Encouraging Girls in STEM: workshops on analog electronics, sensors and robotics

Abstract

Female students, researchers and employees are under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields. In many countries this has resulted in projects and initiatives aimed for promoting gender equality. To overcome the leaky pipeline phenomenon, which occurs mostly in secondary school, our University has been carrying out different actions to encourage girls to enroll in STEM careers. In this article, we focus on Taller Electrizante experience which is conducted by women teachers of the Electrical Engineering Institute of the School of Engineering. It consists of two independent modules: Laser Communication and Robotics with Arduino, where several disciplines related to Electrical Engineering and Communication Systems are presented in hands-on workshops applying the role model approach.