1,000 outstanding female high-school students participated in TechWomen2021
an event to encourage them to continue, and invest in, their studies in math and science. The event, now in its seventh year, took place online and was broadcast from the Technion’s studio to dozens of classrooms across the country.
TechWomen events are held thanks to the generous support of the Rosalyn August Girls Empowerment Mission (GEM). August, who visited the Technion for the 2018 TechWomen event, believes in the importance of encouraging young women to choose science-engineering tracks. She addressed the students from her home in Florida (USA) and told them how she grew up in an environment that emphasized everything that girls, and women can't do - business, for example. She was born in Virginia to a family of Jewish immigrants and wanted to run the family business, but her father told her that business was not suitable for women. Despite this, she went on study business and turned the family business into an empire. "I want you to know that you can do whatever it is you decide you want to do. I believe in you, " she told the students. "That’s why I put my money up to sponsor a program to bring you to the Technion … and to go on into this world and do the amazing things that are being done at the Technion … the Technion is special. I believe in you. I’ve got your back … you will probably fall in love with the Technion just like I have. “
Prof. Ayelet Fishman, Dean of Students at the Technion, addressed the students and told them, “I came to the Technion to take a combination of chemistry, biology, and engineering – a combination that I found in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering. After my bachelor's and master's degrees, I went into industry, but I realized I would need a Ph.D. to progress – and I’ve been here ever since. I’m researching a variety of topics such as plant protein substitutes, cultured meat, biofuel production, and the development of a new Alzheimer's drug. Today, 44% of the students at the Technion are female, and by the time you join us, we will be approaching 50%."
The event was hosted by astrophysicist Dr. Efrat Sabach, who completed three degrees in the Technion Faculty of Physics. "As a child, I always asked questions about the world around me, and my father, who is neither a scientist nor an engineer, showed a lot of patience for these questions, " she said. “Today, I know that studying at the Technion gives us the basis that allows us to do whatever we want. So even if you are not sure what you will do when you are older, the Technion is a great place to start. “
To read the entire article visit the Technion website