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This edition’s program results show that 30% of girls who took part in the survey choose a professional career in science
The initiative ‘Science and Technology in feminine’ of the Association of Science and Technology Parks of Spain (APTE), in which Málaga TechPark participates, celebrated its 5th edition on a very special event. It took place in the Campus Madrid-Puerta de Toledo at the University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) and it was attended by María González, secretaria de Estado (junior minister) for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures; and by Carme Artigas, junior minister for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, with the support of the UC3M Science Park – Leganés Tecnológico.
This edition’s program results show that 30% of girls who took part in the survey choose a professional career in science, but only 7% of them choose one in technology.
The event started with the welcome speech of Eva María Blázquez Agudo, vice rector for Institutional Relations, Culture and Equality at the UC3M; Felipe Romera Lubias, president of APTE; Ana Pilar Sánchez Olivares, Human Resources Director for Spain, Middle-East and Africa at Thales’ worldwide Transport department; and María González Veracruz, junior minister for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures. The junior minister claimed that initiatives such as ‘Science and Technology in feminine’ are crucial to close the gender digital divide and are of utmost importance to change the world. Moreover, she pointed out that, of the one million jobs created after the labour reform, 20% of them belong to technology fields.
Main data
After the welcome speeches, Lole Franco, who is in charge of the project, presented the main results of this edition, in which 20 science and technology parks, members of the APTE Association, participated. More than 4,400 secondary school students from 73 different schools in Spain took part in a total of 53 workshops and more than 30 parallel activities. The aim of these is to raise awareness and promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies.
In addition, the surveys show that 5.4% of boys and girls who took part in the study changed their minds and, after participating in the program, want to pursue a professional career in STEM-related disciplines. Moreover, 57% of girls say that they are switching to a professional career in science, while 24% choose one in technology such as engineering, the most popular one.
If this percentage is added to the percentage of change of opinion from previous editions, 8% of the 8,000 girls who participated in the program changed their minds and chose a STEM discipline thanks to the more than 200 sessions provided by the ‘Science and Technology in feminine’ program, which started in 2018 in cooperation with 20 science and technology parks members of the APTE Association.
Talks
The event continued with talks by Aida Suárez and Elena Herrera, both Product Line Managers of ground transportation at Thales, who shared their experiences with the students, in order to inspire and encourage them to study STEM disciplines.
Furthermore, the event was also attended by Valeria Corrales and Patricia Heredia, a talented student and a talented engineer who motivate and inspire girls and boys to find their passion for technology and robotics through their YouTube channel called ‘Valpat’. They have been recently recognised by Forbes magazine in its list of innovation leaders in 2023. Both Valeria and Patricia explained how technology can be applied to specific activities of different fields such as energy efficiency or sustainability.
Contest
The event came to an end with the announcement of the winner of the contest called ‘Innovative proposals for sustainable development challenges’. The students from the Mas Camarena school were awarded first prize for their ‘Vertical gardens’ proposal, carried out in cooperation with València Parc Tecnològic of Paterna.
The winners received a recognition trophy, a Lego robot and a book where they will learn about outstanding women that changed our lives thanks to their great discoveries.
The second prize went to the IES V Centenario high school for its solidarity app called ‘Simbiosis’, carried out in cooperation with the Cartuja Science and Technology Park. The third prize was awarded to the IES Miguel de Cervantes high school for its ‘Hydroponic farming’ proposal, which was carried out together with the Science Park of Madrid.
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the event was led by Luis Enrique García, vice rector for Research and Transfer at the UC3M; Soledad Díaz, managing director of APTE; Pilar Gil, vice president of APTE; and Carme Antigas, junior minister for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence. The junior minister defined the ‘Science and Technology in feminine’ program as an initiative “to achieve a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable world”. Moreover, the junior minister added that this project is in line with her ministry’s policy, as it also promotes the access to new technologies in society as an essential element to the digital transformation and competitiveness of Spain.
- You can find all the proposals that reached the final phase on this link.
More information about the project
The event was sponsored by Thales Spain
Science and Technology in feminine
Science and Technology in feminine is an initiative of the Association of Science and Technology Parks of Spain (APTE), whose aim is to promote scientific and technological vocations in order to reduce the gender gap in STEM studies.