The Next Generationof Girls in Engineering

Ontario Tech’s INSPIRE ENG conference encourages girls in high school to explore engineering careers

On Saturday, February 20, 2021, more than 50 girls in grades 9 and 10 from across the Greater Toronto Area and around the world joined the virtual INSPIRE ENG all-girl engineering conference to learn from industry experts and a high-profile young space enthusiast about what it takes to excel as an engineer.

Made possible by Hydro One, INSPIRE ENG was designed to encourage girls who already have an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to pursue a postsecondary education in engineering. The conference is an extension of FUTURE ENG, last year’s successful all-girl event geared toward female students in grades 11 and 12.

“We received a lot of positive feedback at our FUTURE ENG event last year,” says Ellen James, Supervisor, Engineering Outreach and Women in Engineering, Ontario Tech. “Participants were really excited to learn about diverse career paths available to engineers. However, we also heard from many girls that they wished they had an opportunity to learn this information sooner so they could better plan which courses they should take in high school. We’ve launched INSPIRE ENG to get girls thinking about engineering earlier.”

Highlighting this year’s virtual event is special guest speaker Alyssa Carson (pictured left), a 19-year-old American space enthusiast and astronaut-in-training. Carson addressed why we need more girls and women in STEM disciplines, and why it’s important to follow one’s passion.

In this highly interactive event, students participated in hands-on workshops from home, met current Ontario Tech Engineering students, and heard from female engineering professionals and researchers about the many engineering career opportunities available to them.