To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day on the 23rd of June, Educational robotics and coding academy, Robofun, is offering a free 3D design webinar class for primary school-aged girls.
Robofun is a female-led organisation based in Melbourne that integrates children’s interests and fun into learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through lessons in coding, robotics and 3D design.
Robofun’s founder, Lina Qasem started teaching robotics and coding classes to encourage primary school-aged girls to develop an interest in STEM and consider a future in these fields, where females are traditionally underrepresented.
Lina acknowledges that getting children engaged from an early age is important for breaking down engrained gender stereotypes and the barriers to participation, “Beginning the STEM education journey early in a fun and easy to consume way, helps kids realise that it’s not as difficult as they thought it was. This is especially important for young girls, as it gives them a positive first experience with STEM that can influence their direction later on.”
Robofun formerly hosted after-school and holiday workshops, however in the wake of COVID-19, transitioned to offering their classes virtually. Lina was able to see this shift as an opportunity to engage more children in valuable STEM learning experiences. Robofun is now teaching children online from various areas of Australia and has recently announced that it will open up its online program to New Zealand.
The webinar on Tuesday will run from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm (AEST) will be hosted by one of Robofun’s instructors, Ying. Ying is a biomedical engineering student and a great role model for students who are interested in STEM.
Information on how to access the session will be available on Robofun’s Facebook.
