Gender diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is vital to the future of these fields, and programs designed to engage female STEM students are the key to successfully reaching this goal.
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is doing its part to encourage and support female STEM students through its Women in Engineering Summer Program (WIESP). Run through the College of Engineering, this program introduces high school girls skilled in math and science to the opportunities available in engineering.
Recently, the WIESP gave a group of 21 Chicago-area female high school students a behind-the-scenes look at life as a professional engineer through a visit to a Knowles Corporation research and development facility.
Knowles sponsors the WEISP as part of the company’s commitment to gender diversity in engineering. As a maker of micro-acoustic, audio processing and other specialty components, the company can offer students information on some intriguing engineering career paths.
Twenty-one female high school students from the Women in Engineering Summer Program at University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Engineering visited Knowles Corporation for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at life as an engineer. (Image courtesy of Knowles Corporation/University of Illinois at Chicago.)
In this case, the students were given a tour of the facility and its operations, including the research, development and prototyping processes, a visit to the soundproof anechoic testing chamber and a look at the production of smartphone and consumer electronic microphones in Knowles’ clean rooms.
Introducing girls to the possibilities of an engineering education or career is what the WIESP is all about.
The program itself involves an intensive, multi-week summer curriculum designed to give junior and senior female high school students the chance to see real engineers at work, engage in hands-on projects and meet professors and other students from UIC’s College of Engineering.
“If we encourage women to become engineers, we include a large segment of the population and the diversity of ideas they bring,” said Jeffrey Niew, CEO of Knowles Corporation.
“Engineer-driven advances, like the Internet, have revolutionized the way we interact with humans and machines. If we create an environment that fosters curiosity and nurtures potential engineers, we will have a community primed to produce the next household name in technology. This will help drive economic prosperity through jobs and opportunities,” Niew added.
For more information on the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Women in Engineering programs, check out their website.