On August 24, Nagoya University held a seminar for girls in junior high and high school and their guardians about studying STEM subjects at university. Approximately 180 people attended the event on Higashiyama Campus, with another 90 students joining online. Participants also toured Nagoya University’s research laboratories and heard talks from women students about their experiences studying STEM fields.
The seminar provided basic information about the Schools of Engineering, the School of Science, and the School of Agricultural Sciences. Participants learned about what they can study in each school and the career paths women students have taken after graduation. Mariko Yamasaki, director of the Center for Gender Diversity, explained that female students account for 27.5% of students in STEM subjects at Nagoya University. “If you come to Nagoya University, you might find that there are actually more female students than you had expected,” she said.
Miyu Taniguchi, a second-year master’s student in the Graduate School of Engineering, gave a talk about life on campus. A fan of science since she was in elementary school, Taniguchi now conducts research in materials development using a metal 3D printer. Reflecting on her time at Nagoya University so far, she told the students: “It’s OK if you don’t know what you want to do when you first come to university. Follow your curiosity, and you will find something you are passionate about.”
After the seminar, participants split into groups for tours of the research laboratories. Ayumi Agata, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, explained her research on panicle architecture in different rice varieties, discussing how her work helps address food insecurity. Feedback from the students was positive: one student said that although she generally performs better in humanities subjects, she was interested in the research being conducted at the School of Agricultural Sciences and hoped to pursue that interest further.
Online participants attended a trial lecture, offering them an early taste of what university-level study is really like.
