For last 7 years PERSPEKTYWY organizing huge national campaigns "Girls as Engineers!" ("Dziewczyny na politechniki!") and "Girls go science!" ("Dziewczyny do scislych!") in Poland. Very succesful ones. The share of girls involved in STEM-education in Poland increased during this period from 29% to 37%.

The number of female participants: 70 000

The number of involved institution (HEI’s, firms, public institutions: 50)

Dziewczyny na politechniki! (Girls As Engineers!) is an integrated campaign initiated by Perspektywy Educational Foundation and the Conference of Rectors of Polish Technical Universities (KRPUT). The main aim of the campaign is to introduce technical and engineering studies to female high school students and to promote this educational path as interesting, attractive and very beneficial in the long run. It is also to show that technical studies programs address a recognized need for business and industry to attract highly trained workers with a variety of skills.

Dziewczyny na politechniki! under the auspices of Secretary of State, Minister of National Education, Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Minister of Administration and Digitization, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Poland and President of The Patent Office of the Republic of Poland and “masculine” faculties.

On the 3rd of April 2014 fifteen public technical universities and six faculties of physics and mathematics invited to take part in an Open Day For Girls Only. Through a great variety of events young women are able to gain an insight into academic life of Polish technical universities and make useful connections. For this purpose, the participating universities opened their laboratories, workshops and offices as well as organized meetings with women professors to give concrete examples that showed girls how interesting and exciting studying at a university of technology can be.

The campaign’s web site www.dziewczynynapolitechniki.pl provides information not only about technical universities that take part in the campaign but also news about women’s activity in technical sciences.

In this year Open Day - For Girls Only is planned for 23rd April.

Contact:
Bianka Siwinska, author and coordinator of the Dziewczyny na politechniki! campaign:
Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript., Phone: +48 22 628 58 62, Mobile: +48 501 535 785

Manifesto of “Girls As Engineers!” campaign

Does anyone still think that only a man can be an engineer, scientist or inventor? That woman doesn’t look naturally with an ammeter, a galvanometer and the Charpy hammer? Or molecules will weigh the lady down or she will be divided into elementary particles? The answer will be short. Maria Sklodowska-Curie. Lise Meitner. Grace Hopper. Chien-Schiung Wu. Those women have changed the face of science.

Now girls will follow in their footsteps!

End the stereotypes! We want to put an end of preserved in the society image of a woman sitting silent in library while a man is experimenting in the laboratory! We demand abolition of artificial divisions of „masculine” and „feminine” majors!

Women are not afraid of large numbers! Stop forcing women to study humanities, pedagogy and philology! Girls like numbers, megabits, laser bunch and heavy metals as well. We demand abolition of all barriers on their educational way and professional development!

Woman engineer – it sounds proudly! Technical education gives women not only great opportunities that facilitate job finding, but also economical independence and social prestige. It is also a chance to have influence on the development of a science, creation of new technology, controlling the industry and economic strategies.

Let’s break glass ceiling! It is not a coincidence, that every second chairman from the list of 500 largest Polish companies is a technical university alumnus. Now we want women to become those chairmen. Brilliant scientific and professional career, prestige rewards and grants, revolutionary scientific discoveries and patents will be the Polish young women engineer’s recognition soon!

Authority in women’s hands! Real power it is first of all economic power as it’s challenging politicians. New technology, industry innovations and development of the strategic economic branches – it can be all in women’s hands. Nowadays politicians are afraid of future women’s power, that’s why they don’t want to listen to feminine demands and postulates. It’s a high time for us to drive a hard bargain.

Together we are strong! Our campaign “Girls As Engineers!” has lasted for three years. The number of girl students has increased by 10.000, what is a great success during the times of general lack of students at universities and colleges!