Abstract:

Despite the strong career prospects and attractive salary expectations associated with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEAM) fields, the participation of women remains significantly low, particularly in engineering disciplines. The reasons behind this gender gap are complex and multifaceted. However, our experience suggests that one important factor is that many girls seek a clear meaning and real-world relevance in what they study. Engineering subjects, which are often perceived as abstract or technically dense, may therefore appear less appealing if their practical applications are not clearly visible.

Within the R&D&I project TSI-063000-2021-33 aimed at promoting Telecommunications Engineering, a specific outreach initiative targeting girls has been developed. As part of this initiative, a set of educational materials has been designed to support hands-on experiments using both technological devices and the recopilation of everyday household materials. A distinctive aspect of these activities is that most of the experiments are oriented toward key concepts in telecommunications engineering, an area where educational outreach resources are comparatively scarce.

The technological component of the materials is based on well known and low-cost educational electronic platforms, such as micro:bit and ESP32 SteamMaker boards. However, the main contribution of this work is the design and description of a collection of experiments embedded within a narrative framework. The activities are presented through stories featuring girls as protagonists and are structured around practical projects connected to everyday situations, with the aim of making engineering concepts more engaging and meaningful.

This paper presents:
(1) a description of each project, including the technical concept addressed in the experiment, and
(2) an explanation of the narrative that accompanies each activity and helps make the experiment more appealing to girls.

As a result of this project, around thirty experiments have been developed. Their distinctive feature lies in their practical orientation toward everyday applications and their focus on telecommunications engineering concepts. The materials are designed for girls of different ages, primarily between 12 and 17 years old.

Acknowledgement:
This activity is co-financed by the R&D&I project TSI-063000-2021-33, funded by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration and the European Union-EU Recovery Plan as funding entities, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Keywords:

STEAM, girls in tech, vocation, project based learning, micro:bit.