Ayrshire pupils gain an insight into Technology
Over 175 pupils took part in Ayrshire College's latest 'Girls into' event on Friday 15 February, organised as part of its award-winning #ThisAyrshireGirlCan campaign which seeks to get more females into Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Construction courses and careers.
The Girls into Technology event was held at the Kilwinning Campus in partnership with SmartSTEMs, a Scottish charitable organisation which seeks to encourage more diversity in STEM, and supported by SmartSTEMS' headline sponsor EDF Energy.
P7, S1 and S2 pupils from Ayr Academy, Carrick Academy, Garnock Community Campus, Greenwood Academy, Kilwinning Academy, Kyle Academy, Prestwick Academy, Queen Margaret Academy, St Peters Primary and Whitehurst Park Primary, all took part in three workshops each.
The workshops included the likes of 'CoderDojo' coding sessions, 'Build a PC', 'Using ICT to enhance learning' and 'Get creative with Digital Design'.
Exhibitor stands were also set up to allow students to find out more information about Arcserve, Curious Chip, EDF Energy, GE Aviation, JP Morgan, the RAF, the Royal Navy, Seric and Utopia Computers.
Ged Freel, Head of Computing and ICT at Ayrshire College, said: “For years now our This Ayrshire Girl Can campaign has successfully helped girls and women learn about, and try out, many fascinating learning and career opportunities in STEM.
“Technology is seen in all aspects of our lives and it’s important for us to show these young people what exciting careers are available to them in this rapidly expanding industry.”
Stuart Macdonald, Founder of SmartSTEMs, said: “We are delighted to pull together many wonderful industry partners and scores of generous volunteers to deliver this great event for these young girls. Inclusion is a key driver for our efforts: making sure we have all parts of our society engaged in STEM will mean a future where we have the most diverse and therefore best performing teams in the world; creating ever new Intellectual Property and solving societal problems through STEM.”
Hunterston B power station’s Acting Station Director, Dr Roddy Angus, said: “I’m delighted that EDF Energy is able to support this SmartSTEMs event at Ayrshire College. The number of women working in engineering is increasing but we are still facing a skills gap in the industry. If we are to address that we need to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to find out about the careers available to them and feels empowered to pursue them.”
“At the moment only one in four people working in core STEM industries in Scotland is a woman but we are committed to changing that through partnerships and campaigns like SmartSTEMs and This Ayrshire Girl Can, as well as our own Pretty Curious programme. We hope events like the one at Ayrshire College will inspire more girls to consider pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering or maths.”
15 February 2019
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