We have a new Regional Lead Coordinator for South America: Michele Tendon.
Michele is the founder of BIMGreen Solutions, a technology consultancy offering support in BIM and sustainable building practices based in Brazil.
Michele is passionate about technology and strives to help her clients discover new digital tools to apply to architecture, engineering and construction by integrating them with the procedures, programs and standards they already use. Michele has a postgraduate degree in BIM, a Master’s in BIM process and sustainability, and is currently a candidate for a doctorate in computer engineering.
We welcome Michele to the WIB Core Team and before she gets started in her new role coordinating all of our Regional Leads in South America, we asked her what attracted her to WIB.
What made you interested in joining Women in BIM?
Not so different from other countries, my country is historically a sexist country, specifically in the AEC area. Male predominance generates a huge gap in the inclusion of women, hindering their access to functions that require decision-making, placing them in the majority sometimes in lower positions and discouraging them from acting in leadership roles.
When I met the women behind WIB in 2017, I identified with the cause, with the support and engagement work of young women in the AEC area. I spent two years following the group’s work until I applied in 2019. I have no doubt that this work is extremely important, for some necessary cases. The first thing I thought when I applied as a Regional Lead was, what I could contribute with my profile (introspective) to help other women and how I could contribute to women in BIM roles in Brazil?
I felt inspired to be part of the group because I believe that its union and heterogeneity will certainly have a great impact on people who come to us.
Why is Women in BIM an important initiative for you?
In my view, WIB is a way to meet women who experience the same experiences, challenges and difficulties as me, as well as the opportunity to contact people with different knowledge and visions to share.
I believe I can make a difference with my point of view and knowledge, bringing to the group a holistic view of my region. I understand that WIB can be a channel to comprehensively promote this integration of women, which is an important step to help those who seek us to develop and improve their skills and seize new opportunities, promoting the growth and improvement of these people so that each time more women have effective and prominent participation in the AEC, further encouraging their representation in management positions.
WIB, through effective networking and the support of experienced leaders, can provide great advantages to the entire group, such as greater competitiveness and more voices in the sector.
Furthermore, it is so necessary to promote equality and diversity, it is my way of saying, “look, I’m here, you can count on me!”
In what direction do you see the future of BIM in the coming years?
The future will be focused on technology and the evolution of data can help restore hope for the future to how we sustainably care for and develop our planet.
The importance of advancing robotic innovations, AI and ML, autonomy, sensor fusion and mixed reality, is critical to providing insights, optimisation and technological transformations within industries that support how we live, what we connect, and ultimately on what our quality of life more depends.
I believe that in the near future, software algorithms and robotics should change the process of creating and executing projects, where we will feed software “rules” and, like almost everything that depends on technology, BIM will evolve, the acronym should increase, the process will be cyclical.
This great technological innovation in the AEC industry provides us with relevant knowledge that can bring us many inspirations in the future.
To contact Michele and discuss BIM in Brazil, how to join Women in BIM, or to become a Regional Lead in South America, message Michele directly at michelet@womeninbim.org.
