MATC HOSTS GIRL TECH 2008
ENCOURAGES TEEN GIRLS TO CONSIDER TECHNOLOGY CAREERS
When women think about careers in information technology, one thing usually pops in their mind.
“They think they’ll be trapped in a cubicle or a cold equipment room, but that’s not what information technology jobs are like anymore,” says Madison Area Technical College information technology instructor Nina Milbauer.
To help change that gloomy perception, Madison Area Technical College is hosting Girl Tech 2008. The five-day event runs June 23-27 in room 142 at MATC’s Truax campus.
About 50 girls in sixth through ninth grade will take part in hands-on activities in information technology, biotechnology, electronics, civil engineering and architectural technology. They’ll have a chance to program Lego robots, take a computer apart, and go on a wireless treasure hunt.
Girl Tech’s goal is to encourage young women to consider future careers in science and technology.
"The percentage of women in the IT workforce has declined from a high of 41 percent in 1996, to 32 percent in 2004," says Milbauer. "That’s why it’s important we reach these girls at an impressionable age and open their minds to opportunities where both males and females can excel and earn high wages."
To learn more about Girl Tech, go to: http://it.matcmadison.edu/WomenInIT/summercamp.aspx
MATC provides "real world smart" education as one of 16 colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System. It serves 12 south-central Wisconsin counties through a comprehensive curriculum of technical, liberal arts and science, adult basic education and life enrichment studies and activities, as well as customized employee training. MATC offers associate degrees, vocational diplomas and certificates and non-degree courses in more than 140 programs through five campuses and numerous community locations.
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