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Girrrl
Power! First annual "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day" will be among the main events of National Engineers Week 2001 It's every girl's dream: Grow up and become an engineer. Well, not every girl, perhaps, and maybe not yet. But if the National Engineers Week Committee's new outreach campaign works, the dream could become commonplace some day soon. For National Engineers Week 2001,the committee will launch the first annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day -- Thursday, February 22, 2001 -- a nationwide project of engineering societies, corporations, government agencies, and other service organizations to redouble efforts to bring the world of engineering to girls during the week of February 18-24, 2001. According to National Engineers Week 2001 co-chairs IBM and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), the engineering profession is facing not only a dearth of engineers in general, but a lack of diversification. Only nine percent of engineering positions and 27 percent of computer science and programming jobs are currently filled by women, and the number of women graduating from college with engineering degrees has plateaued in the past few years. That underscores the urgency, they say, to encourage girls to excel in math and science as early as elementary school -- and continue to excel -- so they'll be ready for formal engineering courses in college. While there has long been a strong interest in engineering among the boys, the committee is determined to make that the case for girls, too. The program kicked off on October 25 at NSPE's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, when representatives from some 30 societies, corporations and organizations laid plans to ask 100 organizations to pledge as many engineers (preferably women) as possible to the effort. In turn, the volunteering engineers will be asked to each personally reach out to girls on Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day or at some time around National Engineers Week. IBM will lead the effort by pledging 500 engineers from its Women in Technology program. Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is only part of the
legacy of National Engineers Week 2001 co-chairs IBM and NSPE.
For its part, NSPE will also establish a new website, www.engineeringsights.org.
Dubbed the "Sightseer's Guide to Engineering," the site, launching on
Monday, February 18, will offer a state-by-state travel guide to famous
and not so famous outstanding engineering feats in America. Designed
for children and adults, the colorful tour aims to encourage families
to include these stops in their vacation plans. Meanwhile, the
public is encouraged to submit suggestions for the site between now
and its launch by visiting http://www.eweek.org/nspe/engineeringsights/. Many other National Engineers Week activities underscore the committee's emphasis on the next generation of engineers. Next year will mark the ninth anniversary of the National Engineers Week Future City CompetitionTM, where seventh- and eighth-graders from across the United States create their own visions of cities of tomorrow. Working first on computers and then building three dimensional scale models, the program teaches students the rigors of building and operating a modern metropolis. More than 30,000 students are expected to participate, making it one of the largest and most successful engineering education programs of its kind. Winners from 26 regional competitions in January will meet in Washington on February 20 and 21 to compete for the national title. More information can be found at http://www.futurecity.org . Other projects scheduled for National Engineers Week 2001 include:
For a planning kit for engineers with graphics, hands-on activities and suggestions on how to get involved in National Engineers Week, or for more information on how to participate and organize a local National Engineers Week program, visit http://www.eweek.org.
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National Engineers Week Foundation
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