Women Building AI: What Holds Up in 2026 - A Roundtable Discussion (side event of World Summit AI during World AI Week 2026)
A tech roundtable evening served with Food, bites, drinks and intellect.
About the event:
AI systems are moving quickly from experimentation into everyday technical work.
Models ship. Agents run. Code is written and reviewed with AI in the loop. Frameworks change fast, and skills that felt specialised a year ago are becoming part of how teams work.
So the question for 2026 is:
What holds up in practice?
This second edition of Women Building AI is a curated, invite-only gathering for people building, deploying, and operating AI systems. It is designed as a focused working room during World Summit AI week: less stage, more table.
Expect one keynote, five guided roundtables, and practical exchange with peers working through similar decisions.
Who this is for
Engineers, ML researchers, product builders, founders, architects, technical PMs, AI infrastructure teams, semiconductor specialists, and people working at the intersection of AI technology, product, and deployment.
Whether you are building AI systems or building technical products with AI, this is a space to compare real decisions, ask sharper questions, and meet peers working hands-on with AI.
Roundtable themes
Engineering Judgment
How AI-generated code changes the role of senior technical judgment.
Architecture of Agency
When to use agents, skills, workflows, or something more constrained.
Agents in Production
Failure modes, oversight, state, tooling, and operational patterns.
Measuring After Launch
Evals, observability, drift, and feedback loops after deployment.
The Silicon Layer
How chips, memory, latency, and energy shape AI system design.
Final framing and moderators announced closer to the event.
Spark Talks:
Elizabeth Bismut - AI Start-up (Stealth) Founder, AI Researcher & Faculty
Andreea Giurgiu - AI Architect, Microsoft, SheTech Podcast
Aileen Christensen - Marketing AI Adoption Lead, Elsevier
Dr. Ella Burju (Bo) Keskin - AI Researcher & Scientist
Sneha Challa - Forward Deployed Gen AI Engineer, Tek Systems
Swetha Sivadas - Senior Engineer, Silicon Physical Design, Axelera AI
Table Moderators:
Parmida Mardanshahi - AI Engineer, Xebia
Keerthana Rupanagudi - Senior Engineer, Capgemini (ASML)
Emily von Bergen Takushi - AI Product Manager, Mendix
Mansi Rungta - Senior Solution Engineer, Microsoft
Manasi Diwate - Solutions (AI) Engineer, Valley Optics
Alejandra Alfaro - Architect & Data Analist, HawarIT
HOST:
Margaux Miller - Tech & AI Event Emcee (Host) from Canada
AGENDA:
15:45 - 16.30 Arrival, check-in and welcome networking - Guests settle in and connect informally in the networking area outside the conference room. Welcome remarks from Women in AI Benelux and the event sponsors will take place during this period. Drinks and two varieties of bites will be served.
16:30 - 17:00 Welcome & Opening
17:00- 17:30 Introduction & Spark Talks - Five short talks of approximately five minutes each, introducing the five roundtable themes and giving participants a starting point for discussion.
17:30 - 17.40 Roundtable Briefing and Table Setup
17:40 - 18:00 Roundtable discussions - Focused small-group discussions at the assigned tables, guided by the table moderators.
18:00 - 18:20 Topic Group Synthesis - Two groups of same topic come together and aggregate the knowledge
18:20 - 18:30 Break
18:30 - 19:00 Cross-Table Sharing - Each topic group shares its key insights with the full room, with approximately five minutes allocated to each topic.
19:00 - 19:45 Wrap-up, Networking, Bites and Drinks - The evening concludes with networking in the area outside the conference room. Drinks and three varieties of bites will be served.
20:00 Closed
In town for World Summit AI?
Many attendees join us while in Amsterdam for World Summit AI 2026.
If you’re already in town, this is a smaller, more focused setting to:
Meet peers earlier in the week
Connect with women working hands-on with AI in Benelux
Start conversations that carry into the summit
We also host informal community moments around the event:
Women in AI lunch networking
A casual setting to meet others from the communityWomen in AI stranger dinner
Join solo, meet others, and build connections during WSAI week
Details will be shared on LinkedIn and in the World Summit AI app.
Not attending World Summit AI?
This is still one of the best ways to meet international AI professionals within your workday.
About Women in AI Benelux
Women in AI Benelux is part of a global nonprofit do-tank organisation Women in AI, working to increase female representation and participation in AI through community, events, and partnerships across the Benelux region and beyond.
We create rooms that are intentional, relevant, and grounded in practice, bringing together people who are not just discussing AI, but actively shaping how it is built and applied.
To join
Spaces are limited. Click Request to Join and complete the short form to register your interest. We'll then confirm your spot.
Follow Women in AI Benelux on Linkedin here.
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