Shimadzu Europa GmbH Held Girls’Day 2024
Students Experienced Career in the STEM Field
Shimadzu’s European Headquarters, Shimadzu Europa GmbH (hereafter SEG), took part in the Girls’Day event on April 25th. This year, 12 students participated in four different experiments. Here is the report from Germany.
Girls’ Day: Germany’s Largest Career Orientation Project
The underrepresentation of women in research and technical careers is a global challenge. In Germany, "Girls'Day" was launched in 2001 as a solution. Since then, the event has offered a total of 2.4 million female students with the opportunity to get to know exciting professions, especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields.
Girls'Day is a special occasion where young women have the freedom to explore different careers and overcome stereotypes.
Supporting Actively Human Resource Cultivation in STEM
SEG has supported the purpose of “Girls'Day” and has participated in the event for four consecutive years. This year we offered 12 places, all of which were filled by enthusiastic girls between the ages of 10 and 15.
Divided into four small groups of three girls each, we embarked on an exciting journey of discovery. Four stations were set up, each with unique experiments that illustrated the wonders of science. The following table details each experiment.
| Experiment Name | Detail |
|---|---|
| Awesome energy! | Uncovered the secrets of liquid chromatography and demonstrated the precision of separating caffeine from beverages, taking a close look at the processes at a molecular level. |
| Magic of Light | Explain the principle of spectrophotometry using a paper spectrophotometer. Then, observe the molecular world through light and heat. |
| Split it up | Introduced the technology of separating substances into their individual components from simple filter paper experiments to advanced Shimadzu instruments. Analyzing perfume samples, we uncovered the secrets behind the fragrance components. |
| Testing, breaking, and testing | Examined various materials, including food and polymers, using state-of-the-art testing machines. |
Impressions of the Participated Students
I really enjoyed Girls'Day with you. They were all very friendly and I was able to get a very good insight into their work. It was all very interesting. I thought it was great that I was able to take part in a lot of practical and learned a lot. I could very well imagine working in such an area later on.
I liked it very much because it was not only informative, but also interesting and suitable for young people. The staff were very friendly and answered all my questions with understanding. It was an interesting and educational experience. I am very glad that I chose the Shimadzu’s program.
I enjoyed the day very much, better than I expected. I particularly liked the fact that we were allowed to carry out the experiments ourselves, that was a special experience and a lot of fun.
Comment from the Person in Charge
It was a highly successful event for us. The girls showed a real thirst for knowledge and exuded curiosity and enthusiasm throughout the day. Their positive feedback at the end of the day confirmed that Girls'Day had sparked their interest and paved the way for a future in STEM.
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