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Marita Cheng (born 5 March 1989) is the founder of
Robogals Robogals is an international student-run organisation that aims to inspire, engage and empower young women to consider studying engineering and related fields. Its primary activity is interactive, engineering based workshops for girls aged betw ...
. She was named the 2012
Young Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...
. She is the founder and current CEO of Aubot, a start-up robotics company. She co-founded Aipoly, an app to assist blind people to recognise objects using their mobile phones. She was named as one of the World's Top 50 women in Technology by Forbes in 2018 and was recognized on the
Forbes 30 Under 30 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists published annually by ''Forbes'' magazine since 2011 consisting of 30 notable people under 30 years old in various industries. The American list consists of 600 people, with 30 selected in each of 20 sect ...
list in 2016. On 9 June 2019, Cheng was appointed a member of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
for significant service to science and technology, particularly to robotics.


Early life

Cheng was raised by her mother, a single parent who worked as a hotel room cleaner, in a housing commission apartment in Queensland, Australia.


Career

In 2007, while at university, Cheng founded Nudge, a company which provided reminders by phone or
text message Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, desktop computer, des ...
to help people manage their prescription drug schedules. She won a prize for the best undergraduate business at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
and then recruited friends to start designing workshops to teach girls about robotics. This became
Robogals Robogals is an international student-run organisation that aims to inspire, engage and empower young women to consider studying engineering and related fields. Its primary activity is interactive, engineering based workshops for girls aged betw ...
, which was founded in 2008 for the purpose of encouraging young women into careers in
STEM fields Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context o ...
. Cheng later graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in mechatronics and a Bachelor of Computer Science. In 2011, Cheng was awarded a
Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...
, which allowed her to visit the U.S., U.K., Germany and Jamaica to learn about international approaches to science education for young women. In 2011, Cheng was also awarded the
Anita Borg Institute AnitaB.org (formerly Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, and Institute for Women in Technology) is a global nonprofit organization based in Belmont, California. Founded by computer scientists Anita Borg and Telle Whitney, the institut ...
's Change Agent
ABIE Award AnitaB.org (formerly Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, and Institute for Women in Technology) is a global nonprofit organization based in Belmont, California. Founded by computer scientists Anita Borg and Telle Whitney, the institute ...
. In November 2011, Cheng was named Victorian Young Australian of the Year for 2012, and went on to be named as Young Australian of the Year. In that same year she was also a winner in the
Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...
Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...
100 Women of Influence awards' Young Leader category. Cheng visited China as part of the 40 Year Anniversary of Australia-China Diplomatic Relations, touring Guangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Tianjin and Beijing in 2012. In 2013 she established a start-up robotics company. Cheng delivered the closing keynote speech at the 35th World Congress of the
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association that supports Girl Guides, female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 153 countries. It was established in the year 1928 in Parád, H ...
in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
in 2014. In 2015, Cheng attended
Singularity University Singularity Education Group (using the public names Singularity Group, Singularity University or SingularityU) is an American company that offers executive educational programs, a business incubator, and business consultancy services. Although t ...
's flagship 10-week Graduate Studies Program, where she founded an app that uses AI to enable visually impaired people to recognize objects, receiving
TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. I ...
coverage during her time at the program. The app won a CES Best of Innovation Award in 2017. Cheng co-led an Australian delegation of 50 entrepreneurs, industry representatives and government envoys, to Israel alongside Assistant Innovation Minister Wyatt Roy in 2015. She co-founded Aipoly, which launched in January 2016. Aipoly is an app to assist blind people to recognise objects using their mobile phones. Cheng returned to her robotics company, receiving a
Myer Myer (stylised MYER) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and child ...
Fellowship, and participated in the Advance Queensland Hot Desq program in 2017, relocating to
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Australia for 6 months, and the
Austrade The Australian Trade and Investment Commission, or Austrade ( ), is the Australian Government's trade, investment and education promotion agency which was also given responsibility for tourism policy, programs and research from 2013. Austrade ...
San Francisco Landing Pad in 2018, which brought her to San Francisco. From 2012 to 2018, Cheng served on the board of the
Foundation for Young Australians Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...
. Cheng helped decide on startup investments alongside
Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter, journalist, Australian Football League commentator and former TV executive. He is also an occasional ''Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosted C ...
as a board member of
RMIT University The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...
's New Enterprise Investment Fund (2014-2017), and supported the Victorian startup ecosystem as a board member of the Victorian State Innovation Expert Panel (2016-2018). She was also involved with the
Clinton Health Access Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...
as Technology Advisory Board Member (2016-2017).


Public appearance

Cheng has given two TEDx talks, and has been a featured speaker at MIT Technology Review Conference in Singapore, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon, the Global Summit of Women in Tokyo, and the
Girl Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organization ...
National Convention in Utah. She appeared live on TV as a panelist on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
's Q&A, alongside Nobel laureates
Brian Schmidt Brian Paul Schmidt (born 24 February 1967) is an American Australian astrophysics, astrophysicist at the Australian National University's Mount Stromlo Observatory and Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. He was the Vice-Chancellor o ...
and Peter Doherty,
Suzanne Cory Suzanne Cory (born 11 March 1942) is an Australian molecular biologist. She has worked on the genetics of the immune system and cancer and has lobbied her country to invest in science. She is married to fellow scientist Jerry Adams, also a WE ...
and
Chief Scientist of Australia The Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) is part of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Its primary responsibilities are to enable growth and productivity for globally competitive industries. To help realise this vision, the depart ...
Ian Chubb Ian William Chubb (born 17 October 1943) is an Australian neuroscientist and academic, who was the Chief Scientist of Australia from 23 May 2011 to 22 January 2016. Career Chubb has a Masters in Science, a DPhil from the University of Oxford, ...
, and in 2011, served as a judge on
The New Inventors ''The New Inventors'' was an Australian television program, that was broadcast on ABC1 and hosted by broadcaster and comedian James O'Loghlin. Each episode featured three Australian inventions and short video tape packages. IP Australia, a supp ...
. She spoke alongside
Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer and entrepreneur. His accolades include a People's Choice Award and fifteen Teen Choice Awards, in addition to a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. K ...
at
Lenovo Lenovo Group Limited, trading as Lenovo ( , zh, c=联想, p=Liánxiǎng), is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, servers, conv ...
's #TECHmyway. Cheng has been profiled in
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...
Australia,
InStyle ''InStyle'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith, and started originally as a brand extension of ''People (magazine), People'' before carving out its own ide ...
magazine, and
The Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known simply as ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before bein ...
for her work as a technology entrepreneur. Cheng frequently attends events via her company's Teleport robot, using the device to meet
Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...
and
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle, August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family, media personality, entrepreneur, and former actress. She is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son ...
in 2018, to appear on a panel with Israel's Chief Scientist Avi Hasson, and to give a speech at Robogals' 10-year anniversary gala dinner.


Awards and other accolades

*2012 – Young Australian of the Year *2014 – RoboHub 25 Women in Robotics you need to know about *2014 – Global Engineering Deans Council Diversity Award *2016 –
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
30 Under 30 *2016 –
Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...
Asia Game Changer Award The Asia Game Changer Awards is an annual award ceremony held in recognition of individuals and organizations within and connected to the Asian community that have made positive contributions to the development and improvement of Asia and societ ...
*2017 – American Australian Association Next Generation Leader *2018 –
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
World's Top 50 Women in Tech *2018 - The NSW Award for Excellence in Women's Leadership


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Marita 1989 births Living people People from Cairns Australian roboticists Australian women engineers Women roboticists Australian people of Chinese descent Members of the Order of Australia University of Melbourne alumni Asia Game Changer Award winners