On Friday March 20th, grade 10 girls and non-binaries were given the incredible opportunity to learn about the field of engineering from a multitude of inspiring women from Vend, Nokia, and Hübner Photonics. The aim of this day is to educate and inspire the younger generation to pursue a career in STEM by giving them a firsthand experience at the job which in today’s world is prominently ruled by men. QQ spoke to three students, Eva C., Ronen L., and Hayden W., to find out what they thought of their day.
Hübner Photonics, a German organisation founded in 1946 and with manufacturing sites in both Kassel and Solna, hosted 10V girls on this special day. The aim of this day was to educate this group on the usage of lasers in many industries, including medical, statistical (data), and scientific industries. Ronen L. explained that “The day began with a welcoming reception, where female employees described how their passion for lasers led to their roles at Hübner.” Following this introduction, the girls were then divided into small groups where they conducted numerous experiments to learn more about how lasers truly function. They started with an amusing icebreaker with a light reflection test in which they shined lasers through gummy bears. Cancer research depends on lasers, making this topic a key part of the day where the students were taught about cellular activation, a process in which light energy is used to trigger structural biological cells, including cancer. The day ended by a tour of the manufacturing and development facility led by the CEO, who according to Ronen L. “explained how each laser is handmade and packaged at the Hübner location.”. In the eyes of the students, this event was both an inspiring and effective way to learn about women in STEM!
At the same time, another class, 10P and 10C, visited Vend, a marketplace company in Northern Europe. Though not all the students see themselves pursuing a career in engineering in the future, due to a lack of interest in coding, or a predominant interest in humanities or language, this experience still allowed them to learn about the importance of female figures in technological sciences. For them, the day consisted of many workshops on coding and technology, where they had to create simple codes, which they found extremely entertaining. Eva C. said that “[they] got to learn about some of the staff members present”. She then shared that “[she] thought a lot of them had interesting backgrounds and seemed pretty cool.” Most importantly, she recognised that “The place was absolutely filled with candy. There was a whole candy bar in the conference room [they] were in.” The women working there set a “nice and chill” atmosphere, which sparked many intriguing conversations. Additionally, the office caught the eyes of many, with Star-wars themed gumball machines, foosball, and ping-pong tables, the environment was captivating and motivating to potentially study engineering after high school.
Finally, the last group of students from 10B and 10P went to the Nokia Solutions & Networks office here in Stockholm. During the day, they learned about networking systems and engineering in the telecommunication industry. Initially, the engineers introduced the company and the trip’s main focus, telecommunications. As the day progressed, the girls were split into different groups and were given the opportunity to participate in various activities. Hayden W., said that “the group learned about optics by sending a message in morse code by blinking a laser through a fiber optic cable”. Another activity included a tour of the office space where the company’s workers taught them about what an average work day looks like for women engineers. Afterwards, according to Hayden W, “ the group got to take a look at the labs where products are tested”. The last part of the day included a workshop where they learned about coding and even wrote codes for online robots, which turned into a competition. The CEO finally opened the floor for questions where the group was given the opportunity to learn more about the field and women in engineering. Reflecting on the day, Hayden W. said that “the group had an exciting day learning about the opportunities for females in the world of STEM!”
Overall, this day was immensely successful in the eyes of the students, regardless of whether or not they picture themselves pursuing a career in the engineering field. All three companies made the complexities of science and technology entertaining and intriguing for the grade 10 girls. Positivity was felt throughout the entirety of the day and was both an amusing and inspiring experience for the group!
