A coalition of organizations is conducting a project for young women entering their sophomore year of high school. This project, through its comprehensive program of concentrated summer work coupled with tutoring and mentoring by female professionals in scientific and technical fields, and academic year follow-up, is designed to address the under-representation of women in engineering technology. The goals of the project are to increase participants' (a) interest in and knowledge of technical careers and provide the confidence to pursue them; (b) knowledge base in math, science, technology, and communication; and (c) awareness of technical careers for females.
Intellectual Merit: Young women are engaging in the adventure of scientific discovery through the design, development and construction of a hands-on engineering project based upon the use of an interdisciplinary module developed by the New Jersey Center for the Advancement of Technological Education (NJCATE). The module incorporates science, technology, engineering and mathematics instruction. Teaming, problem solving and communication skills are developed.
Broader Impacts: The project not only addresses the causes of female non-participation in engineering technology but also targets students from minority and/or economically disadvantaged school districts who often do not receive the same academic preparation as the rest of the population. Through these initiatives the numbers of majority and minority women in engineering technology fields are increasing.
