Covestro aims to inspire over 3,000 girl students in India with STEM4Girls Festival2018

Covestro, the global manufacturer of high-performance polymer materials, inaugurated #STEM4GirlsFestival2018 at the Nehru Science Center, Mumbai on Monday, 8th October, with a huge celebration to promote STEM education among girls. In continuance with the effort towards promoting science education in India, Covestro along with Greenlight for Girls, Nehru Science Centre & Chandra Mohan Foundation is proud to present the third edition of the STEM workshop which is being conducted in 6 cities with the first workshop being held in Mumbai from 08th – 13th October 2018.

During this festive season, Covestro (India) aims to give one more reason to celebrate with #Stem4GirlsFestival2018 by involving over 3000 girl students across India in science experiments and interaction.

On this occasion, Mr. Ajay Durrani, MD, Covestro (India) highlighted how important educating a girl child is, “Science is the key in finding sustainable solutions in every industry and in various economic and social challenges faced by the world. Hence, our target is to popularize STEM4Girls to potentially create a platform to build a career for these young girls. We want all these students to be curious, courageous and colourful while they take this leap in life, as these are also the core values that Covestro practises.”

“It is such a pleasure to be working with Covestro again this year on our greenlight for girls initiatives in India. Together – along with the Nehru Science Centre & Chandra Mohan Foundation, we will be inspiring more than 3,000 girls to continue their studies in STEM. We work around the globe to do the same – and these girls will then be a part of our global greenlight for girls network in which we aim to continue to guide and inspire them for their future.”, Melissa Rancourt, Founder and Board Chairman of greenlight for girls.

Mr. Shivaprasad Khened, Director at Nehru Science Center, Mumbai and National Gallery of Modern Art Mumbai said, “We will succeed in life if the next generation achieves the limitless possibilities in the field of science and technology. With this initiative #STEM4GirlsFestival2018 we aim to encourage young girls to pursue their career in STEM education and become one of the biggest scientists and researchers in the world.”
“There are several ways in which art and science can come together to create beautiful innovations. #STEM4Girls is definitely a way through which the first few steps can be taken for the journey to revolutionary scientific developments. It is indeed mesmerizing to witness young minds involving themselves in such engaging, fun and learning environment at #STEM4GirlsFestival2018.”, said Brinda Miller, Eminent Artist – Guest of Honour.

“#STEM4Girls is a platform crafted for young girls through which they can soar high with flying colours. This initiative will wipe out the barriers and make them believe that they can achieve their dreams and become scientists and doctors of the world. I’m privileged to be a part of this initiative and hope that it will encourage maximum number of young minds to pursue STEM education.”, said Dr.Juergan Morhard, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany – Chief Guest.

An MHRD report shows that only 8.52% of the girls enrolled in higher education were pursuing bachelor degrees in engineering or technology in 2012-13. This was far below the national average of 13.27%. This is a major concern as the loser in this scenario is not just the women who do not get a chance to chase their dreams but also science itself, which fails to benefit from other points of view. On the contrary year after year, in school exams, we hear of how girls have outshone boys, but when it comes to those who take up research in later life, the number of women is minuscule. This means that many of our best brains that showed the maximum potential do not pick research as a career.

The programme will focus on teaching girls in the age group of 11 -15 years with various STEM-based concepts through demonstrations while highlighting the colourful and innovative material science for which Covestro is renowned.

The journey started 2 years ago and this year Covestro will celebrate #STEM4GirlsFestival2018 which will travel across Mumbai, Calicut, Dharampur, Panjim, Nagpur and Greater Noida and also inspire people from all around to join the festival.

Last year, Covestro India had successfully reached out to 1327 girls aged 11-15 from schools across Mumbai who got an opportunity to an interactive and fun experience around Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.