Introduce a Girl to Engineering
In celebration of National Engineering Week, Georgia Tech's Women in Engineering (WIE) Program in collaboration with IBM and several local engineering firms, hosts female middle school students from the state of Georgia for a Saturday program/luncheon each February.
Girls represent more than half the future workforce, but when it comes to engineering, few get enough guidance and encouragement to consider a career in this critical field. Aiming to challenge the stubborn reality, the National Engineers Week committee strives to let girls of all ages know that engineering not only wants them, it genuinely needs them.
Women are severely underrepresented in the engineering profession. Research shows that girls and young women lose interest in the subjects and the fields of study leading to engineering careers long before they enter college. The National Engineers Week Committee believes that if more girls are intrigued with the possibilities that engineering and engineering careers offer, then more will take the necessary educational steps to pursue engineering after high school. That could well help alleviate a possible shortage of engineers in America that some experts predict will hinder the country's potential for technological advances in the future.
During the program, students receive hands-on experience, collect info on college and the many career choices in engineering, interact with female professionals and participate in a discussion panel that includes Georgia Tech alumna and engineering students.
Parents are also invited to attend information sessions that cover admissions, course requirements, career opportunities and interact in a Q&A session.