Meet Momina Iftikhar, a current master's student at the University of Turku and an UTUambassador 2025-2026!
"Hi! I'm Momina Iftikhar from Pakistan, and I'm a second-year master's student in Health Technology at the University of Turku.
I completed my bachelor's in Computer Science back home and worked as a full-stack developer where I focused on building conversational AIs with NLP. My passion for applying tech to real-world health problems stems from a deeply personal place: watching my mother's life-threatening illness get diagnosed early because of technology showed me how powerful the intersection of health and tech can be. This is what drove me to pursue my master's here, and I'm currently starting my thesis in collaboration with FinnBrain Neuroimaging Lab and the Health Technology department.
Finland really is my vibe. I love how the focus here is on learning and cooperation rather than cut-throat competition. I'm a strong believer in communities, not competition. That's also why I joined ESN UTU as an events officer, where I get to help organize events and bring people together.
When I'm not working on biosignals or coding, you'll find me hosting, cooking, or baking for friends (food is my love language!). I've recently fallen down the F1 rabbit hole and try to catch the GPs whenever I can. My playlist is usually a mix of Hozier, Laufey, and Billie Eilish. I'm also actively learning Finnish and honestly, if you have a cat, we're automatically friends. What I love most about Turku is how student-friendly and welcoming it is. You can truly be yourself here and find your community, there's a real sense of belonging. The nature here has been incredibly calming and almost spiritual for me.