Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting the Bio-Med Tech-Girls. The 6th annual Bio-Med Tech-Girls program included 14 young women from 11 different schools around the region. On Monday, they were hosted at St. Anne’s-Belfield School to get hands-on with computer science tools and concepts. Tuesday through Thursday, they were hosted by UVA’s Biomedical Engineering Department to get behind-the-scenes lab tours, learn from guest speakers, and start working on their design challenge. On Friday, they were hosted at the i.Lab at UVA to finalize their projects and share them at a Demo Party from 4 to 5 pm.
Notes from the Field
Last year, I attended Bio-Med Tech-Girls because my friend sent me a link to the application, and I have always been drawn to STEM. I was reluctant at first because I’m not very outgoing, and I had no tech experience. This year, I was able to come back as an intern. I got to see girls walk in timidly on the first day, and slowly gain more confidence to speak up. Watching the 14 girls that participated get interested in tech and biology through project-based learning made waking up at 7am during the summer worth it. By the last day, every girl was proudly telling friends and parents what they had created, and what they would’ve created with even more time.
Bio-Med Tech-Girls started in 2013 as a three day event with about 8 girls, and has evolved to a week long event with upwards of 15 participants (coming from as far as NoVa). Each year, the week is centered around a theme. In 2019, the theme was inclusive design. Speakers came in to share real life experience and discuss solutions. The girls got to talk to occupational therapists, BME graduate students, a game developer, and a differently abled couple. They also got to take tours of BME labs at UVA, and occupation therapy rooms at the UVA Children's Hospital. All of these conversations with the guests gave the girls so many new perspectives and a wide range of information. It connected the theme to the real world from multiple angles.
The group was also introduced (or reintroduced) to coding. They used Scratch to code and MakeyMakeys to create alternatives to traditional video game controllers. Each girl started with a different comfort level regarding Scratch. Some had been using it since elementary school, while others had never heard of it. And that’s one of the amazing things to see! Even though lots of girls had never coded, they were all confidently programming with Scratch by the end of the week.
They were then presented with the design challenge: create a game controller and video game tailored to a specific patient with different abilities. They were given a list of patients and chose one that inspired or spoke to them. They then joined a group to design a custom controller and program a video game for that child. The patient cases were based on real people treated at the UVA Children’s Hospital, with only personal details changed.
After the challenge is presented, the energy changes. It’s so fun to watch the girls become hyper-focused on their ideas. Since the project they’re given has real life applications, they become passionate about the work. They’re told to let their imagination run wild; to come up with 30 different solutions. This is a lot more challenging than it sounds. In a school setting, students are usually taught to find one right answer. Being told to invent 30 right answers is a brand new way of thinking. After running through the possible solutions with a group, they learn to write problem statements. This helps them make sure that they’re solving the problem the patient is facing, and not one that they have created for the patient.
This opportunity, although it may sound corny, is completely unique. The environment is welcoming and fun. Both years I have experienced an incredible bond form throughout the five days between a diverse group of young women. The amount of change that you can witness in a week is unbelievable, as the girls become louder with their opinions, and more confident in their ability to create. It’s so important to me that this program continues to inspire girls to explore STEM, as it has done for the past six years. As both a participant and intern, I encourage any curious girls to leap at this opportunity to explore.
Guest post by Alice Taylor, Tech-Girls intern and rising senior at Western Albemarle High School
Activities & Events
Live & Local
September 4 - Lego Wednesday at Nelson Memorial Library from 4:00-5:00pm. More info.
September 5 - Lego Mania at Northside Library from 4:00-5:00pm. More info.
September 9 (applications open) - SWE @ UVA High School Visitation November 16. This is a comprehensive, hands-on program to give young women an in-depth look at the field of engineering. High school students from the state of Virginia are welcome to apply. More info.
September 14 - Lego Creations and Inspiration at Scottsville Library, 10:00am-2:00pm. More info.
September 26 - Northside Minecraft Club from 4:30-5:30pm for ages 7-18. Registration required.
October 8 - CBIC Tech Tour. Get behind-the-scenes tour of local tech companies to see what makes them tick. Open to middle and high school students from participating schools. Check to see if your school is on board the tour & sign up quickly. Spots are limited for this popular regional event! More info.
October 12 - Girls' Geek Day at Crozet Elementary from 9:00am to noon. Girls' Geek Days are all about sparking elementary school-aged girl’s interest in technology and computing by providing a fun, collaborative, hands-on environment to learn new tech skills and helping them connect to other STEM programs in the community. The event is free, but registration is required.
Fall 2019 - FIRST LEGO League season starts August 1 and runs through the fall. The league challenges kids to think like scientists and engineers solving real-world problems and building, testing and programming a robot to solve missions related to this season's City Shaper challenge.
September 1(applications open) - NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing applications will open soon for young women in grades 9 through 12. If you have an interest in computing, this is an awesome way to get recognized, get a scholarship and get connected with other women who have a passion for tech.
September 28 - AWS Girls' Tech Day hosted at George Mason University is open to girls from 3rd grade up to young women in college. Join other Tech-Girls from around Virginia to ignite your imagination! Registration coming soon!
November 1 (deadline) - Congressional App Challenge is open to middle and high school students as individuals or up to a team of four. Check here to see if your district is participating.
December 18 (deadline) - eCYBERMISSION - create a team, identify a problem, work together to explore the problem, share you findings and win prizes. Open to 6th-9th grade students. More info.
Get Involved!
Are you ready to become a mentor or sponsor a Tech-Girl event? Can you help us get the word out? However you would like to get involved, we need you!
