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Programs we support

 

The Need: Our nation is losing young women from the STEM pipeline early and at an alarming rate. This greatly limits their career opportunities and, if the leak is not fixed, will leave a gaping hole in the U.S. STEM talent pool.

  • 25% of STEM positions are held by women.
  • Only 12 of 100 female college graduate earn a degree in STEM.
  • 4 in 5 STEM collect students said they decide their field of study in high school or earlier.

What is the Technovation Challenge?

  • Technovation offers girls around the world the opportunity to learn the skills they need to emerge as tech entrepreneurs and leaders. Every year we invite girls to identify a problem in their community, and then challenge them to solve it.
  • Girls work in teams to build a mobile app and a business plan to launch that app, supported by mentors and guided by our curriculum.
  • Technovation’s curriculum takes students through 4 stages of launching a mobile app startup, inspired by the principles of design thinking:
  • Ideation – Identify a problem in the community
  • Technology – Develop a mobile app solution
  • MIT App Inventor or Thunkable
  • Entrepreneurship – Build a business plan to launch the app
  • Pitch – Bring the business to market and do a video pitch

Pilot Program at Morrill Middle School

High-Tech High Heels Silicon Valley recruited participants, mentors and funded a Technovation Challenge club at Morrill Middle School.  There were 4 groups and each group had a mentor who currently works in Silicon Valley in Business or Engineering.  In the program the girls had to solve a problem in their local community, develop a mobile app, build a business plan and put together a video pitch.

We are proud that 17 girls in grades 6th-8thcompleted the six month program.  At the end of the program, HTHH surveyed the girls and they listed teamwork as their favorite experience of the program.  In addition, they enjoyed coding, the video pitch and designing the app.  These all skills they can carry throughout school and their careers.

Below are a few of the quotes from our pilot program:

  • “Participating was an honor;  We learned so much about coding, teamwork and marketing.”
  • “This was great experience!”
  • “We are very proud of our student’s efforts and we are also very thankful for the support of you and the other volunteers.” – Tom Carroll, Principal

As a result of the success of lasts years program, HTHH will be bringing the Technovation Challenge back to Morrill Middle school for 2019-2020.

MAGIC (More Active Girls In Computing)

Their vision is to be a world resource to guiding and assisting young women seriously considering studying one or more science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) areas. Their mission is to focus on providing middle and high school girls, who are seriously considering studying a STEM area, with a knowledge of tools and resources available for them to be successful.

MAGIC provides one-on-one mentoring in STEM for middle and high school girls. It is run by women with careers in technology and mentoring is carried out on both technical and personal subjects, including work/life balance, the role of girls in our society and how that is changing, how to avoid the technology stereotype, etc.

Each girl accepted into the program (a MAGIC mentee) is paired with a woman in STEM (a MAGIC mentor), and they meet weekly. The mentee explores her interests in STEM under the guidance of her mentor and works on one or more STEM projects. She presents her work at the end of the session to an audience consisting of other mentees, mentors, parents and family members, and MAGIC staff.

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