In connection with Girls’ Day in Science, DTU opened its doors to 336 girls from high schools and lower secondary schools (Years 7-9) on 2 October.
Unfortunately, women are still sadly under-represented in study programmes in IT, technology, and the natural sciences. In fact, figures from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science show that women account for only 32 per cent of the intake on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) study programmes. But in an increasingly technological world, we need both women and men to be able to use and take part in the development of new technology.
“The proportion of female students who were offered a place in one of DTU’s study programmes is at an all time high. We’re very pleased about this, but we’re aware that it’s a long, hard slog to change the view of engineering as a ’male’ profession. We will continue to work to ensure that all those with the ability and will are offered the best possible opportunities to flourish in engineering. This is necessary if DTU is to meet the ambition of future sustainable value creation with technology for people,” says Rasmus Larsen, Provost of DTU.
Coding, waste, 3D printing, and green energy solutions
The many young women who—accompanied by teachers and parents—visited DTU’s three campuses in Lyngby, Ballerup, and Risø were given the opportunity to get close to technical sciences and meet role models in the form of female students, lecturers, and researchers.
The 221 young women who visited Lyngby Campus started off their day with a bang. Two female students from DTU ScienceShow introduced them to physics and chemistry experiments, a show with both explosions and smoke, and—not least—with explanations of the underlying chemical processes.
"As girls, we must learn to believe more in ourselves. I believe that we girls must learn sometimes to break free from the straitjacket of conventional attitudes and have greater belief in our ability to meet our goals with training and a will to succeed."
Mette Knak, Partner Manager, Google
After the introduction, the participants were distributed on the various departments, where they were to learn about a wide range of subjects from coding, toxic waste as a resource, and design of sustainable energy systems to 3D printing and space research.
Panel debate on women in STEM
The day concluded with a panel debate on women in STEM. The panel consisted of:
- Susanne Wrist-Jensen, Head of Department, Fire & Safety, Buildings Division, Rambøll
- Mette Knak, Partner Manager, Google
- Anne Fløe, Consultant, DEA
- Christine Ipsen, Associate Professor, DTU Management
- Katrine Bjørn Pedersen, Software Technology student, DTU
The debate was chaired by Marie Valentin Beck from Bureau M, and—among other topics—the participants discussed some of the existing prejudices about STEM jobs and study programmes.
“As girls, we must learn to believe more in ourselves. Developments on the technological market are happening so fast that all technological knowledge is outdated after 18 months. At Google, we therefore hire employees based on other criteria such as personality, attitude, diversity, and the will to learn new things. I believe that we girls must learn sometimes to break free from the straitjacket of conventional attitudes and have greater belief in our ability to meet our goals with training and a will to succeed,” says Mette Knak from Google.
Anne Fløe from the think tank DEA presented the latest results from the analysis ‘How do we get STEM to resonate with children and adolescents?’. The analysis shows that girls lose interest in STEM subjects already after the fifth grade. They lack female role models and parents who are not caught up in old prejudices about—for example—IT-interested youngsters as pizza-eating, cola-guzzling boys who sit around gaming in mum’s basement.
“In our analysis, we found that girls generally think that boys have a better understanding of and interest in IT and technology. But that’s not what we see in school. They may also find it difficult to see themselves working at STEM workplaces because they will then not be able to work with and for people. These are prejudices that we need to do away with.”
There was agreement about the latter on the panel, where everyone could confirm that STEM was very much about working together with many people and helping to ‘save the world’.
Lack of engineers—and women
The analysis shows that there will be increasing future demand for engineers. This means that more students must be admitted to technical study programmes, and attracting young women is a special challenge in this connection.
Girls’ Day in Science is an annual event organized in collaboration with the House of Natural Sciences and Tektanken.
“Thanks to the many dedicated organizers, Girls’ Day in Science has a record number of participants this year, with more than 3,200 girls. When the girls meet female employees, researchers, or students they can reflect themselves in—and when they get specific insight into their fields—this opens their eyes to the exciting opportunities that a future in technology and natural sciences offers. It therefore makes a huge difference when companies and educational institutions open their doors,” says Maiken Lykke Lolck, Interim CEO of the House of Natural Sciences.