Marcela Corbo: “Uruguay is a fairly technological country” – 07/27/2021

Marcela Corbo (44) Technical woman. However, his path to that area was not the traditional path: he had gone through many jobs before he found his true purpose. Today she is a project manager at Genexus Consulting and responsible for K2BHealth.

This week, Corbo will participate in Techinspira, an event organized by ORT . University It will integrate a panel on living science and technology.

The engineer spoke with El Pais about her career and projects.

“How did you get involved in the world of technology?”
I’ve always loved science. I went to French high school and did biology work in international high school and national science. After some difficulties in different colleges for various reasons, my father led me to switch to engineering. So I entered the Catholic University. While I was studying there, I had the opportunity to take a course at Genexus to work as an analyst, it went well for me and, unwillingly, they called me to work with them. It’s been 22 years and I’ve always been associated with the field of health-related consulting and projects – medicine is another profession that interests me – I worked in development, head of development and management and now I’m in direction. I also continued my training, earning MBA and postgraduate degrees focusing on medicine and technology.

Dedicate yourself to a business in which there are traditionally men. Did you find obstacles?
In another, I taught the National School of Dance and Contemporary Dance and I am from a very feminine group when I entered college, we were very few women. In the first year we were in the fourth. per second, three; And for the third, we only have two left. I’ve never had a problem or felt discriminated against, although obviously I had to adapt to a more masculine or masculine environment.

How do you think more girls and young women can be motivated to get involved in science and technology?
“I think it should be demystified.” It is believed that one must be very smart, and from this prejudice that if you do engineering you are a “bocho”. It seems to me that this is not the case. In my case, I was always striving in high school, was not an excellent student and was able to get my degree. If you wish, you will do so. We must also disavow the myth that those who study geometry are half “wrong” or have no social life; This creates a gap. The other thing that seems to me at the level of science and technology is thought of as a very technical thing and, in fact, a very creative profession; You always solve problems and challenges. One day you start on one side and another day on another; The solution is always different, it is never repeated and you are constantly evolving and learning.

– What prompted you to work with the Internet of Things and its application in the health field?
—We have a team of 20 people who are constantly working in the area. One of the things we do is research and we invest a significant portion of the budget in research and development. We are a technology company and we have to be on top of the wave. It is our duty to make new proposals and see what’s coming. It is for this that we travel to exhibitions, take part in courses and forums. We have seen the topic of sensors for health monitoring coming, because there are millions of monitoring possibilities; Enhancing patient safety was something that was working internationally. In the case of K2B Health, it is an application that deals with medical records and various logistical uses, where sensors are an important part.

What is his role in national medical history?
—Uruguay has a national medical history. We have been working on this project as an important part for many years and we are one of the few countries that have been able to have this record, due to the issue of scale and scope. Also because we are a country that is, in essence, quite technological. We have a communication network that is not the usual one, especially in Latin America that also allows us to work on this kind of platform. The epidemic helps define its importance. The key thing about a national medical history is that any doctor who treats you anywhere has access to your medical history.

How do you see the post-pandemic future?
—I think video consultation, initially resisted, is here to stay, as well as remote monitoring. One trend is to get patients out of the hospital and monitor them elsewhere. In addition, the sensor part has become relevant to the epidemic, creating a collaborative network. The fact that there can be a prominent radiological technician who can tell you about a painting hundreds of kilometers away is key. Not relying on the expert on a physical level changes the dynamics. There may be multidisciplinary groups and have more with experts or consultants. Uruguay is a country that has the infrastructure.