Shaking up Tech brings hundreds of female students together to explore technology
On Thursday 10 October, 450 female upper secondary school students attended the event in Espoo, Lappeenranta and Tampere. Linda Liukas, the multi-talented patron of Shaking up Tech opened the event with an inspirational speech.
鈥楲earning starts with doing things, and that鈥檚 what you're all here for today. I hope that today you get the message that all people who create something new have to start from zero. None of them is proficient in the things that they set out to do. All of them experience moments of frustration.鈥
Linda believes that anyone can build the technology of the future. Every voice is needed.
鈥楾echnology is not just someone else鈥檚 thing. It is not just something for bearded men and boys in hoodies.鈥
Professor of Radio Astronomy Anne L盲hteenm盲ki spoke about her research on black holes. She also had a clear message to the young women.
鈥楾here are billions of galaxies in the universe, and every galaxy has billions of stars. You can aim for those stars. Whether that means a natural star in space, or something that is an important matter for you. Go boldly towards that place where no one else has gone before. Study new and strange worlds. There is room in the universe for all our goals and dreams, including yours.鈥
Professor of Quantum Physics Sabrina Maniscalco encouraged young people to find that place in themselves where their passion and strengths combine, that place of natural giftedness.
鈥楤ut you shouldn鈥檛 expect, however, that life will be one long honeymoon. You must be persistent, even if that means doing things which you don鈥檛 like and feeling like giving up.鈥
Marjet M盲kinen, the CEO of Suomen Kovabetoni Oy described to the upper secondary school students what it is like to study in the field of technology. She began her studies in industrial engineering and management in Otaniemi in 2007.
鈥極taniemi is a great place with a strong community feel. Here you can learn everything. You don鈥檛 need to worry for a moment whether you鈥檒l be able to manage or not.鈥
Director of Future Energy Business at ST1 Riitta Silvennoinen spoke about stopping climate change, developing the circular economy and promoting renewable energy solutions.
鈥業 understand technology and natural sciences and am gifted in mathematics. Right now, we need people who understand the big picture and want to make the world a better place.鈥
From workshops to summer jobs
In the afternoon, the students were divided into smaller groups and given hands-on experience of different technological fields through a variety of workshops.
In the Astroinformatics and Magnetism workshop, one of the experiences on offer was a flight through the solar system using the . The workshop also gave an explanation of how the northern lights are generated. Participants were interested to learn about whether there is life on Mars, what would happen if the earth鈥檚 magnetic field disappeared, and how the magnetic field in general operates.
鈥楳y father has a science masters degree and has taken me to different places to introduce me to the natural sciences. I am very interested in physics and other sciences, and in the future I would like to study at Aalto鈥, says Iisa Vallirinne.
Iisa knew how to ask researchers informed questions about the earth's magnetic field, and this didn鈥檛 go unnoticed. At the end of the workshop, one of the workshop leaders, Professor Eija Tanskanen, made preliminary arrangements with Iisa for her to take a summer job: Iisa will be going next summer, under the supervision of Eija Tanskanen, to the Sodankyl盲 Geophysics Observatory.
鈥業t is absolutely clear that upper secondary school students should have a chance to visit and learn about universities and research institutes. Iisa Vallirinne was particularly enthusiastic and actively asked questions, so we鈥檝e made some preliminary arrangements for next summer.鈥
From stretching spider silk to assembling satellites
In the chemistry laboratory, Maaria Tiiri, Tiia Aaltonen and Annukka Hautam盲ki got to have a go at stretching spider silk 鈥 once the silk protein became concentrated enough. At the workshop鈥檚 other activity stations, students also got to collect the silk and to examine it under an electron microscope.
鈥業鈥檓 really happy with how much more information I got today about different technology sectors,鈥 says Tiia Aaltonen.
鈥楾his workshop helped me decide my top choice in my university application for me鈥, adds Maaria Tiiri.
Joanna Autio and Josefiina Saukko participated in the 鈥楤rain and Mind鈥 workshop, in which they learnt how to take EEG measurements.
鈥楾he brain is what interests me most of all. This is definitely something which I will remember鈥, Joanna Autio says.
鈥楤efore, I didn鈥檛 really have an idea of what the technology sector is. Now I understand what it is, and also how diverse it is鈥, explains Josefiina Saukko.
Joanna Autio would like to solve the world's waste problem. She believes that new methods must be found for making use of waste in more diverse ways. If Josefiina Saukko could choose a superpower, it would be about saving the world and stopping climate change.
In the space technology workshop, Anni Toijala, Janika Olshin and Ilona Hiltunen got to take apart a satellite and put it back together. The group was pleased that they got to dismantle and assemble the satellite with their own hands, and in the process to learn about all the parts of the satellite. Linda Liukas鈥檚 speech had also instilled in them courage and belief in themselves.
鈥楾oday really strengthened my interest in astrophysics鈥, says Ilona Hiltunen.
Linda Tiihonen and Viivi Ihalainen modelled and programmed traffic lights in the Aalto Junior workshop. They both felt that the day made it clear that there are many different opportunities in the technology sector and many different ways to work with technology.
Videos and photos
Photos: Mikko Raskinen, Matti Ahlgren and Lassi Savola.
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