January 30, 2018
2008-2018
To get more girls interested in technical careers, the nationwide "Girls'Day" event has been taking place in Germany since 2001. Fraunhofer HHI has been taking part in this event since 2008, i.e. for the eleventh time in 2018.
Once a year, when Fraunhofer HHI invites female students from the 5th grade upwards to visit the Institute and discover STEM professions (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) for themselves, the young girls take part in various workshops as researchers themselves and are accompanied by Fraunhofer HHI employees. In this way, the schoolgirls can take a look at the working world of future-oriented professions and get to know female role models in new dream professions – a practical career orientation.
In 2017, for example, the following events were on the agenda at Fraunhofer HHI:
- Workshop Mega-World: How does data transmission via light work?
- Workshop Micro-World: How are microchips produced?
- Sensor World Workshop: How do fiber-optic sensors work and with what force does a femtosecond laser operate?
- Workshop Visual World: What does 3D technology make possible?
The fact that the "Girls'Day" initiative is more than just an advertising event for companies is proven by a long-term study, which the Girls'Day initiative published on its homepage. According to the study, technical and scientific professions are rated increasingly positive by the participants, which is reflected in the increasing number of female trainees and first-year students in technical fields. The Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institut wants to contribute to this development.