Science Girls Club Expands!
There is a need for more girls and women with the knowledge and desire to work in Deep Tech, IT, AI, the wide range of engineering subjects and also craft-oriented STEM subjects. More inclusive professional and social communities are needed to succeed.
‘Our society and the Danish labour market need more young people who are interested in the natural sciences. In the long term, we will face a serious challenge, as we in Denmark will be short of approximately 35,000 employees in STEM-related jobs by 2030. Historically, it is primarily boys who continue to study STEM subjects, and unfortunately that is not enough," says Peter Kirkegaard, HR Director at Topsoe.
The Science Girls Initiative
The Leisure Club Science Girls is an initiative run in collaboration with companies, schools and youth education in Lyngby. In the club, participants work practically together on creative, professional experiments and visit relevant companies. This makes visible jobs and companies in STEM subjects that the girls had no previous knowledge of, or were perhaps surrounded by prejudices about who works in these fields.
At the club, girls aged 13 to 19 will have the opportunity to meet female role models (everything from astrophysicist Anja C Andersen, visits from Rudolph Care on chemistry in cosmetics, rocket researcher from DTU Space and many others), as well as other girls who also have an emerging interest in science and STEM professionalism.
A participant from the Leisure Club Science Girls Lyngby says: “Social is very important - it's our meeting place and it's always nice. It is good that we sometimes get mixed up in the groups, so you meet new people than the ones you have come with. The club manager does a really good job of making you feel welcome. This means that you also come on a rainy day and even though you are busy".
The ambition is to develop family-oriented Science Family Labs activities every quarter, where parents and girls can work together on academic experiments while they enjoy themselves and learn more about a STEM topic. By involving parents, families get better editors to support their daughters' future study and career plans.
In addition, it is planned to build a Science Sisters network among female role models, Women in STEM companies and at the next level of education.
Why is this a good practice?
The club has existed for 2.5 years and has today 180 registered girls, monthly club meetings and several initiatives targeted both families and women in STEM companies and at the next level of education, where girls can work concretely and practically with relevant topics, at the same time they are invited to company visits and meet young and older women who can inspire and be role models for the young.
“I certainly believe that we have found a strong model for creating a valuable community that goes beyond the emerging interest in science. In the Science Girls club, the girls can join for several years, and they form friendships across years and interests. The girls enter behind the facade of companies and see why and how science is used in production and processes. The female role models in the companies meet the girls with interest and enthusiasm for their own subjects - and at the same time dispel a lot of myths that it takes a particularly high level of talent to deal with these subjects," says Anéh Christina Hajdu, CEO of the association Science City Lyngby, who has developed the concept in close cooperation with partner companies and relevant organisations.
The initiative has successful experiences, as evidenced by its spread to Frederikssund. On January 27th from 16:00-19:00, you can register for an information meeting. The meeting takes place at Makerværkket, Frederikssund Gymnasium, Odinsvej 6, 3600 Frederikssund, after which there will be meetings every month.
A participant from Science Girls-club Lyngby says that she "[...] has girlfriends from other municipalities who ask if they can join.", with a little luck, the initiative hopefully comes to a municipality near you.
Who is behind the initiative?
Science City Lyngby is an association that works across disciplines and together develops and shares knowledge that strengthens both the individual and society. The association was established in 2012 by 8 founding members – and is today led by a board of directors with representative representation of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, DTU, COWI, Topsoe, Novonesis, GEO, Velliv, Fog, Sinatur Hotel and Virum Gymnasium.
The association's value creation lies in the interdisciplinary cooperation between companies, education and the municipality, which together develop and disseminate knowledge, initiate joint projects and form interdisciplinary networks – with theaim of creating an optimal framework for the current and future workforce.
The secretariat ensures support locally and outside the municipal border through targeted communication and cooperation with the association's members, who engage in activities, projects and networks that enable innovative ideas and meetings across the board. All for the benefit and relevance of the community, students, staff and citizens – and for the development of partnerships locally, nationally and internationally.
