Why the Best AI People Don't Come From Tech: Ideja Bajra on the Power of the Pivot

Ideja Bajra was on track for a PhD in cell biology when ChatGPT landed and rerouted everything.

In this episode, Leah Garrett sits down with Ideja, founder of her own AI consultancy, to talk about the nonlinear path that took her from St Andrews labs to running a business demystifying AI for companies. They cover the random accelerator email that gave her two weeks to invent a business, why a science communication background turned out to be the perfect foundation for working in AI, and what a genuinely human-centred approach to the technology looks like in practice.

This one's for anyone whose CV doesn't match the career they actually want, anyone mid-pivot, and anyone tired of being told AI belongs only to computer scientists.

In this episode:

• Why Ideja's name means "idea" in Albanian, and how it shaped her
• Pivoting from cell biology to AI without a roadmap
• The two-week sprint that became a consultancy
• Human-centred AI, beyond the buzzword
• How science communication and teaching feed into tech
• AI in education, and the authenticity question
• Following intuition when the linear path falls apart

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.