Where do you live?
I live in Engkomi with my husband, Michalis, and my two kids.

What did you have for breakfast?
Coffee!

Describe your perfect day
It depends. Sometimes a perfect day is to wake up early, on my own with no children climbing on my head, have coffee and listen to a good podcast. Other times, when I can get to work and write code without interruptions.

Best book ever read?
One of my favourite books is Innovators by Walter Isaacson. This book explores the fascinating stories of individuals who played pivotal roles in the development of computers and the internet. What makes this book especially impactful is Isaacson’s detailed narration of how collaboration among diverse and talented teams led to the groundbreaking innovations that have shaped the modern digital landscape.

Best childhood memory?
Being able to leave the house, get lost for hours, and no one worrying because I was just out playing (I am a child of the 80s).

What is always in your fridge?
Milk, cheese, yoghurt (I have kids).

What music are you listening to in the car at the moment?
Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.

What’s your spirit animal?
A wolf maybe? I tend to lead packs & teams.

What are you most proud of?
I am very proud to be one of the founders of hack {cyprus}. Through CEL we created the initiative called hack {cyprus}, the first initiative to organise hackathons in Cyprus, since 2012.

What movie scene has really stayed with you?
Agent Smith’s monologue to Morpheus in the original Matrix movie (1999). Agent Smith removes his earpiece, steps close to a drugged and restrained Morpheus, and begins to speak not like a machine, but like something disgusted by the very idea of humanity. This scene stays with you not because he’s evil but because, deep down, he’s not wrong.

If you could pick anyone at all (alive or dead) to go out for the evening with, who would it be?
The amazing rear admiral Grace Hopper, known as Grandma Cobol, The Grand Old Lady of Software and the Queen of Code. She was one of the first programmers on the Harvard Mark I computer. She developed the first compiler for the first programming language, which was a foundational step in the transition from raw programming in machine code to the use of human-friendly programming languages.

If you could time travel when/where would you go?
Year 2040 – To see if we finally fix or destroy the planet.

What is your greatest fear?
History will repeat itself.

What would you say to your 18-year-old self?
The first time you hear the word bitcoin, start mining!!!!

Name the one thing that would stop you dating someone.
That would be Michalis

If the world is ending in 24 hours, what would you do?
Nothing at all – I would just relax and enjoy the day.

Elena is the host of the Breaking the 20% podcast, a platform dedicated to exploring the historical contributions of women in the technology field and named after the fact that only 20 per cent of computer science degrees go to women. Follow Elena on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/elenageorgiou/) and Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenageorgioustrouthos/).