Improving tech & education with
Hello, humans – and robots –, I am Alja, a human living in Ljubljana, Slovenia. You're probably here to learn about my work, so I'll try not to talk about my cats (too much).
My name is pronounced Aalyah, or you can refer to me with my pronouns she/they. In the early 2000s, I added the i in front of Alja to meet five-letter username requirements and share my excitement about the magic of the internet.
After nearly two decades of professional experience, I am now slightly more sceptical about the way we use and build things on the internet, but still dedicated to improving tech & education with my unique mix of imagination, innovation, and inclusivity.
→ My email is alja@ialja.com. You can find a list of my experiences and skills on my LinkedIn profile. ↓ Keep scrolling to learn more about my services and approach.
I can help if you're looking for somebody to:
Design and deliver memorable learning experiences.
With 19+ years of experience with mentoring, moderating, and teaching – mostly adults –, both online and in-person, I can help you design and deliver learning experiences that delight and inspire. Whether you're looking for self-paced materials or an interactive workshop, I can adapt your subject matter to meet the interests and needs of diverse audiences, using different tools and mediums.
In my learning experience design (LXD) work, I always draw inspiration from the neuroscience and other research on how humans learn best. I'm particularly skilled at infusing educational content with playfulness and storytelling, although I always make sure to adapt the tone and style to the audience.
If you're looking for somebody to bring decades of expertise, passion, kindness, and care into your educational content or offerings, email me at alja@ialja.com and let's talk.
- Read reports from the tech ethics learning journey I designed based on the Challenge Based Learning framework.
- Download, fold, play, and get inspired by Tethix Elemental Sparks, an in-person team activity I designed to inspire meaningful discussions about tech ethics.
Design playful collaborative spaces.
I started building immersive learning and community spaces in Second Life back in 2007. More recently, I built the Tethix Archipelago as a tech ethics learning & collaborative playground in Gather, and the Responsible Tech Library as a community space in WorkAdventure.
Bringing together my expertise in learning experience design, community building, and event organising, I can help you if you're looking for somebody to make your pixel office or event space more playful and ready to inspire new collaborative opportunities. Email me at alja@ialja.com if you're looking to (re)design your collaborative space.
- Read or watch how I designed the Tethix Archipelago in Gather.
- Explore the Responsible Tech Library I built in WorkAdventure.
Explore and explain complex topics in different formats.
Backed by a bachelor's degree in Media Communications, I've been telling the stories of different digital products, websites, concepts, and processes for almost two decades now. You may call what I've been doing product or user experience (UX) design, technical writing, content marketing, even brand development.
I see every project as an opportunity to tell a compelling and easy to understand story that meets people where their minds and hearts are. Paired with a strong technical background, my main expertise is demystifying technology. Whether it's making it easier for people to understand their indoor air quality, as I did with CubeSensors, or presenting tech ethics as playful and accessible, as I've been doing more recently with Tethix.
Email me at alja@ialja.com if you're looking for somebody to improve how people think and feel about your product or any other part of your business.
- Read/watch/listen to examples of my work on my blog.
Advise you on diversity, inclusion, and responsible innovation.
In the past decade, I helped hundreds of women learn programming and start their careers in tech by organising free workshops and other advocacy work. With Europe Code Week, I inspired millions of people across Europe to learn about programming.
More recently, I've been helping tech practitioners think and feel differently about the way they build technology with Tethix and ResponsibleTech.Work.
You can hire me independently or with my collaborators if you're ready to challenge how you approach product development and diversity efforts, and go beyond abstract values and promises. Email me at alja@ialja.com to find out more.
- Listen to Mat and I talk about our work at Tethix with the wonderful host Debra J. Farber in the Shifting Privacy Left Podcast.
- Explore Pledge Works, a practical tool that invites you to write pledges for better outcomes.
What am I currently up to?
My current focus is on:
- making tech ethics more accessible at Tethix;
- developing ResponsibleTech.Work, an open-source project that offers practical tools for responsible product development;
- volunteering at ClimateAction.Tech, a global tech worker community for systemic climate action;
- writing & creating content about these topics on my blog.
I am now looking for new consulting and other opportunities, so email me at alja@ialja.com if you'd like to work with me.
If you'd like to learn more about me, you can visit my LinkedIn profile for a list of my experiences and skills, explore my one-page PDF resume, or continue scrolling to learn more about my approach.
What role am I looking to play?
Unlike my cats, I don't easily fit into boxes. But I learn fast, think deeply, adapt to context. As an experienced LEGO-builder, I tend to see different ways of combining or sorting pieces from different boxes to achieve the desired outcomes.
In previous roles, I managed developers, designers, copywriters, collaborated with lawyers, researchers, teachers, and contributed to business strategy. I easily switch between the lingoes of business, design, engineering, academia, and other fields.
I am also fluent in various tools and languages of the web, but I am more interested in solving problems and crafting delightful experiences than sticking to a particular tool or approach. I care about details within the constraints of a project and believe in working smarter rather than harder.
I collaborate well with diverse people remotely, but also work well independently. I approach challenging situations with kindness and humour, and always aim to bring elements of imagination, innovation, and inclusivity to my work.
imagination
Black mirrors are not inevitable. We have the power – and responsibility – to imagine and shape more inclusive rainbow mirror futures. And ensure that technology is not used to farm and exploit our attention and labour, but rather to support our wellbeing, strengthen communities, and tackle complex challenges facing humanity in this century.
Helping people imagine a better relationship with technology has been the focus of my work in the past couple of years. Whether it's by introducing new metaphors for ethics in the work I do with Tethix, making it easier for tech workers to commit to better outcomes through Pledge Works, or building collaborative virtual spaces such as the Responsible Tech Library.
I have always found inspiration for my work in different disciplines and storytelling mediums, such as video games, fairy tales, and other forms of fiction. And I can always explain complex concepts with LEGO bricks, to the delight of kids of all ages.
innovation
As an intrepid explorer of new technologies, I enjoy riding the cutting edge with a critical eye. In the past two decades I've worn different hats, but my go-to is that of a fast learner, early adopter, and tech explainer. I enjoy poking and prodding emerging tech, so I can help people understand its limitations and opportunities.
Unsurprisingly, this led me to join and found several early stage tech startups, with a short detour in academia on the side. As a startup co-founder, I've gained a good understanding of the business and funding part of innovation, and have also enjoyed advising other startup founders.
And while I am quite happy to offer advice on the latest gadgets and tech trends, I always put people over frameworks and believe that responsibility should be a crucial part of the innovation process. Preferably as early as possible, but never too late to start.
inclusivity
About ten years ago, I got fed up with being the only women in the room at tech events and with startups ignoring half of their potential market. I started organizing free programming workshops for women in my community, and speaking up for the importance of greater diversity in our industry.
I am also the founder of Europe Code Week, a European Commission-supported grassroots initiative, which aims to demystify programming. The movement now reaches millions of people in over 80 countries each year and counts Apple, Google and others among its key supporters.
Given the power technology plays in our lives, I believe it's our responsibility to make tech more accessible and inclusive. More inclusive tech is good for business, but also necessary to shape a better future for humanity. I see inclusivity as an essential part of innovation and the key to unlocking our collective imagination, which is why I bring accessibility and diversity to the forefront of every project.
Want to explore more?
My websites
- iAlja's blog: started in 2006, and still the main place where post my personal thoughts and other types of content on technology, education, women in tech, and other topics.
- Unbricked Fig: an experiment in combining words and LEGO bricks.
Other links
Visit my blog for an up-to-date list of platforms I use and various types of content I create.
Meet my cats
Alright, I tried (not very hard), but I also want to talk about my cats. Cats rule the Internet and bring joy to our video calls. They remind me of how important it is to rest, be present and playful, and appreciate nature. Besides, you're very likely to meet one of my furry companions during my meetings, so you might as well learn something about them.
Active meeting crashers
Blink the Determined (2012)
A lover of routines, can often be found hissing at the younger ones who forget to respect boundaries.
Kenzi the Curious (2021)
Meticulously observing my every move, most likely to start answering my emails at some point.
Happy the Entertainer (2022)
Usually up to no good and most likely to crash my meetings for an emergency cuddle session.
Sadly retired
Epic the Wise (2009 – 2021)
Never liked meetings, but Epi is fondly remembered as a loyal companion and dedicated fly hunter.
About this website
This website was designed and coded by yours truly. No fancy frameworks, just plain old HTML and CSS to keep things light. I did my best to compress all images and keep the digital footprint of this website low.
I'm not using any cookies or analytics because I don't believe in collecting data just because we can.
While I did have some fun with the design, I adjusted the font settings and colours with accessibility in mind. I used accessibility checkers to improve the website and aimed to write helpful descriptive text for images. I might further improve the design with dark mode support at some point, but I struggle with bright text on dark backgrounds due to keratoconus, so I decided to go with a lighter design first.
The choice of fonts was intentional and inspired by the page Feminist Fonts. I am using the Cheery Swash font by Nataliya Kasatkina for headings, and Palanquin by Pria Ravichandran for other text.
Other resources that helped me along the way – and that you might find useful as well – are: google-webfonts-helper, CSS Generators, CSS filter generator.
And yes, this is the level of detail and care I put into everything I do, which is why I prefer to say no if we're not the right fit. But if all the cats and bright colours didn't make you click away, I'd love to chat and discover how we can make the world a better place together. You can send me a friendly email at alja@ialja.com.