Journée de la femme : des lycéennes de tout Israël pour Tech Women 2016, au Technion

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Le 2 mars dernier, le Technion a organisé la première conférence destinée aux brillantes lycéennes de tout le pays. La première édition de Tech Women 2016, qui s’est tenue en présence de 670 élèves du secondaire, vise à encourager les jeunes filles à suivre des études d’ingénieur ou des filières scientifiques. La conférence s’est déroulée à quelques jours de la Journée Internationale des droits des femmes (IWD), qui sera célébrée la semaine prochaine en Israël et dans le monde entier. Esther Amar, fondatrice d’Israël Science Info, organisatrice d’une conférence à Jérusalem sur ce thème commente : « l’initiative du Technion s’inscrit dans le même esprit que la conférence que j’organise pour la WIZO le 8 mars prochain à Jérusalem, à la date précise de la journée internationale du droit des femmes ».

Les 670 élèves sont à un haut niveau en mathématiques, en science et en technologie et elles préparent leurs examens de fin d’études. Elles ont rencontré des chercheuses et des enseignantes, d’anciennes élèves du Technion et des étudiantes diplômées. Les élèves ont visité les laboratoires et les cinq facultés : génie électrique, informatique, génie mécanique, génie aérospatial et ingénierie.

Le président du Technion, le Pr Peretz Lavie a déclaré : «La première classe au Technion, qui a ouvert en 1924, a été suivie par 16 garçons et une fille. Aujourd’hui, le pourcentage de femmes parmi les étudiants de premier cycle est de 37%, et notre objectif est d’atteindre 50% dans toutes les facultés. Cette journée spéciale a été conçue pour convaincre les étudiantes qu’elles peuvent rejoindre le Technion. L’avenir de l’Etat d’Israël passe par l’ingénierie et les connaissances scientifiques, et nous espérons recevoir ces étudiantes dans quelques années. »

Le Pr Yachin Cohen a déclaré : «Il y a plus de 5000 étudiantes au Technion, 32% des étudiants en maîtrise et 44% des doctorants sont des femmes. Malheureusement, le nombre de femmes dans le corps professoral est encore faible et nous devons l’améliorer. »
Répondant aux étudiantes, le Pr Daniella Raveh, membre de la Faculté de génie aérospatial, a déclaré : «J’ai une vraie passion pour les avions. Ils sont mon métier et mon hobby. Je suis heureuse de pouvoir faire ce que j’aime et j’ai aussi une licence de pilote. L’aéronautique est un domaine qui est adapté pour les hommes et femmes, et tout bon ingénieur qui obtient un diplôme de la faculté a la garantie d’un emploi dans ce secteur. »

[:en]The Technion holds the first conference for outstanding female high school students from all over Israel  “Tech Women 2016”, attended by 670 high school students, is designed to encourage female students to pursue higher education in science or engineering.

“When I was in high school I really didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but one day the penny dropped and I realized that I wanted to be an engineer.  That’s because engineers are people who look for solutions to problems: they design and streamline things and help the world advance. This is what paved the way that led me here, to the Technion.”

These statements were made by Naama Koifman, a doctoral student in the Nanotechnology and Nanoscience track at the Technion’s Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering, who hosted the opening plenary session of Tech Women 2016 on Wednesday, March 2, 2016.

Held courtesy of the Rosalyn August Girls Empowerment (GEM) Initiative, This was the first event of its kind, intended to encourage outstanding female high school students to pursue higher education in science and engineering. The conference was held in honor of International Women’s Day, which will be celebrated next week in Israel and around the world.

The 670 students who participated in the conference are all studying advanced-level mathematics, science and technology for their matriculation exams. They met with female researchers and faculty members, Technion alumnae and female graduate students. The students toured the laboratories and learned about the research topics and subject matter at five faculties: Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Speaking in advance of the event, Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie said: “The first class at the Technion, which opened in 1924, was attended by 16 boys and one girl. Today, the percentage of women among undergraduate students at the Technion is 37%, and our goal is to reach 50% in all faculties. This special day was designed to convince female students that they belong here at the Technion and that they can do it. Our future in the State of Israel is based on engineering and scientific knowledge, and we look forward to seeing these students in a few years at the academic school year opening ceremony.”

Speaking at the opening of the event, Dean of Undergraduate Studies Prof. Yachin Cohen said: “There are over 5,000 female students at the Technion, and 32% of the master’s degree students and 44% of doctoral students at the Technion are women. Unfortunately, the number of female faculty members at the Technion is still low and we must improve in this respect.”

Addressing the students, Prof. Daniella Raveh, member of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, said: “I really love airplanes. They are my occupation and my hobby. I am fortunate in being able to do what I love and I also have a pilot’s license. Aeronautics is a field that’s suitable for men and women alike, and any good engineer who graduates from the faculty is guaranteed employment in the field.”

Assistant Prof. Yael Yaniv from the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, who has three degrees from the Technion, told the students: “I attended Municipal High School No. 5 in Haifa. I was very happy when they opened a math program, but on the first day I found out that I was the only girl and I wanted to quit. Fortunately for me, my mother didn’t let me give up, and in ninth grade I started studying at the Technion Faculty of Electrical Engineering – because people told me it was the toughest school of all. Today, as a member of the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, I know that anyone can do whatever he or she wants, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. Here at the Technion you can make any dream come true.”

Sarai Duek, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Computer Science, told the students: “Today, after earning two degrees at the Technion and half-way through my doctorate, I can tell you: the Technion is hard, but here you become better and stronger, you meet amazing people and, of course, you get to study at the best place there is.”[:]