More than 200 high school girls are participating this year in the 15th edition of the Les Filles et les sciences event, an electrifying duo in Quebec City which aims to introduce them to science and job opportunities in the scientific field.
The 224 registered participants met today at Laval University to participate in several workshops and activities related to science and technology. These activities aim to create a relaxed and fun environment to discover the world of science, many fields of which are still predominantly male.
These girls come both from the Capitale-Nationale, but also from other regions such as Saguenay and the Côte-Nord. A group of young girls even traveled from the Magdalen Islands to participate in the event.
“For me, diversity in science is something really important. A more diverse environment is often more dynamic and efficient. It’s therefore important to get to this point,” says Geneviève Gariépy, the spokesperson for this year’s event. She is a manager and engineer in the space field and currently works for the Canadian Space Agency.
The spokesperson for the event, Geneviève Gariépy, is a manager and engineer in the space field.
Photo: Sarah-Jeanne Tremblay
Each year, the spokesperson provides a role model to the young participants of a woman with a career in science.
“Fun” activities
In the morning, the girls were placed in groups of around ten people accompanied by an ambassador – most of them baccalaureate or master’s students in a field of science – to participate in a range of workshops.
Some of these workshops were more theoretical such as a presentation on artificial intelligence in the field of animal health, but some were more practical activities such as making human skin using stem cells or the classic event, the vaccine manufacturing activity “from egg to vial”.
Leanne and Myriam, secondary 4 students, wore full uniforms during the “From egg to vial” activity.
Photo: Sarah-Jeanne Tremblay
“It’s really more fun than I expected,” exclaims Leanne Harel, a secondary 4 student from Serge-Bouchard secondary school in Baie-Comeau.
“We feel like real scientists,” adds Myriam Gagnon, also in secondary 4 at the same school.
The two dressed in full suits to engage in the vaccine making activity.
Concrete feedback
Geneviève Gariépy herself has already participated in the event as a volunteer when she was at the baccalaureate as an ambassador. She also later led a workshop on infrared lights.
“There are many examples, since the event began, of girls who participated in the activity when they were in high school and who decide to continue in the field of science. Some of them also decide to volunteer because they want to share the experience they have had,” she explains.
Olivia Masson, who participated in the event the last two years, is now a volunteer for the event. She is very interested in technologies and she probably thinks she will go into the field of science at CEGEP, she who is now in secondary 4. “I did several activities on artificial intelligence (AI) which really appealed to me. were very interested. Also since we are not allowed to use AI at school, so this is not the kind of subject we are going to talk about. “, she expresses.
