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Background

Interest in gender as an analytical category in the study of engineering and other applied sciences has grown rapidly through continuing concerns about the low numbers of women in these professions.

In the last decades, in all European countries, the number of women, which decide to study in higher education institutions, is continuously increasing. While a percent higher than 50% of female students is following the so-called "women-professions" such as social, pedagogical, etc., at the same time, a much smaller percent are deciding for studies in engineering, computers and applied sciences. In engineering there are approx. 20% of female students while in electrical engineering the percents are even lower. The development of computers had a positive impact in all sciences thus leading to the increase of specialised work places in the EU job market. As a result, computer science's courses were included in many university's curricula, but the percent of women students in these fields are still low.

Also, there are few women in executive positions in industrial organisations, enterprises and universities. Thus, the model of successful career women in applied sciences fields is underrepresented and influences not only the future profession of today female students, but also all modern contemporary society.

After two decades from graduation, many executive women need a diploma-based postgraduate education on new technologies and new curricula topics. Other women, after their initial graduation leave the professional scene, give priority to family and children progress and finally, many years later, discover the need to reintegrate in the labour market and to start a new career.

In the last three to five decades in many countries that today belong to the EC a mobility of groups of population or individuals started searching for a better place of work, of study and an increased quality of life. Education can play an important part in helping to integrate women immigrants into the EU, and also in the fight against racism and xenophobia.

To become successful in their new start, all women from the above categories A, B, C, and D need a postgraduate interdisciplinary education.

Aims and objectives

Our objectives are to built up a thematic network, focused on creating women-friendly interdisciplinary postgraduate level education involving mainly Electrical Engineering, Computer Technologies and Applied Sciences (EE/CT/AS) aiming:

To increase the educational systems awareness about gender bias issues faced by women when it comes to make their career choices.
To inform, encourage, and motivate young women to choose applied sciences specialisation and to lead women to their educational and career paths.
To identify interdisciplinary degree courses in participating European countries, involving EE/CT/AS as well as life, social, economic and management disciplines. To carry out research into these courses and on their impact on increasing the number of successful women careers in engineering and applied sciences.
To study the potentials for the implementation of a new interdisciplinarity-based curriculum at postgraduate level. This curriculum will be friendly to women and open to lifelong education and learning.