The Hedy Lamarr Chair in Women and Technology at the University of Málaga has presented the renewal of its activities for two more academic years, until July 2025. To the seven sponsoring companies that have participated since the creation of the Chair in 2021 (Accenture, Avanade, DEKRA, Ericsson, Google, Keysight and MetroMalaga) join three other corporations based in Málaga in the second biennium: PREMO, TDK and AirZone. In addition to the direct financing of the activities, the companies collaborate in the design and implementation of the activities. The objective of this public-private collaboration is to lure girls into technology, and thus increase their participation in the technology degrees at the University of Málaga.
In this biennium, the Lamarr Chair incorporates the area of Chemical Engineering, thus completing the list of engineering degrees of the UMA. More than 45 women researchers from the University of Málaga attached to the Faculty of Science and the Schools of Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering (promoter of the Chair) participate in the activities. Moreover, the Chair often counts with the collaboration of students of technology degrees that serve as a role model for the girls.
Mari Carmen Aguayo, director of the Lamarr Chair, thanked the sponsoring companies for their collaboration and summarized the activities that have been carried out in the first two years of functioning. Featuring the talks given through the Como Tú Project, which have brought technology to more than 4,000 children throughout the province. Furthermore, almost 300 girls have developed their own technology in the workshops held in the laboratories of the University of Málaga during the Lamarr Challenge and the Girls Campus Tech. Training workshops in technology have also been carried out for teachers and students of Education degrees. Also, the Chair has participated in other activities such as Talent Woman, outreach days, etc., and have shown the girls referents through scholarships and awards.
The event was attended by representatives of the ten sponsoring companies, the four centers involved and the Vice Rectorate for Research and Transfer.