Medical equipment technician

• Juigalpa, NI
• 2015
• Engineering World Health

Two months repairing medical equipment in rural Nicaragua, in Spanish. My work partner and I visited 3 health centres and the regional laboratory in addition to our assigned hospital in Juigalpa, due to the relationship we established with the local Ministry of Health office. We were able to put more than 40 pieces of equipment back into service, the majority of which laboratory equipment (sterilisation ovens and centrifuges, for example).

Engineering ambassador

• Australia, Spain, Scotland
• 2008 - current

Speaking about the potential for technology to advance society has long been a hobby of mine, in an attempt to improve society's perception of science and engineering careers. My passion comes partly from the fact that this is something that, personally, I did not realise myself until I was well into my own engineering degree. In addition to taking part in formal school outreach programs and science/robotics competitions, I have also been an invited speaker at a range of events with young adults as the audience, such as high school graduations, panels, university Open Days, and Engineering Week events.
In 2012 as the manager of the Robogals Rural and Regional program, I hosted a training weekend for female university students from across Australia to act as ambassadors for engineering. In the following months these ambassadors went on to give presentations to more than 500 school students in remote areas, making an impact far larger than I could alone.

International Development Design Summit delegate

• Lusaka, ZM
• 2013
• Intl. Development Innov. Network

As participants at the MIT-founded IDDS in Zambia, my team worked with the community members of Chitambala Village, Mumbwa to identify the need for food dehydrating processes that were more sophisticated than the existing methods in place for drying vegetables. The area had an abundance of fruit going to waste each rainy season that we discovered could be preserved for consumption in the dry season to improve children's nutrition. We gained experience working with culturally diverse and multi-disciplinary teams, local creative capacity building, developing prototypes and business models, and collecting feedback from community members.

Fundraising events organiser

• Australia, Scotland
• 2011 - 2013
• One Girl

As the highest fundraiser for One Girl's inaugural Do It In A Dress campaign in 2011, I was able to raise more than US$4,000 for the education charity. To date, through sponsorship assisted by various events and media coverage, 22 high school scholarships in total for girls in Sierra Leone have been funded. Furthermore, I have inspired student groups at QUT to participate in the campaign, funding more than 50 scholarships in 2015 alone.

Finalist for TED 2013

• Standing ovation at official TED.com event
• >4000 online views

Coverage from blog.ted.com:
"Who were the must-see speakers of the night, who you hope TED fans will watch on the TED Talent Search website?"
"Deanna Hood. Deanna spoke about using simple cheap and already-in-existence technology — the mobile phone — to support health care workers in the developing world."

2,000+ students inspired as an Engineering Ambassador

• Various NGO, government and university programs
• 700+ girls inspired in person, + online events

"The part of the day that influenced me the most was when Deanna Hood talked to us about her career in engineering and how she helped so many people, such as the disabled, through her job. Deanna said that she went to university when she was only 15 and had no clue what engineering even was. She did know that her favourite subject was maths and she loved problem solving. This clued me into engineering as a career as my passion is maths and not leaving a problem unsolved... I learnt so much about the many branches of engineering and how they can help people in so many more ways than I thought possible." - Libby, Year 9

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Winning video: Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence

• My own AI algorithm, and robotic "writing" system: 300 research citations
• Reuters coverage

Coverage from Sydney Morning Herald:
"At just 23, Deanna Hood is hoping her work in artificial intelligence can help change the way robots are used in classrooms. Her fascinating work combines a relatively cheap humanoid robot and a tablet with the idea that kids learn better when they're teaching...

The secret to making it work at a price that hopefully won't keep schools locked out was a little bit of trickery. Robots with fine motor skills advanced enough to actually draw on a tablet were prohibitively expensive, so the team used a cheaper robot and synced its movements to the tablet to mimic writing instead."

Appearance on national science TV show Scope

• Estimated 14,000 viewers + ACM publication
• Humanitarian applications of electronics and control systems!

Scope is a fast, funny and informative children’s science show produced in association with the CSIRO. Scope was created to demystify the world of science and technology, and make it relevant, accessible and above all fascinating to a young audience.

Topic: brain-control of the CARRS-Q automotive simulator with applications for people living with paralysis.

Selected upcoming events

Engineers Australia Biomedical College: 3D bioprinting for regenerative medicine: Dec 14th, Sydney/live-streamed
Engineers Australia Experience It! engineering immersion for school-girls: Oct 17th, Sydney/live-streamed
The Hustle mentoring launch: Nov 11th, Sydney
QUT Industry Showcase: Nov 23, Brisbane
TBC: KUKA LBR Med robot for medical device startups