On Thursday 12th of March 2020, the Women in Engineering, University of Ibadan Student Branch went on their Road show to a secondary school called Methodist Grammar School New Bodija, Ibadan. The aim of the event was to create awareness about the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) opportunities to the young ladies in the school. After certain preparations and consent from the secondary school authority, about sixty female science students (ranging from Senior Secondary Class One to Three) attended the program.

Since the recently concluded International Women’s Day (IWD) which held on March 8, 2020 was just a few days before the road show trip, it was a good avenue for young girls to be aware of all the benefits of being a woman. The IWD campaign was themed “Each for Equal”. This entails howWe can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world.

The program kicked off at 14:00 GMT+, with an enlightening introduction of what Women In Engineering is all about by the Chairperson OluwapemiisinAkingbola. This was followed by a session moderated by EbunoluwaAlabi, which constituted of various members of WIE accurately describing the various STEM fields they have found themselves in. This was done to remove the notion some of the young girls may have about a profession. This session brought a lot of questions from the girls, which each speaker was able to answer succinctly.

There were practical sessions after the various talks we had with the girls.It involved us training some of them on building simple Electronic circuits such as an Alarm System (led by OlusojiFavour) and the other half was trained by the WIE Graphics Team (led by Mary Godservant) on how to make basic Complimentary Cards using Corel Draw. Souvenirs sponsored by IEEE Global in form of stickers and Ball Pens were distributed for the young ladies and the teachers in charge. Refreshments for the girls, teachers and WIE members were made available. The roadshow was concluded with drone exhibition for the whole school and taking of pictures.

We would love to appreciate IEEE global for the free souvenirs, the STEM BELLE organization for providing electrical components for the practical session and our Individual Sponsors who ensured we had a successful road show and in general a great tenure.

AkingbolaOluwapemiisin G.

Chairperson, WIE-UISB