Tech For Good Challenge

Last Wednesday, more than 80 STEM-curious year nines gathered in the Electrical Engineering building for the Tech For Good Challenge, run by volunteers from the Women in Electrical Engineering Society, in collaboration with Apple. The student-led program was aimed to spark an early interest in engineering as an exciting application of maths and physics, with the purpose encouraging girls to see themselves as future innovators who can make change in the world.

The first floor labs were buzzing with energy as the girls were challenged to design a solution to a problem which affects their generation. This intentionally broad brief inspired teams to dream up a number of spirited ideas for apps and  hardware solutions for far-reaching problems, including global warming, world hunger and environmental pollution. 

Notably, the event was keenly supported by Apple’s outreach team. Representatives explained that they are very focused on promoting EE within young minds. “We’ve seen that girls’ percentages are low, we’d like to understand where the issue stems from and help them understand there is a path in these fields.” This is true: although the number is steadily increasing, women only make up around 16.5% of the engineering and technology workforce in the UK. Apple engineers came in to judge the competition and give out prizes alongside Imperial Alumni, and speak directly to the students at the panel. 

Apple has a number of hires from Imperial and has increasingly engaged with students over time, with representatives stating they enjoy taking opportunities to collaborate with Imperial, including guest lectures and society events such as the WiEE event. Undoubtedly, the confident and proud female Apple engineers served as role models for the young women in the audience, including the committee themselves. 

Underlying the panel was sage advice from female students, professors and professionals working in Electrical Engineering fields. The general sentiment was optimism, with many echoing that the experience for women in engineering fields is now the best it has ever been. While women are still underrepresented in these fields, they feel heard and seldom overlooked by their male coworkers. Their biggest advice for the young women in STEM was to look past their own self-doubt, and to push past imposter’s syndrome, with the event strategically organised before they would be making crucial decisions about their upcoming GCSE subjects. 

Why year 9?

Year 9, which many of us may remember with a little bit of cringe, is crucial but turbulent. At the ages of 13-14, many of us were both determined and completely overwhelmed with forming a sense of self-identity, and self-ability. Teachers supervising that day emphasised that a hands-on experience like this is extremely valuable to students who are just starting to narrow down their interests and future dreams, inspiring them to avoid limiting themselves with their own assumptions.

Above all, the message of the event was to ‘stay curious.’ Luckily for them, the day’s plan included a short activity in building a simple LED circuit, which the girls tinkered with gusto, a first taste of the enriching STEM careers ahead of them.

This was the second annual Tech For Good Challenge by the Women in Electrical Engineering society, who took the initiative to reach out to local schools themselves, inviting them to nominate students they think would be interested. The 15 volunteer-strong team is confident that the event will continue to grow in the coming years, especially with this year’s promising corporate support.