biology and Finnish as a second language. I’m interested in political science and neuroscience and there is a unique combination of subjects I have discovered called neuro-politics which I find very interesting! Although I haven’t got a specific career in mind yet, my focus is on creating results. I aim to narrow this down and define how I can best contribute to a positive change. But ultimately my goal, will remain the same: improving healthcare in developing countries by ensuring access to quality care for all.
Sophie: We met each other months ago on a different project focused on inequalities in education, where we collaborated with other girls from different countries. This Summer, Ikran found out about the Girls Go Circular programme and asked me to join her on the project. I am so grateful that she reached out and extended the opportunity to take part!
Ikran: Exactly, and I live in Finland, and Sophie lives in Italy so it’s great to get an opportunity to collaborate across Europe in these types of programmes.
On Her Care aims to tackle gender disparities in healthcare, where women often face misdiagnosis and under-treatment. By leveraging AI, the tool detects biases in health data, predicts health issues accurately, and provides tailored treatment insights, improving health outcomes for women.
In global healthcare systems – and especially in developing regions – women are underrepresented in data and research of conditions. We don’t want to create a reverse bias, so the solution applies to men and women, but we want to ensure that women are accurately and appropriately represented in terms of symptom management and diagnosis.
Sophie: It was fantastic! We travelled to Budapest for the Girls Go Circular annual event, The Women and Girls in STEM forum where we were welcomed by a very kind and supportive team. We had the opportunity to participate in educational and creative activities and also got a tour of the beautiful city. It was an incredible experience that I would definitely love to repeat in future if there was ever another opportunity.
Ikran: I agree, I felt like it was such a unique experience, and we got to meet so many amazing people. The team of organisers were so supportive, I would ask so many questions and send so many emails always just double checking I had the right understanding – and the programme team were so helpful and so responsive every step of the way.
Well, in the first instance our winning prize is an invitation to attend the DigiEdu Hack 2024 Hackathon in Berlin in early November, organised by the University. The theme is to come up with creative ways to combine more formal traditional learning techniques with more digitised innovative techniques – so it will be interesting to see what comes out of that.
Beyond that we both agree that we need to focus on our studies as a first priority, but we are excited for a point in the future where we can continue this project. We would do this by potentially taking part in other European competitions, to secure funding to bring this application to life. We have taken the first step, but we will need to build a team of others to make On Her Care a reality. We will need developers, medical experts and other professionals whose expertise will help us deliver the best outcomes and bring this solution to the market. Hopefully a lot of this journey can be supported by the EIT Health Innovators Community. We want to see our solution integrated into healthcare systems five or ten years from now!
We are opening up so many possibilities with AI and this was the first opportunity for us to really explore the full extent of what AI can really do, especially in healthcare. It is completely fascinating, and it gave us some insight into all the opportunity in this area. The most rewarding part of this experience was that we got more comfortable and confident with implementing our own ideas, even in an area that is so new and relatively unknown.
Sophie: Fight for your own ideas and pursue them with determination, passion and always prioritise collaboration. Collaboration is key for innovation. The opportunity we had to share our experience and knowledge and learn from others is exactly the kind of exchange we need in order to positively impact the society we live in.
Ikran: Always ask questions! Without questions, you won’t learn. Without asking questions I wouldn’t be here right now. Questions lead to more questions – and it all leads to more knowledge. Never be afraid to ask questions, it’s the best way for us to grow and improve.
People are so intimidated by STEM – it’s always presented as difficult equations and difficult concepts, but we need to make it feel more accessible. We also need to show girls and women more role models, and explore what careers are actually available in STEM – it’s not all just engineering! So many different girls from so many different backgrounds can create a community of role models that will inspire and empower others to get into this field. Competitions are also really helpful as they create motivation to get people involved.
We are most excited about meeting new people, networking and collaborating. It is particularly nice to be able to collaborate across different countries and it’s so nice to hear different ideas and learn from different communities. We can’t wait to meet more likeminded people. We are also looking at other competition opportunities to continue trying to make a difference and shape society!
Sophie: In my free time I love reading, especially dramatic novels and self-improvement books, or poetry. I love listening to music and watching TV series. I also like taking walks and attending talks about topics that interest me.
Ikran: I have to agree with Sophie on the reading, actually the first time we met Sophie was reading a book that I had recommended to her! Much of my time goes toward organising and contributing to the media team for the European Youth Parliament of Finland sessions. Additionally, I lead a project called InnovateThem, where I create and print 3D-printed animal and plant cells to make biology classes more engaging through hands-on and visual learning experiences. I donate these models to student-run organisations in Malaysia and the US so they can distribute them to their local schools and organisations.
Sophie: Let’s always be kind, embrace new ideas, and grow together to try and make positive change collectively.
Ikran: Let’s explore more AI, we shouldn’t be discouraged or afraid, we should focus on the positive aspects and how much potential opportunity there is.
Watch Video: 'On Her Care' - Winner of the 2024 Student Challenge
Social Media
Ikran (3D printing project): @Innovatethem
Sophie (personal account): @__sophie.gre___
Girls Go Circular
Girls Go Circular is an EIT Community initiative that equips girls aged 14-19 across Europe with digital, entrepreneurial, and green skills through an online learning programme available in 24 languages. Find out more:
Innovators Community ID
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