MINT pioneers: Girls’Day Academy inspires girls in Amberg!

MINT pioneers: Girls’Day Academy inspires girls in Amberg!

Amberg, Deutschland - The future of young women in technical professions is a central concern of the Girls’Day Akademie, which celebrated its final event in the Gregor-Mendel-Gymnasium in Amberg on July 3, 2025. This project, supported by the Bavarian metal and electrical employer associations BayMe VBM and the Bavarian Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency and the Bavarian State Ministry of Economics, Landes development and energy, has been promoting girls in the MINT area for over ten years. According to advisors and supporters, the academy is an important contribution to securing skilled workers in the metal and electrical industry. Bertram Brossardt, General Manager of BayMe VBM, made it clear in his speech how crucial such initiatives are to awaken the enthusiasm for technology in girls at an early stage.

As part of the Girls’Day Academy, students from the 7th to 10th grades of secondary schools and high schools visit practical and study orientations once a week, outside of regular lessons. The participants have the option of discouraging and experimenting technical talents and dealing more intensively with training occupations and courses in the MINT area. In this school year, three schools and eight companies took part in the Upper Palatinate, which shows how closely the cooperation between schools and companies in Bavaria is. This is a crucial aspect to pave the way for a career in technical professions and to reduce clichés.

practical experiences and role models

At the final event, students had the opportunity to present their project work and share personal experiences. Successful participants received a final certificate that occupied their skills they have learned. The accompaniment by educators plays an as important role as the exchange with female role models from the economy. Markus Schmitz from the Bavarian Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency found that these contacts are essential to open up new professional perspectives for young women and to reduce prejudices in the MINT area.

The Girls’Day Academy offers the girls a valuable opportunity to practically deal with the metal and electrical industry. Company exploration and the possibility of creating workpieces together with trainees ensure that the students not only gain theoretical knowledge, but also get a feeling for professional practice. Such experiences are important, after all, women in technical professions are still underrepresented. This underrepresentation is no coincidence; Studies show that only 56% of women with a MINT degree actually work in a MINT profession while it is 70% for men. The reasons for this are often missing role models and unclear professional ideas.

commitment to the future

Bayern's Minister of Economics Hubert Aiwanger emphasized the importance of the Academy for the future of young professionals in the MINT area and confirmed the support of the country for such projects. Initiatives such as the Girls’Day Academy are crucial to win over more women for technical professions and to use the potential in the MINT subjects. The knowledge and experiences gathered should not only encourage the students of the current years, but also future generations to take technical professions.

The commitment of the Girls’Day Academy is an important step in the right direction. The combination of practical experience and the exchange with female role models offers young women a chance to take advantage of. As Bertram Brossardt summarizes: "We have to arouse this enthusiasm for technology in order to promote the talents of our girls and to support them in their professional ways." In this way, the project emphasizes the need to strengthen the MINT formation for young women and to open the doors to a successful future.