UNF’s CAWEUNF hosts ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day’ virtual event
The University of North Florida’s Center for the Advancement of Women in Engineering (CAWE), in collaboration with the Society of Women Engineers, will host a ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day’ virtual Zoom event on April 10 from 9 a.m. to noon. This event will feature interactive hands-on engineering workshops to introduce children grades 3-5 to the world of STEM and is sponsored by Medtronic and RS&H.
‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day’ is a national event organized by the Society of Women Engineers. UNF has hosted this event for the past 15 years. This year, children will engage in hands-on engineering activities with multiple workshops that teach various engineering concepts such as gravity, kinetic and potential energy, current and voltage, and electrical circuits.
There is a shortage of engineers in this country and the gap between available engineering jobs and the number of engineering graduates is expected to grow. There is a strong effort to encourage students to pursue STEM fields, including engineering. Women are greatly underrepresented in the engineering workforce, at a meager 14%.
Research indicates that women do not pursue engineering as a viable profession at the same rate as men, partially because there is an identity conflict between being a woman and an engineer and because girls interpret engineering as a masculine profession without a strong humanitarian component. In efforts to increase women's participation in engineering, the CAWE focuses on efforts to better educate and inspire the community about what engineering is and that it is a profession suitable for all genders.
Registration is required and the materials needed for the activities are free and can be picked up in advance at UNF at 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL, 32224 in Building 4 (outdoors) on April 5 from 5 to 6 p.m., April 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. and April 9 from 3 to 5:30 p.m.
‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day’ is a national event organized by the Society of Women Engineers. UNF has hosted this event for the past 15 years. This year, children will engage in hands-on engineering activities with multiple workshops that teach various engineering concepts such as gravity, kinetic and potential energy, current and voltage, and electrical circuits.
There is a shortage of engineers in this country and the gap between available engineering jobs and the number of engineering graduates is expected to grow. There is a strong effort to encourage students to pursue STEM fields, including engineering. Women are greatly underrepresented in the engineering workforce, at a meager 14%.
Research indicates that women do not pursue engineering as a viable profession at the same rate as men, partially because there is an identity conflict between being a woman and an engineer and because girls interpret engineering as a masculine profession without a strong humanitarian component. In efforts to increase women's participation in engineering, the CAWE focuses on efforts to better educate and inspire the community about what engineering is and that it is a profession suitable for all genders.
Registration is required and the materials needed for the activities are free and can be picked up in advance at UNF at 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL, 32224 in Building 4 (outdoors) on April 5 from 5 to 6 p.m., April 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. and April 9 from 3 to 5:30 p.m.