The challenge:
In the coming years, with Europe’s knowledge economy developing and new technologies on the rise, skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are even more necessary in order to have a broad range of careers. It is therefore imperative to attract and recruit more youth to STEM study programmes; not just to increase the numbers of STEM-trained professionals, but also to increase the diversity of STEM-trained professionals.
Who we are:
We are a group of educational practitioners, scholars, business people and policy makers with a diverse set of backgrounds and expertise coming from 13 countries in Europe and Israel. We come together sharing a common vision of how STEM could be communicated to young people.
Vision Statement:
The Vision of Hypatia is a European society that communicates science to youth in a gender inclusive way in order to realise the full potential of girls and boys around Europe to follow STEM related careers.
Mission Statement:
Hypatia aims to:
– Foster partnerships among schools, museums and science centres and industries and offer gender inclusive STEM education to young people
– Actively expose young people and especially girls to the variety of STEM related careers.
– Encourage young people to open up their horizons and expect everything from the field of STEM
Strategic Objectives:
To fulfil its mission Hypatia will work to:
– Provide guidelines for schools, museums and industries on gender inclusion
– Provide ready to use activities for schools, museums and industries that incorporate gender inclusion
– Promote dialogue among policy makers, industry and school decision makers on the issue of gender inclusion
– Create a Pan European campaign for and with young people focusing on gender inclusion and career paths in STEM
– Provide renewed gender inclusion criteria
Theoretical Framework:
In all its products and communications, Hypatia follows the developed Theoretical Framework. The Theoretical Framework distinguishes four levels of engagement:
Societal Level – Gender identity is shaped and influenced by the culture and society which institutions, educators, and learners are immersed in. These conditions are difficult or even impossible for educators to change, but by being aware of them, we may help offset or counteract their effects.
Institutional Level – Institutions routinely embed gender meanings in their ideologies, the distribution of resources, and the way they organise their practices (Risman & Davis, 2013). Being aware of the potential gendering of this and making that gendering explicit can help educators counteract or circumvent them.
Interactional Level – It is important to have considered the ways in which the interactions between the participants may inadvertently create and reproduce inequality.
Individual Level – When girls and boys encounter science education activities, they already have well-established gender identities. To avoid feeding into the sense that the science activities they encounter are for certain kinds of learners and not for others, it is important to avoid building essentialist presumptions into the activities.
Join us
Hypatia invites people and organisations to share values, to join us and to sign our vision.
Join:
See who has already joined our vision:
| Name | Organisation | Country |
| Suzana Filipecki | Ecsite | Belgium |
| Sophie Buchaillard | Creative Confidence Consulting | United Kingdom |
| Maria Perdiou | United Kingdom | |
| Julie Helles | Denmark | |
| Michaela Pletzer | AUDIOVERSUM | Austria |
| Thomas Clifford | Datamuseet IT-ceum - The Swedish Computer History Museum | Sweden |
| Sheena Laursen | Experimentarium | Denmark |
| Aleksandra Amaladass | Science Gallery Dublin | Ireland |
| Tomas Jonsson | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| David Broström | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| Linda Johansson | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| Emma Videhult Lagerstedt | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| Helena Lilja | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| Kristina Jonsson | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| Vasiliki Moukriotou | Hellenic Petroleum SA | Greece |
| Christina Ploutoglou | Thessaloniki Olympic Museum | Greece |
| Panagiota Argyri | Model High School Evangeliki of Smyrna | Greece |
| Konstantinos Pasentsis | Insitute of Applied Biosciences/CERTH | Greece |
| Eleni Kalaitzidou | 1 peiramatiko gymnasio Thessaloniki's (school) | Greece |
| Petros Tsintzos | DIEK KILKIS | Greece |
| Theodoros Pierratos | Centre of Natural Sciences of Evosmos | Greece |
| Eleana Balla | NOESIS- Thessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum | Greece |
| Anne van de Ven | NEMO Science Museum | Netherlands |
| Natalia Grzywacz-Leszkowska | EXPERYMENT Science Centre in Gdynia | Poland |
| Eti Oron | Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem | Israel |
| Marianne Nilsson | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| Francesca F | Dublin City University | Ireland |
| MARIA KARNEZOU | NOESIS | Greece |
| Sonia Garcinuño | "la Caixa" Foundation | Spain |
| Maria Adlerborn | Teknikens Hus | Sweden |
| Mairead Hurley | Science Gallery Dublin | Ireland |
| Carmen Fenollosa Sánchez de Leon | United Kingdom | |
| bernardo leon de la barra | school of engineering and ICT University of Tasmania | Australia |
| Carolina Figueira | Portugal | |
| Sara Ricciardi | INAF IASF-BO | Italy |
| Mónica Cañón | IES Pino Rueda | Spain |
| COSTAS TSAPOYRNAS | KESYP WHITE TOWER | Greece |
| marga smyth | Spain | |
| Ana Tereza Pinto Filipecki | Fiocruz/Ministry of Health | Brazil |
| Carmen Garcia Gonzalez | Teacher hight Schcool | Spain |
| Sofia Martin | DiO2 | Spain |
| Raquel Simó | IES Salvador Gadea (Aldaia, Valencia) | Spain |
| AURORA CABANES CASTELLO | IES Clara Campoamor | Spain |
| Bruna Santos | State University of Rio de Janeiro | Brazil |