Técnico once again joined forces with the United Nations Agency, ITU (International Telecommunication Union), to mark the International Girls in ICT Day through the GIRLSTEAM 2023 event. The initiative aims to encourage young girls to pursue studies and careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). The event took place on 27th April, at Taguspark campus (Oeiras), and brought together more than 200 basic and secondary school students. It was one of the three Portuguese initiatives registered at the UN as an official event.
“When I grow up, I want to work with robots!”, someone said. “When I grow up, I want to come and study here!”. Técnico organised hands-on activities and demonstrations in chemistry, biology, robotics, industrial management, engineering and information technologies, among others.
Nelma Andrade, a 3rd-year Telecommunications and Informatics Engineering student at Técnico, volunteered to collaborate in the event. Being the only girl in some classes, she highlights “this initiative reinforces that women can be wherever they want!”. “The GIRLSTEAM event is, above all, an inclusion event, as both boys and girls were present”, she adds.
A leaflet including crosswords and artistic photographs was given to each student, through which they could learn more about some pioneering women in STEAM, such as Ada Lovelace and Katherine Johnson. The role of these women was also highlighted in the art exhibition “Exposição ElÁs”. “Scientific literature representativeness is very important – girls like to know that other women have reached a point where they can someday reach it too”, says Luis Costa, one of the founders of the event, who addressed in her doctoral thesis the issue of gender inequality in STEAM fields.
Several important entity representatives attended the event, including the Centre for Management Studies of Instituto Superior Técnico (CEGIST), Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microssistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN), Group of AI for People and Society (Gaips-Lab), ROB 9-16 (Robotics Club for children and young people aged 9-16 years), SientISST (Instituto de Telecomunicações student group), and the Industrial Engineering and Management student group (NEEGI). For the first time, the Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology (ITQB), accepted Técnico’s invitation and participated in two activities – “Hands on Science”. The event ended with a musical performance by Tuna Feminina do Instituto Superior Técnico.
“The event went very well, we demonstrated Técnico’s ability to showcase science in a practical way to students, regardless of gender and age!”, says Luis Costa. The overwhelming majority of visitors who responded to the participation survey (92.3%) would return for the next edition and recommend the event to friends and family.
