5,000 girls and adolescents in Colombia will be able to train for free in science, technology, art, engineering and mathematics

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MinTIC) and the Maloka Interactive Museum launched the national call for the Girls STEAM program, an initiative that seeks to strengthen the talents and vocations of girls and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 in areas such as science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM).

The minors may be linked to the start-up through 200 public and private educational institutions in the country, where They will be able to access workshops, virtual laboratories, personalized mentoring, materials and experiences that, according to the MinTic, “will help them awaken interest in professional careers related to the world of technology and communications.”

“It is important to encourage women, from an early age, to participate in innovation and technology projects, so that more and more of us can transform our lives and those of our communities and thus contribute to closing gaps through ICT ”Said Karen Abudinen, ICT Minister.

The Girls STEAM initiative began in 2020 as a pilot project, in which 360 girls and adolescents in Bogotá were benefited through the implementation of 16 virtual work sessions.

“This is how through a training process, which is based on autonomous work sessions, synchronous meetings, accompaniment with mentors and mediators, experimentation and creation, the participants will be able to discover their interests, assess their capacities and start the construction of his life project ”, indicated María Cristina Díaz, executive president of Maloka.

By 2021 it was established that 70 percent of the beneficiaries are from public educational institutions and the remaining from strata 1, 2 and 3 from private educational institutions, that benefit populations in a state of vulnerability, “In such a way that they gain access to this initiative that will encourage their interest and participation in the STEAM fields: science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics”added Minister Abudinen.

MinTic also reported that the 5,000 participants will receive a kit consisting of a tablet and a toolbox that includes materials and supplies that they will use during the different tasks proposed.

The program will take place in 12 autonomous work sessions, that will have offline activities and three virtual sessions where the minors will have the accompaniment of mediators.

Likewise, the training will include participation of mentors, recognized women in STEAM fields, particularly on issues associated with ICT, with the purpose that they share their life experiences in a virtual meeting and accompany them to create their proposals.

The Information and Communications Technologies portfolio shared the following participation route for those interested in being part of the program:

1. Minors between 12 and 15 years old interested in being part of Chicas STEAM They must be enrolled in public and private educational institutions in the country, belong to strata 1, 2 or 3. There they must form a group of minimum 25 and maximum 50 who share the same interest and who are in the same age range.

2. Then, they should ask the rector to send a letter of intent to the email [email protected] in which the institution and the number of interested students and contact information are presented.

3. If the institution meets the conditions for participation, will be contacted and invited to a day of socialization.

4. After this, the institution will confirm the endorsement of the participation and the interested parties must fill out the form application.

Registration will be open until June 30.

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