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According to market research company Taloustutkimus’ recent survey, only around one tenth of women under 30 are interested in university education in science and technology. Event fewer have interest in studying computer science and computing at the university level. On the other hand, men of the same age reported these among the most interesting fields of study.

Aalto University, LUT University and the University of Oulu will organise the Shaking Up Tech event on 8 October 2020 to encourage more young women to apply to technological fields of study. Feedback on the previous years’ events has been highly positive. According to a survey, the event doubled the number of people interested in the field of science and technology among its participants. Almost half of the participants stated that they intend to apply to studies in the field of technology. This year’s event is the third of its kind.

‘The aim of Shaking Up Tech is to familiarise young upper secondary school students with the versatility of science and technology. It also presents the various career options offered by the field and the opportunities it opens for influencing the world. Due to the covid-19 situation, the event will be organised online, and it will be open to all upper secondary school students,’ says Marja Niemi, Development Manager at Aalto University School of Science.

The speakers of this year’s Shaking Up Tech include Hele Savin, an Aalto University solar power researcher who has been awarded the Innovation Award for Women, Heidi Piili, the first female Professor of Mechanical Engineering at LUT University, and Marja Matinmikko-Blue, Research Coordinator in the University of Oulu’s 6G Flagship programme. The student panel includes two science and technology students from each of the three universities. Both the speakers and the members of the student panel can be asked questions online.

Mari Lundström, Professor of Hydrometallurgy at Aalto University, is one of the speakers of the event. Lundström worked at Outotec for seven years before receiving her professorship at Aalto University. She highlights the freedom to innovate and the management of complex entities as the most important aspects of the field. Lundström leads Finland’s largest battery metal ecosystem, the BATCircle consortium.

‘The courage to take on new assignments provides us with the opportunity to learn new skills. Passion and a positive attitude facilitate more effective learning. For example, I had no expertise or experience in leading a research group five years ago.’

See the Millenium Talks video, where Henkka Hyppönen and Mari Lundström discuss possibilities and challenges in creating recyclable batteries and how it can increase our well-being.

Datatähti (Finnish Olympiad in Informatics) is an annual programming contest for Finnish secondary school students. The Elimination Round takes place September 28 - October 11. .