The fact that technology can be a great choice even for girls was demonstrated by the TogetHER in Tech event, which took place at the Brno University of Technology at the end of April. The aim of the meeting was to increase the interest of high school girls in studying technology and to encourage them to believe that women definitely have their place in engineering.

Female students in the 1st to 4th year of secondary schools had the opportunity to discover their technical potential and look into university life at two faculties of the Brno University of Technology – the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication. The aim of the program, which was attended by a total of sixteen girls, was to motivate participants to take an interest in physical engineering, semiconductor technologies and other related fields through presentations and workshops. "Why technology? Modern technologies are the future and it is great to participate in their development. I believe that the opportunity to experience our university first-hand, with everything that goes with it, can play an important role for girls in deciding on their further studies," explained Katarína Rovenská, the organizer of the event and a doctoral student at CEITEC BUT.

Everyone is suited to study at BUT

In the morning part of the program, the high school girls met with students or graduates of BUT, who shared their experience in technical fields. The discussion touched on the motivation why they decided to study technology, the content of their work and the connection of the demanding field with their personal lives. "I was motivated by my dad, who is a great physicist and mathematician, but I certainly failed to inherit any miraculous genetic predispositions. You don't have to be Sheldon Cooper to study science," said Petra Kalousková, a student and ambassador of the Physical Engineering and Nanotechnology program at FME. Several scientists also described moments such as pregnancy or motherhood that interrupted their scientific careers for a while. However, all of them confirmed that technology can also be well combined with children and family life. For example, FME graduate Lucie Závorková, who currently works as a semiconductor wafer production technologist at onsemi, also works during her maternity leave. "Everyone is suited to study at BUT, and if you enjoy it, don't be discouraged and go for it," said Veronika Stará, a doctoral student working at CEITEC BUT, motivating the high school girls.

Technology first-hand

In order for the girls to be able to better imagine studying at university in reality, they also attended a part of the lecture on physics led by Professor Jiří Spousta. "I liked the lecture a lot. I wouldn't even mind if we attended the whole lesson," said one of the participants.

The rest of the program was devoted to workshops introducing different perspectives of science. At the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, the girls tried simple interactive programming, in which they set a small robot named Tobbie in motion, or worked with electrical circuits, which they connected according to pre-prepared diagrams, and verified their functionality.

At the Institute of Physical Engineering, FME they were engaged in advanced physical experiments, in which they delved into the fields of electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and spectral refractometry. Within experiments, they observed the photoelectric effect and the Millikan effect or determined the characteristics of solar cells.

At the end of the event, the girls put on special protective suits and visited the clean rooms of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, where they saw the vacuum apparatuses for the production and characterization of nanolayers. "I liked that the program was very dynamic and that we tried different things. It was very interesting," commented one of the high school girls who gravitated towards technical fields.

According to organizer Katarína Rovenská, the girls most appreciated the authenticity of the entire event. "A big thank you goes to all the students, graduates and staff of the institutes of the Institute of Physical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and UMEL FEEC, who participated in the program and helped create the event. I am happy that we were able to show the participants the technology at BUT as it really is," she concluded.