Envision a future with more women taking the lead in engineering. Twenty years ago, DiscoverE, along with other organizations, created Introduce a Girl to Engineering (IAGTE) Day to show middle-school girls everywhere what it’s like to work as an engineer.
Why middle school girls?
Research shows girls begin to question their interest in STEM right around the age of 10, or fourth grade. Plus, less than 10 percent of female freshmen say they’ll pursue STEM careers, compared to nearly 30 percent of their male classmates.
Collins Aerospace, a business of Raytheon Technologies, has been a huge supporter of the event from the beginning. Volunteers at the former Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, opened their doors to a small group of girls on the first IAGTE Day back in 2001. Since then the program has grown. Last year, more than 2,300 girls and 1,000 volunteers participated at 55 Collins sites across eight countries.
Over the years, in-person activities have ranged from donning all kinds of goggles (safety, night vision, virtual reality) to see problems in new ways, conducting lab experiments, testing algorithms, designing robotics, and even sitting at the controls of a (parked) aircraft – so girls could experience a day in the life of an aerospace engineer.
When COVID-19 hit, Collins event organizers had to rethink curriculum and logistics so they could keep the 20-year tradition going.
“We made it work this year by doing what engineers always do,” said Katie Cody, who leads the Corporate Social Responsibility team at Collins. “We found new and creative ways to solve problems.”
This year’s IAGTE event will take place virtually on Thurs., Feb. 25. The team designed a toolkit with local and corporate-provided resources that could work for almost any participant, anywhere.
“This is the first year we’ve planned the event as part of Raytheon Technologies,” said Adriana Johnson, Collins corporate social responsibility program manager, who has coordinated the global event for eight years. “This has given us a greater opportunity to spotlight our people and our products across the business. The virtual platform has allowed several sites to team up to form one large event throughout several communities.”
Virtual sessions will allow more participants to connect to live-streamed and pre-recorded modules. Technology and products that are unique to a particular site can now be explored by everyone.
All sites will now have the same access to Q&As planned with engineers, subject matter experts and even astronauts. Additionally, Time magazine’s first-ever Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao, will join the event on a number of fronts, including a Zoom chat with Collins President Steve Timm.
“I love to hear about employees who are paying it forward because someone else encouraged them,” added Johnson. “And I love hearing from the girls who come away with a whole new level of confidence.”
With all the virtual activities at participants’ fingertips, and with 56 Collins sites across 13 countries expected to participate this year the event is hoping to help tomorrow’s STEM leaders to imagine a future in engineering.
