Shamsi Mumtahina Momo ’27: Organizing Brandeis’ first tech-entrepreneurship conference
Photography by Daniel Oren ’27
September 15, 2025
If there’s a tech conference in Boston, chances are Shamsi Mumtahina Momo ’27 is in the audience. But after years of soaking up inspiration from innovators and leaders across the city, she had a lightbulb moment: Why not bring that same energy to Brandeis?
Momo, president of Girls Who Code at Brandeis, spent the summer bringing her idea to life alongside the club’s executive board and in collaboration with the Hiatt Career Center and BETA (Brandeis Entrepreneurship and Tech Association), another student tech group on campus. Together, they shaped the vision for what became Lead the Future: Technology and Entrepreneurship Redefined, the university’s first-ever student-run tech and business conference.
Held in Levin Ballroom on the third weekend of the fall semester, the event drew students from Brandeis and other schools across Massachusetts.
Momo credited Brandeis Girls Who Code PR director Amaima Awais ’27 for helping get the word out about the conference. Momo designed the conference program and led cold outreach to panelists across the tech landscape. BETA also contributed by inviting three speakers of their own. The resulting lineup included professionals from Microsoft, Salesforce, HubSpot, Boston’s startup community, and alumni such as Igor Pedan ’05, head of Robot Induction for Amazon Robotics.
But the conference wasn’t just about the speakers. A highlight of the day was a dedicated networking lunch, where industry leaders joined students specifically to connect in a more informal setting.
“Networking is the key takeaway,” she said. “I encouraged people not just to listen to panels but to introduce themselves, ask questions and connect on LinkedIn.”
Momo’s path to leading Brandeis’ tech scene wasn’t straightforward. When she arrived on campus from Sylhet, Bangladesh, she planned to study neuroscience. But when her first-semester schedule left her short on classes, she enrolled in Introduction to Python.
“I joined a hackathon organized by Quant Club around the same time, and we won second place,” she recalled. “That sparked my interest in tech.”
As her interest in technology grew, Girls Who Code at Brandeis became a natural outlet.
“I thought it would be a meaningful way to build a community for women in tech, where many classes are male dominated,” she said. “We aim to provide resources, support and a sense of belonging.”
At Brandeis, Momo has leaned on mentors to help her navigate computer science as a new field. Professor Dylan Cashman has provided particular encouragement and mentorship.
“Coming into computer science without a background was tough, and I doubted myself,” she said. “His support and encouragement helped me stick with it.”
As she looks ahead to a career in tech and entrepreneurship, Momo is determined to keep building spaces where others can discover their passion for technology — just as she did. She plans to get hands-on experience in software engineering, and eventually attend business school.
“I’d like to be a software engineer, builder or entrepreneur,” Momo said. “I want to be someone who develops technology that makes a large-scale impact.”
