Girls’ Day 2019 at the VDE Institute

The economic and political worlds along with educational institutions have been trying to get women enthusiastic about technical and scientific careers for years. One measure for increasing the amount of young female talent in STEM* is Girls’ Day, which has taken place annually since 2001. Companies, enterprises and universities all across Germany open their doors to students in year 5 of elementary school and higher on that day.

The VDE Institute is now participating in Girls’ Day for the 11th time as well. As was the case in previous years, students familiarized themselves with the day-to-day work of our testers and got a taste of the world of electrical engineering. During a tour of our laboratories, the girls got an impression of the work that an electrical engineer and others do and how tests are performed at the VDE Institute. This year, we placed special emphasis on showing students that testing and certifying electrical products has many faces. For instance, a washing machine undergoes different tests than a lamp or medical equipment during the testing process. In our EMC hall, the girls were told that, in addition to electrical safety, other aspects such as electromagnetic compatibility also play a crucial role in the quality of a product.

After lunch, we took out the soldering irons and students were taught the basic craft of electrical engineering. They built an electrical circuit together with their chaperones. After all the soldering and plugging was done, the girls received a robot or angel-shaped thermometer with motion sensors and blinking eyes, which they kept as a memento.

It is evident that measures such as Girls’ Day are quite successful due, among other things, to the increasing number of first-year students in the subjects of engineering sciences, computer science, and electrical engineering. We are proud to have contributed to this development and already look forward to Girls’ Day next year.

* STEM stands for sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics