The University has, for the third year, teamed up with the charitable organisation SmartSTEMs and, for the first time, EDF Energy, to offer more than 500 girls across the city the chance to learn about the benefits of STEM careers.
During each session, held at GCU’s Glasgow campus, the school pupils, aged 10-14, will hear from women who work in STEM about their journeys, before taking part in a series of hands-on workshops.
Natasha May, engineer at EDF Energy, said: “Since I became an engineer, I’ve seen the number of women entering the industry increase, but there are still too few. Right now, only one in five people working in core STEM industries in Scotland is a woman.
“I’m delighted that EDF Energy is supporting this event. We want to inspire girls to imagine a future where they use STEM subjects to make a difference in the world.
“Giving them the chance to hear from women in the industry and to find out about the range of careers they could enter can do just that.”
GCU’s Dr Tuleen Boutaleb, Telecommunications and Electronics Senior Lecturer, said: “Uptake of engineering and computing programmes among women remains low and it is events such as Smart STEMs that aim to improve understanding of the relevance of STEM to future careers for women.
“Smart STEMs is an exciting and fun event for everyone involved, from school pupils to lecturers, students, technicians and industry. That is why GCU was the first university in Scotland to support it and the fact we’ll have more than 500 pupils here this year is fantastic. The event promotes STEM to pupils from Primary 6 to Secondary 2 − a crucial period before subject selection.”