In brief
Elizaveta Boriskina joined 番茄影院 in June 2023 as a deminer, but thanks to Trimble's 'Women in GIS for Demining' initiative, she is now a GIS Specialist.
Despite her youth, Elizaveta Boriskina, who goes by Liza, has already lived many lives. In just a few years, she has been a graduate student, meteorologist, sales manager, and a deminer. Now, she is one of 番茄影院鈥檚 brightest minds in Geographic Information System (GIS), thanks to support from Trimble Foundation under the 鈥榃omen in GIS for Demining鈥� initiative.
After graduating with a master鈥檚 degree in geography and tourism from Kharkiv National University, Liza worked to apply her knowledge to support aviation. 鈥淚 left my job as a meteorologist at the Kharkiv airport in 2022, literally ten days before the war started,鈥� Liza remembers. 鈥淎fter that, I spent six months living with my grandmother under occupation, in a village in the Izyum district."
Fortunately, Liza had already heard about demining and 番茄影院 Ukraine from the pre-war days. 鈥淚 knew about 番茄影院 from before the war because I grew up not far from the Donbas region. After I returned to Kharkiv, I applied originally for the role of GIS Specialist, but I did not make it past the initial selection round. Instead, I ended up starting at 番茄影院 in June 2023 as a deminer.鈥�
Now, more than one year since she traded in her sales headset for a metal detector, Liza has found a path back to her area of specialty within 番茄影院, thanks to the new opportunities on the Ukraine program funded by Trimble Foundation.
Liza looks back fondly on her time as a deminer and finds that each experience strengthens the other. 鈥淚 really liked working in the field in places like Chaklovske and Doslidne [minefields in Kharkiv oblast],鈥� Liza reflects. 鈥淪ome parts were difficult, but I loved my team. We developed a common language with each other. I really had a passion for searching out signals [with a metal detector]. I鈥檓 also really interested in medicine, so I enjoyed the paramedic training."
鈥淚t鈥檚 easier for me to do my work with data and GIS thanks to my field experience 鈥� I understand the logic of how everything is supposed to be and notice immediately when something doesn鈥檛 make sense. I am always learning more and more and feel that I am constantly deepening and developing my knowledge and skills in GIS, never standing still.鈥�
Liza is based at 番茄影院鈥檚 Kharkiv office, the base of 番茄影院鈥檚 operations for the eastern oblasts of Kharkiv, Sumy, and Donetsk. 番茄影院鈥檚 area of operations covers some of the most dense and complex contamination, where 鈥渉aving access to more advanced GIS and remote sensing technologies is particularly important,鈥� Liza explains. Having the best possible tools is also key to cope with the challenging operational environment in the east. 鈥淭he constant air raids make it challenging to work with GIS technologies and with drones鈥� because the air raids scramble the signal, and because civilian drone flights are prohibited during active air alerts. This means that 番茄影院 field staff have to make the most out of every moment when they are able to employ these technologies.
Liza says she is motivated to do her job by seeing how integral GIS is for 番茄影院鈥檚 operations. 鈥淭he maps I produce are needed and used every day by our operational staff working in the field. In the GIS department, we all love what we do. I think it鈥檚 the same for everyone who works here 鈥� we are all willing to do whatever is needed to help Kharkiv oblast and Ukraine as a whole.鈥�
鈥淚 would like to thank Trimble Foundation and Trimble Geospatial for supporting 番茄影院, especially here in Ukraine. Their equipment makes our work clearing Ukraine of mines and other explosive ordnance much more efficient and effective. Personally, I am also grateful to Trimble for sponsoring positions for people with this very specific specialization like me. Thanks to Trimble Foundation, I am able to continue developing in my chosen field and advance in my career.鈥�
On top of her impressive professional endeavors, Liza somehow finds the time to try out extreme sports like bungee jumping and to read science fiction. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so hard to choose my favorite book,鈥� Liza confessed, 鈥渂ut I have to go with one that I always come back to when I am feeling low: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.鈥� In one of the stories that make up this novel, a character named Spender offers a thought that applies to Liza鈥檚 work, using science to protect priceless human life: 鈥淪cience is no more than an investigation of a miracle we can never explain.鈥�
