Resilience, Community, Finding Your People
Luisa Cutillo, l.cutillo@leeds.ac.uk
Women in Data & AI Summit, Leeds
A Journey in Data&AI Leadership
Key message:
No one builds a career in Data & AI alone!
Key message:
No one builds a career in Data & AI alone!
Naples
Leeds
Manchester
Sheffield
LITE
Key message:
No one builds a career in Data & AI alone!
Resilience
Community
Early Career:
The First Real Challenges
The path is not pre-written!
The Feeling of
“Being the Only One in the Room”
The Turning Point:
The Marie Curie Fellowship
A pivotal moment in my academic journey.
Key Message: Failure is a beginning, not an end.
- I did not succeed at the first application but at the second!
- the reserve list...so disappointing for such an effort.
- I built a small circle of people to help me: Neil Lawrence, collaborators, colleagues.
Resilience as a Leadership Skill
Embracing challenges and learning from failures.
“My Marie Curie fellowship didn’t happen because I tried harder.
It happened because I allowed people to support me.”
Resilience as a Leadership Skill
Rejection is data, not judgement
Rejections at top conferences/Journals. Grants that didn’t land. Ideas that had to be rewritten multiple times.
Resilience doesn’t mean doing everything alone
Mentorship (both giving and receiving). Asking for help early.
Leadership requires emotional endurance
Running MSc programmes. Leading educational strategy (LITE fellowship, ATI fellowship & educators’ programme). Being responsible for people (PhD/MSc Students) as well as research outputs.
Finding Your People:
The Support Networks
Your network is your resilience engine
Specifically, the ones who answer emails, show up to meetings, and tell you honestly when your slide font is too small.
Finding Your People:
The Support Networks
WiML Board & Mentorship
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Being on the Board since 2024
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The power of mentorship circles
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finding community in shared experiences (Workshops, panels, etc)
Leeds & LIDA Communities
- Founding the DS&AI Education interest group
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Building cross-disciplinary collaboration spaces
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Organising hackathons, workshops (e.g., BAD hackathon, LASR, Leeds-Africa hub)
International Research Network
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Collaborations over 20 years: Italy → UK→ US→ Africa.
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Importance of “weak ties” (brief collaborators) that became strong over time.
“Your career will be shaped not by institutions but by people.”
Giving Back:
The Multiplier Effect
Empowering others through mentorship and support is part of leadership
I lead MSc programmes, run mentorship initiatives, organise hackathons, advocate for diversity and ethics in AI, act as reviewer for main Journals, conferences and grant panels...WHY?
“When you lift others, you rise with them.”
...Because the next generation I help, will eventually become my reviewers.
What Leadership in Data & AI Means
Championing diversity, innovation, and ethical practices.
“Leadership in AI is not only about algorithms.
It is about shaping who gets to create them.”
Ambition
Care
Rigour
Curiosity
Community Building
Innovation
Ethics
Expertise
Closing: Three Takeaways
Resilience is a collective act
Give back every step of the way
Find your people and be someone's person
“If my story tells you anything, it is this:
You belong in Data & AI, but you don’t have to walk the journey alone.”
Your leadership legacy lives in the people you empower
No one succeeds alone
Build your support network intentionally
A Journey in Data & AI Leadership
By Luisa Cutillo
