Emmerthal (RGo). For the 10th time already, the Hamelin Employment Agency organized the continuation of the “Students’ Seminar” in cooperation with the Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH) in the form of a solar internship for girls. A total of 18 secondary school students (9th and 10th grade) from schools in Hamelin and the surrounding area took the opportunity on 7 September 2016 to learn not only about the research work of the Solar Research Institute but also about practical knowledge and skills and the sun as an energy source.
The core of the event is the do-it-yourself construction of a solar module: plastic is bent, holes are drilled, switches and sockets are mounted, cables are soldered on and solar cells and propellers are installed. And then the reward for the craftsmanship – the model works! A propeller rotates as soon as a solar cell connected to it catches light. Just from the sun’s energy alone. Physical and solar experiments complete the practical part. Another essential and fixed part of the event is a round table discussion with ISFH staff members about their training and their work in the natural sciences.
technical professions.
Women are still under-represented in the STEM professions (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Even though girls have the same potential for such jobs as boys, in the natural science subjects at schools they all too often back down.