Abstract:

The implementation of the Bolona process and the adaptation of the European Community Universities to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) imply significant changes in the universities curricula. This effort to change has also affected the teaching in engineering all around Europe. New students interested in be enrolled in engineering careers have to asses a multiple offer in Europe. Sometimes a gender imbalance is found in some engineering curriculua. European Union is worry about the participation of young women in scientific and engineering studies. This paper focuses on evaluating the problem of young women enrolled in scientific studies and those aspects related to professional life.

Although the current economic crisis in the EU has contributed to high rates of unemployment in several Member States, various economic sectors are facing shortages in labour supply. This situation can result from several factors (e.g. lack of qualifications of available workers, mobility requirements, work conditions offered by companies) and contributes to hinder the competitiveness and growth of EU industry. The Aeronautic Industry (AI) is one of the EU sectors in which a future shortage is a possibility, due to its complexity and requirement for a highly qualified and skilled workforce.

According to the report Competitiveness of the EU Aerospace Industry with focus on: Aeronautics Industry, worries about skill shortages are widespread in aerospace industries.

Educational and cultural contexts influence professional options, as some jobs are still seen as male jobs (e.g. engineers) and others as female (e.g. nurses). The initiative New Skills for New Jobs of the EC stresses that educational and professional choices of young men and women continue to be influenced by traditional gender paths. Reducing gender imbalances in sectors and occupations could partly address future skills shortages, for example in technical and managerial occupations (COM (2008) 868/3). In this sense, existing stereotypes need to be overcome in order to increase the involvement of women in more technical educational programmes and/or professions.

Based on this framework, an European project called Increasing Young Women Participation in Scientific and Aeronautical Engineering - IN2SAI project aims to increase the participation of female students in higher education studies in scientific fields (especially those relevant for aeronautics) and to contribute to their integration into the AI.

As such, the project work plan foresees several activities that require the active participation of young women, as well as of other relevant stakeholders, such as professors and industry representatives. A strong relationship between the worlds of education, research, and the labour market will be promoted during the full duration of the project (24 months), particularly in the 6 participating countries (ES, DE, PT, IT, NL, and AT), but with the ambition of disseminating further the results and outcomes of the activities.

A consortium (IN2SAI) with representatives from both Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Enterprises has been created in order to gather expertise in the field of scientific studies (related to aeronautics), knowledge of labour market needs, and creation of synergies between academia and the labour market.

Keywords:

Aerospace students, Young students, scientific studies.