Students of science and technical degrees at the ULL become role models for secondary school students

The University of La Laguna, through its Vice-Rectorate for Students and in collaboration with the Information and Guidance Service (SIO), The University of La Laguna (ULL) recently concluded the first edition of the "Las Referentes ULL" program. This educational project involved six students from the Physics and Industrial and Automatic Electronic Engineering degree programs who visited several secondary schools in Tenerife to share their knowledge and experience gained at the university. Questions related to their subjects of study, how to access university studies, the level of difficulty involved, and the quality of teaching staff were just some of the topics raised by 10th-grade students during these talks.

Luz Labory, María Magdalena Rodríguez, María Cordero, Claudia Rodríguez, Sofía Angélica Gao and Nicole Sanmarco are the students who have voluntarily joined this initiative, which was created with the aim of giving visibility to women within degrees related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Ensuring that students about to enter university have female role models in these fields is intended to be the necessary impetus to continue increasing the number of women who enroll in STEM degrees each year. Furthermore, hearing firsthand accounts from female students not only helps to dispel any doubts, but also allows them to view subjects like physics, robotics, computer science, architecture, and mechanics from a perspective more relevant to their daily lives.

“There’s a lot of initiative. I’ve seen that many girls in high schools want to pursue STEM careers, not just in the health sciences. I even think I managed to convince some from the social sciences,” said María Cordero at a recent event organized by Rosario Hernández, Vice-Rector of Students.

This meeting, which brought together five of the participants, was attended by the Rector of the University of La Laguna, Francisco García, as well as Rosalía Mendoza, who is responsible for this initiative at the SIO (Institute of Educational Research). The meeting served to share their experiences from high school, receive institutional recognition, and reinforce the need to continue with more editions of this project, which some of the participants, despite finishing their undergraduate studies this year, want to participate in again.

Francisco García took the opportunity to express his gratitude for the work of bringing aspects of the University of La Laguna to the island's secondary schools. "We can do formal things, like Open Houses and websites, but when a leading figure shares their experience at the same level, the message is much more powerful," the rector stated.

For their part, the Vice-Rector's office and the SIO have made it clear that they are already working to launch a new edition, specifying some limitations, mainly related to time, that they have encountered in this first year of the program.