Girls' Day at the HSZG gave schoolgirls from Year 5 onwards an insight into various STEM degree courses.
Girls' Day at the HSZG is an event that not only schoolgirls look forward to. "It's great when we can show interested girls what we research here, how we go about it and what comes out in the end," says lab member and Master's student Jennifer Dutschke. Together with Professor Karin Fester, she was "on the trail of medicinal plants" with schoolgirls from grades 5 to 7 at the nationwide Girls' Day on April 27 in the Natural and Environmental Sciences laboratory halls on the Zittau campus.
"We got to know various medicinal herbs and their effects," Amelie reports on the offer. Last year, the seventh-grader and her friends attended Girls' Day at the HSZG and carried out experiments in the materials technology and materials testing laboratory. "It was clear to us that we'd be back!"
Because the great thing about Girls' Day is that schoolgirls can get a taste of careers that at first glance seem atypical for girls, completely free of gender stereotypes. This also includes standing in the pharmaceutical biotechnology laboratory at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, experimenting and trying things out, without any pressure and according to the motto: "Do what you like!"
"Producing medicines with the help of plant and animal cells is a great topic," says Amelie. "You can't see the active ingredients and properties of chia seeds, lime blossom and linseed at first glance. We let them swell, carried out tests and were able to make the ingredients visible in a subsequent experiment using color reactions." Prof. Karin Fester was also infected by the enthusiasm.
Laboratory employee Corinna Herrmann also dispels role stereotypes with her "A day as a synthetic chemist" program. Luise, Sophie and Matilda from Schkola Ostritz and Herrnhuter Zinsendorfgymnasium were introduced by her to the purification of solids in organic synthesis. It may sound complex at first, but it proved to be totally exciting for the sixth and seventh graders, who were interested in the topics of recrystallization and melting point determination for the first time. "Showing schoolgirls the joy of research and at the same time breaking down their fear of contact is a lot of fun," summarizes Corinna Herrmann.
Afterwards, the students had lunch together in the Zittau canteen with Prof. Fester, Jennifer Dutschke and Karin Hollstein, Chancellor of the HSZG, where they were able to talk about what they had experienced and learn a lot more about medicinal plants.
Girls'Day is a nationwide orientation day for girls to find out about careers and studies. It is sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
On Girls'Day, girls get to know professions or study subjects in which the proportion of women is below 40 percent, e.g. in the fields of IT, trades, natural sciences and technology. Or they meet female role models in leading positions in business and politics.
