Relaunching Technovation Post-COVID
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
Bharat Maheshwari
Proposal
Our increasingly technology-dependent world demands more representation from minority groups, including females and young girls. The adoption of technology in high school classrooms and the encouragement of female students to consider the field as a viable future career path is highly dependent on teacher involvement, parental support, and environmental influences. Which technology acceptance models prove most useful when directed to a young female audience? What does it mean to include teachers as partners? Through participatory action research, this project investigates the relaunching of the Technovation program, the largest global entrepreneurship challenge for young girls interested in STEM. Female high school students in teams of 3-5 work together to identify a social challenge, ideate a solution through a mobile application, and present a business plan for their solution to a panel of judges. Each team works closely with their mentor through the guided curriculum. Locally, the Connecting Windsor-Essex (CWE) team spearheads the Windsor chapter. This project identifies the main factors that lead to the successful adoption of technology in the classroom, and the obstacles that stand in the way of young female students in this field. In spirit of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 9, this project provides a new perspective on how we can bring our world a step closer to gender equality in industry, innovation, and infrastructure.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Relaunching Technovation Post-COVID
Our increasingly technology-dependent world demands more representation from minority groups, including females and young girls. The adoption of technology in high school classrooms and the encouragement of female students to consider the field as a viable future career path is highly dependent on teacher involvement, parental support, and environmental influences. Which technology acceptance models prove most useful when directed to a young female audience? What does it mean to include teachers as partners? Through participatory action research, this project investigates the relaunching of the Technovation program, the largest global entrepreneurship challenge for young girls interested in STEM. Female high school students in teams of 3-5 work together to identify a social challenge, ideate a solution through a mobile application, and present a business plan for their solution to a panel of judges. Each team works closely with their mentor through the guided curriculum. Locally, the Connecting Windsor-Essex (CWE) team spearheads the Windsor chapter. This project identifies the main factors that lead to the successful adoption of technology in the classroom, and the obstacles that stand in the way of young female students in this field. In spirit of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 9, this project provides a new perspective on how we can bring our world a step closer to gender equality in industry, innovation, and infrastructure.