Robogals Adelaide participated in the Young Women in Technology Challenge (YWITC) held by the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9, June 2011. The event was attended by 256 female year 9 and 10 students from 28 metropolitan and regional high schools. Students were split into groups of approximately 20 students and attended five activities throughout the day. Due to the large size of the group there are seven activities in total but students are only able to participate in five on the day. Of the seven activities Robogals was voted the 2nd best activity over the two days. Coming in first was Electrical school and their DC-motors which students took home. Unfortunately we couldn't let them take a robot home!

This is the 2nd year Robogals has been present at the program and the 7th consecutive year this outreach program has been running at the University of Adelaide. The aim of the programme is to bring young females from schools across South Australia to the University to explore the world of engineering, science and technology. Each session is designed to give students valuable information about the various areas of the Faculty and inspire students to consider a career in engineering, science or technology as well as hands on tasks similar to the real world. On Thursday, 9 June, The Advertiser ran an article on the event where our robots were featured, see link below. Aside from the interactive sessions students are treated to a guest speaker in industry today. Dr Sharna Glover, the Project Services Manager at BHP Billiton (Uranium), opened her world to the students and spoke about her work and home life balance. Furthermore, Kerry Halupka, a Robogals Adelaide committee member, was the undergraduate student speaker; she shared with students about university life and gave them an insight to her final year project which she has spent many hours hidden in the physiology department but you may find her catching dragonflies – for research of course.

Overall, YWITC is a day for future students to experience firsthand what is on offer in the world today. A survey was conducted by all students and teachers who attended and as a result, 74% of students stated that the event had changed their view on university / technology studies & careers. After a full day of fun and learning they went home knowing it’s never a dull day in the world of science and technology.

Web Link: National shortage of women in engineering, The Advertiser, 9 June 2011