15 participants, 7 months, 5 thematic workshops – this is how the first edition of the project “Girls GO Technology, or girls tame technology” by Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Poland looked like. The aim of the project is to convince young females from Jawor that new technologies and science can be a great idea for a future professional life. The last workshop this year, devoted to issues relating to movement within the labour market, took place on December 17. The next edition of the project starts in January 2019.
“Girls GO Technology, or girls tame technology” is a program created by Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Poland (MBMPL) for young girls, high school students and technicians from the Jawor region. Why? Because there are not enough women in the area of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and we need to plant the seeds so they can blossom and flourish in the future…
– The statistics and my experience both show that girls are constantly shunning thechnology or technicial studies. It’s a pity, because it can open the door to an interesting and well-paid job in modern industry. Artificial inteligence, cooperation with people and robots, virtual reality – once science fiction, today is the basis of production in modern factories – says Ewa Łabno-Falęcka PhD, Director of Marketing Communication and External Affairs MBMPL – Our ambition is to break stereotypes and convince girls that technological and engineering trends have long ceased to be “typically masculine” domain. It is a chance for life fulfillment and professional success for women also – she adds.
Planning with head and digital twin
“Girls GO Technology” is implemented with Geek Girls Carrots, Randstad Polska, Wrocław University of Science and Technology – Faculty of Technology and Natural Sciences in Legnica, WSSE “INVEST-PARK”, Klaster Edukacyjny Invest in Edu and Siemens Polska. This year’s project took place in two stages – the first allowed to determine the strenghts, predispositions and talents of the participants who took part in the meeting organized in May. The second, comprising five workshops, was already carring out with fifteen students who expressed their willingness to tie their future to the STEM industry.
Workshops lasted from June to December. Participants learned to create webisites, learned the basics of digital marketing, SEO, online advertising, privacy in the web, learned to create business plan, practiced public speeches, created chatbots and were wondering whether artificial intelligence would take over the world. The program also included the issues of the digitization of production. Participants learned how the industry uses virtual and augmented reality and what is digital twin.
– The program was designated to show girls how technology influences the lives of each of us and how it is used in modern industry. It was very importnat to provide our participants with practical knowledge that will be useful in designing a professional future. So there was artificial intelligence and a virtual tour of the “smart factory”, but the last, December workshop was devoted to the learning of writing CVs and orientation in the labour market – says Ewa łabno-Falęcka PhD.
The “Girls GO Technology” project will be continued in 2019. The recruitment of new participants will take place in January, and the series of workshops will last from February to June.