Year 9 student Jasmine Ruffin from Newhaven College spent part of the latest school holidays at Melbourne University’s Girl Power program.
Designed for Year 9 female students and focused on engineering and IT, the program hopes to contribute to gender parity in these disciplines.
Girls from across Australia with an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the target audience.
“I was fortunate enough this year to be selected for the program, and attended a five-day camp during the July school holidays,” said Jasmine.
Staying in a student dorm at a residential college at the university, Jasmine described the camp as an incredible opportunity to be around like-minded students.
“Key learning from the camp included learning about careers in engineering and IT, participating in hands-on interactive workshops, interacting with University of Melbourne engineering and IT students and hearing from industry and academic staff about engineering and IT.
“I also got an insight into so many careers and opportunities available for women within the STEM field.”
Jasmine listed participating in activities such as hydraulics robot building, python micro-bit programming and drones as highlights of the camp.
“We were supported by amazing mentors who also offered different perspectives and explained their previous subject selections and current courses.”
There is currently an under-representation of women in engineering and IT.
“Because engineering is a traditionally male-dominated field, women may be less confident about their abilities, even when performing equally,” Jasmine said.
“The Melbourne University Girl Power program has empowered me and many other young girls to know there are vast and interesting opportunities in these fields and that we are very capable of being there.
“The program will be available next year for Year 9 girls, if you’re interested keep an eye out for the applications.
“I highly recommend the experience, as it has granted me unforgettable memories, new friends and ignited a passion to explore a future in STEM.”