A new initiative aims to bridge the gap of female representation in jobs in the STEAM fields by organising trainings and other events to empower girls to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

Girls in STEAM academy announced its new programme, expected to take place in Limassol and Larnaca this December for girls aged 14 to 16.

“Sciences provide an understanding of a universal experience. Arts are a universal understanding of a personal experience… they are both a part of us and a manifestation of the same thing… the arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity,” the press release cited American engineer, doctor and former Nasa astronaut Mae Jemison. Jemison is the first African American woman to travel into space.

Despite the fact that girls outnumber boys in digital literacy, women represent only 17 per cent of people studying and working in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in the EU and only 36 per cent of STEM graduates, the academy said in a press release.

“This is mainly the result of gender stereotypes that prevent girls from making full use of their potential,” the academy said.

Hence, Girls in STEAM academy aims to “break down barriers that typically prevent young girls from pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics”.

The first programme, BridgeSTEAM will take place over two weekends, one in Limassol on December 4 and 5 at CUTing Edge at the Cyprus university of technology and at Youth makerspace Larnaca on December 11 and 12.

It aims to empower participants at three levels. Firstly, by providing training labs in programming, robotics, artificial intelligence, secondly by informing girls about career opportunities in the STEM industry and lastly by bringing them in contact with local role models at the STEAM fields. The programme will also provide a training workshop on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Registrations are open until November 23 at the link: https://forms.gle/RgnXL9LtCzeY6S5TA or via the website: https://steamacademycy.org/bridgesteam/.

Girls in STEAM Academy is an initiative of the Be an Ally Foundation, co-organised by Youth Makerspace Larnaca (Cyprus Youth Organisation). The main sponsors of Girls in STEAM Academy are PwC Cyprus, the Centre for Social Innovation (Centre for Social Innovation), and sponsors the CUTing Edge (Cyprus University of Technology).

The initiative is led by Panagiota Polykarpou and Anastasia Liopetritis.

For more information visit https://steamacademycy.org/, www.facebook.com/steamacademycy, instagram @steamacademycy, or contact [email protected].