Over 40 primary school pupils from across Aberdeen have taken part in the Junior Girls in Engineering Conference.
The event took place on Wednesday (September 13) at St Margaret’s School for Girls, in partnership with the University of Aberdeen.
Designed to promote careers in engineering to girls, the inaugural ‘Girls in Engineering’ conference took place last year, and was a huge success with some 90 secondary school pupils from across Scotland taking part.
This week’s event was aimed at primary age pupils and also saw P7 pupils from Ferryhill Primary and St Joseph’s Primary in attendance.
As well as presentations and practical workshops designed to challenge and inspire the girls, there was a range of activities including The Energy Transition’, where students learned about alternative energy technologies which are helping reduce reliance on fossil fuel power sources.
Meanwhile, the pupils also had the chance to construct a ‘roller-coaster ramp’ using everyday materials.
Dr Israel Osofero, from the School of Engineering, attended the event to offer advice and support to the pupils. He was joined by Dr Euan Bain, James Power and Head of the School of Engineering, Professor Igor Guz.
Dr Osofero said: “I was delighted to attend the Junior Girls’ Engineering Conference and speak to primary school pupils about the huge number of opportunities that exist for them in engineering.
“Through this event, we demystify the engineering discipline and invite young girls to explore it. Our message is simple – engineering is as much for girls as it is for boys.
“The conference is one of a number of outreach activities we run that aim to encourage more girls into engineering, and it was great to receive such an enthusiastic response from all those who attended.”
Miss Anna Tomlinson, Head of St Margaret’s School for Girls, said: “Following last year’s successful inaugural ‘Girls in Engineering’ conference, we are once again excited to collaborate with the university in this way.
“As a school, we actively seek to breakdown gender stereotypes. In recent years, around 60% of our sixth year leavers have gone on to study STEM subjects at university and we want to instil the confidence in our pupils to pursue whatever avenue in life is right for them.
“As always, it is a privilege for St Margaret’s to work with the University of Aberdeen, and we look forward to developing our partnership over the coming years.”