Kennesaw State Professor Uses Platform To Encourage Women In STEM

Press release from Kennesaw State University:

May 28, 2021

Kennesaw State professor uses platform to encourage women in STEM

Paola Spoletini

KENNESAW, Ga.
(May 28, 2021) — Paola Spoletini recalls stepping into her first engineering course at Politecnico di Milano in Italy
as one of the only female students among a class of 100.

Equipped with decades of research experience and a platform through which she can
connect with the next generation of STEM scholars, Spoletini now plays an active role
in encouraging other women to take their seat at the table.

A professor of software engineering in Kennesaw State University’s College of Computing and Software Engineering, Spoletini said she recognized her own passion for STEM at an early age. She was
raised by two mathematicians and has two sisters who launched STEM careers, one becoming
an engineer and the other a physician.

An accomplished researcher in her own right, Spoletini was awarded the Most Influential
Paper Award by the 2020 IEEE International Requirements Engineering (RE) Conference,
an honor given to those who demonstrate the “single largest impact on the requirements
engineering community over the past 10 years.” In the area of requirements engineering
– activities that determine expectations for a new or modified product – she received
more than $390,000 from the National Science Foundation to conduct research that could
ultimately lead to improved development of software systems.

“We were never told that there was something we couldn’t do,” Spoletini said. “To
be honest, being in a room full of men never shook me. There was an understanding
that diversity would only be beneficial and allow us to pull on the power of our different
backgrounds and perspectives.”

At KSU, she works to instill the same mindset in her students. After arriving in 2015,
Spoletini launched the Tiresias Lab, designed to introduce software engineering students
to more advanced applications of requirements engineering. Beyond the high-level research
conducted there, Spoletini takes pride in the fact she leads a diverse team of undergraduate
and graduate students to study alongside her.

“What I really try to demonstrate is that we are all collaborators in this space,”
she said. “I may be the professor, but nobody’s opinions outweigh the next. We all
have a voice, and we can work together to achieve a common goal.”

The message has taken hold for several of her students. Kim Hertz, who earned undergraduate
and graduate degrees in software engineering at KSU before enrolling in a Ph.D. program
at New York University, credits Spoletini with helping give her direction.

“Through our joint work, I discovered my passion for research, which led me to realize
this is where I wanted my studies to take me,” Hertz said. “I learned a lot from her
experience. She has always been encouraging, providing me with opportunities to expand
my horizons.”

– Travis Highfield

Related Stories

• Read the Kennesaw State University Magazine - Spring Edition

• Postdoctoral researchers create opportunities for growth at Kennesaw State

• Kennesaw State professor dedicated to diversity in education

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.

This press release was produced by Kennesaw State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.