At the start of July, Loughborough University welcomed a group of Year 10 students onto campus for a four-day, three-night residential experience. The residential project, which was specifically open to year 10 female students (aged 14-15) and funded by a GlobalGiving grant made in partnership with Ford Philanthropy , aimed to increase the number of women in STEM by introducing the students to a range of different STEM subjects.  

The students stayed in university halls of residence, attended academic taster sessions, and took part in social activities, all to experience life as a university student. 

Student attendees were set a challenge to design their own sustainable island for a community of 40 families. They applied what they had learned in their academic taster sessions to think of creative solutions to challenges facing the world today – such as renewable energy sources, sustainable transport and educating the next generation. 

One Athena student said: “[The Athena Island Project] was fun and it gave me the chance to make new friends” with another student mentioning that they “loved the project” as they “thought about things I hadn’t thought about before” 

On the Thursday, the residential heard from four inspiring women speakers, who shared their career journey and advice with the students. The guest speakers were; Ashley Van Bruygom, University Research Fellow (Loughborough University) and previous Athena STEM ambassador; Vineet Atwal, PDL Analyst; Dr Jo Jennings, Visiting Member (Loughborough University); and Ritika Nair, Licencing Co-Ordinator (Mattel) and previous Athena STEM ambassador. 

The four speakers challenged gender stereotypes in STEM and encouraged attendees to explore a wide range of STEM disciplines and career paths. They emphasised the importance of staying true to personal interests and passions when making career decisions. 

Antonia Gogolin, Senior Manager at Ford Philanthropy, who joined the residential, said, "Seeing these young women light up with curiosity and confidence is exactly why this event matter so much".  

 "We are honoured to have partnered with Loughborough University to help plant the seeds for the next generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators. The event was expertly organized and executed, thanks to the outstanding hosting team at Loughborough University. Their dedication to creating a welcoming, encouraging, and intellectually stimulating environment made a lasting impression on both the participants and me." 

Ford Philanthropy also supports the SMART Mobility Challenge at the University, an extracurricular transdisciplinary design challenge, formulated to educate, encourage, students to become social entrepreneurs.  

The challenge invites teams of students to propose new ideas for sustainable urban solutions for communities and fosters the development of these ideas into tangible, feasible and viable social enterprises and start-ups. The outcomes are ideas for products or services that make people’s lives better by shaping the way people live and move within their urban communities, enabling and empowering them as individuals and citizens. Winning teams have the opportunity to network with other student teams from Spain and Germany at the Ford Philanthropy Smart Mobility Accelerator, this year hosted by the Universitat de València, Spain. At the Accelerator event in October, Loughborough’s winning students will pitch their ideas to win further funding from Ford Philanthropy and further develop their social entrepreneurship skills. 

Thank you to Ford Philanthropy for their continued support and to everyone who contributed to Athena STEM. 

Find out more about Athena STEM and associated resources online.