Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine
Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance
Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History
Luxembourg Centre for European Law
Luxembourg Centre for Socio-Environmental Systems
In the past months, the Scienteens Lab has been focusing once again on girls in science with the “Girls in IT” programme. While encouraging access to science for all has been part of our DNA since the start, the format is new: Our team is now going to high schools to offer after-class sessions. The goal? To introduce girls to the world of computer science, a field often considered as male-dominated. These interactive workshops are accompanied by online tutorials and inspiring interviews of women in IT to keep nurturing these budding female computer scientists.
Girls in IT
In 2024-25, the Scienteens Lab started to offer after-school activities designed exclusively for girls. These 90 minutes sessions take place at school, just after class, and are meant as an interactive introduction to computer science. After a successful pilot phase, the “Girls in IT” programme will be officially launched in the next school year, with ten high-schools participating across Luxembourg. Activities will be carried out in small groups and three sessions will be organised in each participating school during the school year. These workshops will focus on diverse topics such as algorithms, coding, the binary number system and cryptography, always in an understandable and fun way. An event on campus Belval mixing hands-on activities and a roundtable will conclude the programme. If you are interested in organising “Girls in IT” sessions at your school, don’t hesitate to contact our team.
(S)he did IT, the interview series
In addition to this after-school programme, the Scienteens Lab has also added new resources on its Test IT website: A series of interviews in which women working in the field of computer science share their stories. They have different jobs, are at different stages in their careers and have different backgrounds: Plenty to inspire teenagers who are looking for some guidance for their studies and for ideas about potential career paths.
Having a role model can provide motivation and valuable insights. Through four videos and three written interviews, young girls can discover the paths of seven women and find out why they chose computer science. Nyyti Saarimäki and Flor Ortiz, researchers at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), talk about their scientific journeys that respectively took them from Finland and Mexico to Luxembourg. Régine Poussin from the Scienteens Lab explains how she found an unexpected vocation in computer science and education, and Diana Grigore tells how her passion for technology led her to become a specialised software tester. Marlene Müller also recounts her own unique career history, while senior IT project managers Egle Valkunaite and Vanina Reinert share valuable advice for those who want to get started in the field.
All these inspiring stories can be found on Test IT and are part of the many resources available there. From fun tutorials to an online exhibition, from an open channel for scientific questions to useful links about study programmes, this website opens the door of computer science to all, boys or girls, budding IT enthusiast. Check it out!
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The computer science programme of the Scienteens Lab is generously supported by the Fondation Veuve Émile Metz-Tesch (FVEMT). Activities promoting the inclusion of girls in computer science are also supported by the Oeuvre Nationale.