Its aim is to promote scientific and technological vocations among girls

The University of Deusto presented on July 3 the second edition of the INSPIRA project. The project, promoted by the University of Deusto, with the collaboration of Elhuyar and Innobasque, will be developed in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Araba with the support of the three Provincial Councils.

This initiative is a pioneer and aims to promote scientific and technological vocations among girls. To do this, they carry out awareness-raising and orientation actions in collaboration with professional women in the fields of research, science and technology. It is the first time that group mentoring is used to boost STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths).

Teresa Laespada, Deputy Minister of Employment, Social Inclusion and Equality of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Asier Perallos, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Deusto, Leire Bilbao, Director General of Innobasque and Leire Cancio Orutek, Director General of the Project and Uzuri Cediel de la Herri Eskola Maiztegi from Iurreta and Izaro from the Maristas El Salvador school in Bilbao shared their experience.

The first edition featured 17 mentors and some 200 girls from 11 schools participated. In this second edition will participate 113 mentors, 43 schools and 1,075 girls.

INSPIRA was born with the aim of fostering scientific and technological vocations among Basque students, but especially among girls. Students carrying out technological training are less and less numerous, and among girls this decline is more pronounced. Although women represent 54.3% of university students, in technical degrees such as Architecture or Engineering only represent 26.4%.

Project keys:

• Show references of female technologists in the environment.
• Let the boys and girls know the STEAM professions.
• Make visible the participation of women and men in the development of the territory.
• Sensitize and guide technological studies.
• Make women technologists visible and visible.
• Make stereotypes visible in this area and work so that they do not influence the choice of studies.

Learn more at http://inspirasteam.net/