Experiences, questions and skills: the first Coding Girls Power Up meeting in Vimercate
It is never easy to break the ice in front of two hundred young people who are at a delicate stage in their lives, just a few steps away from graduating and making truly decisive choices about their future. This was precisely the challenge facing Micron’s professionals as they presented the new edition of Coding Girls Power Up, the project aimed at reducing the gender gap in STEAM sectors through practical training and career guidance, involving experts from the companies. The event took place on Friday 2 October, from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm, at the Albert Einstein secondary school in Vimercate (Monza and Brianza) for a training and interactive session on practical, hands-on activities exploring AI, technology, innovation and the skills of the future. “Seeing first-hand how difficult it is for young people to find their way when it comes to the future, and to focus on what they really want: that’s what I’ve learnt today. I was pleased to note that the girls are very proactive about the proposed programme,” commented Anna Sabbadini, Director of Customer Quality Engineering at Micron. It was this manager who was the first to speak during the session “Memories Enrich Life for All. A Meeting with Micron Semiconductor Italia”, discussing her organisation and the importance of memory technologies, which are playing an increasingly central role in the development of artificial intelligence. Cristina Casellato, Principal Engineer, NAND Memory Cell, Fabio Frigoli, Senior Manager, Customer Quality, and Sara Villa, Director, Managed NAND Quality, all took the floor, sharing with the students their own educational and career paths, the nature of their respective roles, and some examples of how AI is making a tangible impact on day-to-day professional activities.
Sabbadini’s colleagues also took away important food for thought from their experience with the students at Einstein: “Speaking in front of so many young people wasn’t easy; I tried to convey the idea that it’s wonderful and rewarding to commit to something that makes us feel alive” (Cristina Casellato). “Follow your passions… today we have sown the seeds; in the future, perhaps we will see them sprout” (Sara Villa). “This is the first time I’ve been to this school to present an initiative supporting STEM pathways; I believe it’s truly important that all students – and girls in particular – can understand the opportunities that innovation opens up for their future” (Lorenzo Fratin). “I take with me my faith in the students, who are sometimes truly clear-sighted in their life choices, despite their apparent difficulty in speaking out in public settings” (Fabio Frigoli, Senior Manager, Customer Quality, Micron).
The students also took an active part in the discussion. Luca, from the Scientific and Applied Sciences Sixth Form, raised the issue of work-life balance, asking how professional commitments can be reconciled with frequent business trips abroad, for example. Rebecca, from the Art Sixth Form, spoke instead of her aspiration to work in a company, whilst expressing some concerns about an office job that might be too sedentary for her.
The morning concluded with a Kahoot led by Sabrina D’Avolio, a challenge that is usually interactive but was this time conducted in a slightly different way. As they were unable to use smartphones or other devices, the students, divided into teams, competed on questions relating to technology and artificial intelligence, demonstrating great enthusiasm and knowledge.
Marco Rossi, project manager at Coding Girls Power Up, is pleased with the impact the training session has had on the pupils: “Conveying to sixth-formers how the world is changing and how this might affect their future paths is far from straightforward, and certainly cannot be achieved in a single morning. At times like these, we try to spark some ideas, to leave them with a stimulus or a sense of curiosity that might lead them to explore the subject further. I believe that, thanks in part to the testimonies from the Micron volunteers, we managed to pique their interest: when you’re amongst these young people, you can clearly sense their energy, and it is precisely that which needs to be harnessed, nurtured and transformed into awareness.”
The initiative was also made possible thanks to the teachers Alfonso Cetera (teacher of Computer Science and Technology Workshops, the school’s School-Work Training coordinator, careers adviser, and coordinator of the New Student Orientation Programme), Rossana Purgatorio (teacher of Computer Science and Technology Laboratories), Dora Merighi (teacher of Foreign Languages and Cultures – English, assistant to the headteacher and, last but not least, the headteacher Stefania Cera.
