Because girls are still in the minority at engineering schools and in the industry (20 to 30% depending on the engineering field, 25% at ENSTA Bretagne), for more than 13 years ENSTA Bretagne has been a partner of the “100 women, 100 professions: the future of engineering is female” initiative with the Finistère Union of Metallurgy Industries and Professions (UIMM). The goal? To bust stereotypes, clear up the mystery surrounding engineering professions and present inspiring female role models in the STEM professions to female students.
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, on its campus, ENSTA Bretagne welcomed 70 female students from public and private high schools in Finistère. The afternoon was organized around 4 main activities:
- “Women and science” workshops: run by pairs of students, both in their 1st year of the general engineering program (one male and one female), these engaging and interactive workshops were aimed at helping girls at high school to identify the skills engineers need, to bust gender stereotypes and to learn about career options that resonated with them.
- World Café: during this activity, the female high-school students were given the opportunity to chat freely, in small groups, with a dozen female engineering graduates, students and apprentices from ENSTA Bretagne, who told them about their studies, their jobs and their projects…
- Tour of the school and discovery of the student clubs: an engineering school is also a place for personal fulfilment and a whole host of student initiatives, where young women naturally fit in and have a role to play, learning about business management, project management and leadership. This was demonstrated by female students from the Student Union, Robotics Club and Students’ Common Room.
- A session where everyone could discuss freely rounded off the afternoon.
Thanks to the involvement of some thirty willing female engineering graduates, students and apprentices from ENSTA Bretagne, the girls at high school who attended this event were able to play an active part.
