The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role of women researchers in various stages of the fight against COVID-19, from research and testing to developing the vaccine.
Today, less than 30% of researchers worldwide are women. Science and gender equality are essential if we are to meet the internationally agreed-upon Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The global community must continue to improve quality learning opportunities for girls and support initiatives that accelerate girls’ transition between education and technical experts jobs in STEM fields.
In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science here is a curated collection of selected HundrED Innovators promoting gender inclusion in science.
1. Educate Girls - Improving access and quality education for over 15 million children. Through advanced analytics, Educate Girls has identified 5% of villages that hold 40% of India's out-of-school girl population. Working in partnership with the Government and community volunteers called Team Balika, it is empowering girls to go back to school. Since its inception in 2007, Educate Girls has enrolled 750,000+ girls in school and improved learning outcomes for 1.3 million+ children.
2. Eco-Schools - The largest global sustainable schools program. Eco-Schools encourages young people to engage in their environment by allowing them the opportunity to actively protect it. It starts in the classroom, it expands to the school and eventually fosters change in the community at large.
3. Arkki - A leading institution in creative education via architecture and design for children in the world. Arkki is a School of Creative Education for children and youth where pupils learn general innovation skills through architecture. Our mission is to equip and nurture the new generation with a creative mindset and innovation skills needed into and beyond the 21st century. In 27 years, Arkki has organized thousands of courses and workshops for more than 25,000 children in more than 50 countries.
4. Global Sky Partners - Inspiring students around the world to engage in astronomy and science investigations using robotic telescopes. To provide sustainable, scalable education projects using robotic telescopes, we created Global Sky Partners. The partners use Las Cumbres Observatory's unique telescope network as an educational tool for teacher training, student apprenticeships, citizen science, inspirational space outreach, publication-quality research, & training for the next generation of scientists in the developing world.
5. North Carolina's Research Triangle - Generating a movement to bring real STEM research into classrooms and to bring students into laboratories. Bringing real science into the classroom: The North Carolina Research Triangle's high concentration of STEM experts has generated a movement to bring real STEM research into classrooms and to bring students into laboratories. This interaction elevates science from an abstract activity to something that's powerful and relevant, nurturing children’s curiosity and their interest in science.
6. Kide Science - Engaging hands-on science education for 3-10-year-olds with online guidance for educators and parents. Kide Science develops young children’s scientific thinking skills through engaging hands-on experiments that solve real science problems. Its scalable online platform provides teachers and parents with training and lesson materials to lead playful STEAM education for 3-10 year-olds.
7. MyMachine - Engages the imagination and opens up opportunities for exploration. MyMachine is a unique inter-generational co-creation process that takes place over the course of one year. Students invent a 'dream machine' and then take it from concept to a working prototype. Students collaborate with peers, local corporations, and organizations that share a common view on STE(A)M, creativity, entrepreneurship, project-based, maker-centered learning.
8. Remake Learning Days - A festival of creative, hands-on experiences for youth and families to learn together about how education is being remade. RLDAA is a multi-day festival designed to help parents, families, and caregivers engage in innovative education that youth experience when they make, code, play, design, and tinker. With dozens, even hundreds, of events held in local schools, libraries, museums, and other learning sites, families can easily participate in creative educational moments. Fifteen cities now host their own #RemakeDays.
9. Hello Ruby - Teaching the concept of an algorithm in an unplugged way. Hello Ruby teaches programming in fun, creative ways by providing tools for children, parents, and educators. The concept originally began as a successful children’s book that has now been published in over 22 languages. Hello Ruby has the ability to make STEAM education more approachable, colourful and versatile.
10. Lab4U - Turns smartphones into pocket labs and empowers educators to teach inspiring science classes based on inquiry and exploration. Lab4U leverages smartphone technology and develops inquiry-based learning experiences to ensure ALL students have access to a hands-on science education. Lab4U’s solutions--Lab4Physics, Lab4Chemistry, and Lab4Biology--include a mobile app, Teacher Portal, and professional development for educators, permanently shifting the way science is taught in Latin America and the world.
11. Scratch - Engages millions of children around the world in coding and sharing projects to express their ideas and develop their creativity. Scratch is a free creative coding platform and online community that allows children of all ages to code, share, and remix their own stories, games, and animations. Scratch is translated into 50+ languages and available both online and offline. There are hundreds of thousands of educators around the world who are using Scratch in and out of classrooms and across the curriculum.
