Read about Meena Sur

What brought you to a career in technology at the United Nations?

I joined the UN in Programme Management, leveraging my expertise in ICTs. In each of my roles, I initiated process re-engineering using technology as an enabler to bring efficiencies and economies of scale. These efforts aided the UN in its sustainability goals and the establishment of a data strategy, a conference and event management supply chain and re-use of multilingual data.

What has been your favorite IT project at the United Nations and what was your technical contribution?

My favourite project at the United Nations was the design, development, and deployment of PaperSmart services for Rio+20. This was a pioneer effort in 2012 that built further on the Paperless Committee which I implemented in 2002. This project made a paradigm shift in the reduction of paper copies of parliamentary documents and Member States’ statements in conference rooms.

What advice would you give women interested in pursuing a field in technology?

Technology is a great enabler, especially to bring about a paradigm shift in various workflows and processes. It is important to understand the business and identify areas of improvement in the workflow and processes. All of this can help us see how technology can facilitate the delivery of future client services.