IEEE and Girl Scouts Collaborate to Inspire Next Generation of STEM Leaders
DALLAS – IEEE and the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX) partnered to host a STEM-focused career fair aimed at sparking interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among young girls. The event, held recently, featured interactive exhibits designed to demonstrate the real-world applications of STEM fields and introduce girls to potential career paths.
The collaboration underscores a shared commitment to diversifying STEM,as noted by Craig Polk,stating,”IEEE and the Girl Scouts share a view that STEM fields require a diversity of thought,experience,and backgrounds to be able to use technology to better the world.”
IEEE Senior Member Gautami Nadkarn exemplified this approach with a cloud computing exhibit.Nadkarn, who holds a master’s degree in management details systems from the State University of New York, Buffalo, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Dwarkadas Jivanlal Sanghvi Collage of Engineering in Mumbai, presented herself as a “superhero for big companies,” explaining her role in data security and institution to the Girl Scouts.
Her exhibit included hands-on activities like a dinosaur-sorting exercise to illustrate data management, a puzzle focused on data security, and a demonstration of Google Cloud’s Image 3 text-to-image model. The girls used the AI tool to create images based on their imaginations, including a dog riding a unicycle on a boat, and experimented with voice modulation.
GSNETX representative Nurjahan emphasized the impact of such interactions, stating that even brief engagement “gives them a glimpse of their potential and sparks hope for the future, no matter what career they choose.” Nadkarn herself highlighted the untapped potential within cloud engineering, aiming to demonstrate that it’s “not boring” and relevant to everyday life.