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Vienna University of Technology and Kapsch give girls an insight into the world of technology

The Kapsch Group and the Vienna University of Technology cooperate on summer workshops for young girls aged 10 to 13 years. The event took place as part of "fFORTE WIT-Woman in Technology” – an initiative of the Vienna University of Technology and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research.

Under the title "Das flinke Roboter-Insekt" ("The nimble robotic insect"), a workshop for girls in the lower cycle of secondary school was held yesterday, Tuesday, at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the Vienna University of Technology. Topics included the principles of electricity and voltage, as well as electronic components and how a plugboard works. Experiments using the plugboard gave the girls the opportunity to connect components to make simple circuits and thus get an insight into practical aspects of the work. Later, the girls were taught how to solder, which allowed them to assemble their own device on their own. A Kapsch employee, herself a Vienna University of Technology graduate, was on hand to give advice and tell the 12 participants about her everyday working life at Kapsch.

Reaching out to girls at an early age is important

Vienna University of Technology aims at improving the opportunities for women in scientific professions through an ongoing program of activities: "Women represent an important potential for science and business with their skills, creativity and particular way of looking at things," DI Veronika Shivaldova, supervisor of the workshop series organized as part of the "fFORTE WIT-Women in Technology" initiative at the Vienna University of Technology.

That is why the Kapsch Group attaches significant value to having girls on board in the technical teams: "We begin to actively reach out to girls very early on in order to get them enthusiastic about pursuing a career in technology and to highlight prospects for the future that they might never have thought about. That’s why we support the initiative of the Vienna University of Technology," explains Rudolf Bernscherer, head of Human Resources at the Kapsch Group. Further activities and detailed information on the topic of training and development at Kapsch can be found at <link http: www.onestepahead.at>www.onestepahead.at.

About "fFORTE WIT – Woman in Technology"
The “fFORTE WIT – Woman in Technology” program is a development project initiated jointly by the Vienna University of Technology and the fForte program of the BM:WF [Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research], which supports women throughout their scientific careers. In addition to the core element of the initiative – an innovative doctoral program for women – further projects are organized, such as the summer workshop series for schoolgirls. This involves role models teaching young girls the basics of technology in a realistic environment. Between 300 and 400 schoolgirls participate in the free summer workshops each year.

Kapsch is one of the most successful technology companies in Austria, with global importance in the future markets of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Railway and Public Operator Telecommunications as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The three core companies Kapsch TrafficCom, Kapsch CarrierCom and Kapsch BusinessCom belong to the Kapsch Group. As a family company with headquarters in Vienna, Kapsch has stood for the consistent development and implementation of new technologies to the benefit of its customers for more than 100 years. With a variety of innovative solutions and services, Kapsch makes an important contribution to the responsible shaping of a mobile and networked world. The companies of the Kapsch Group employ around 5,000 people in their worldwide branch offices and representative offices.

  • <link http: www.tuwien.ac.at en services gender_studies women_in_technology _blank link_intern>"fFORTE WIT - Women in Technology"
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