The rector of the Universitat Jaume I, Eva Alcón, has presented, coinciding with the International Day of Girls and Women in Science, the new UJI-Lamarr framework program resulting from the institution's commitment to promote scientific and technological vocations between women. In the act, the rector of the UJI has been accompanied by the vice-rector of Linguistic Promotion and Equality, Pilar Safont; the Vice Chancellor for Research and Transfer, Jesús Lancis; the director of the Unit of Equality, Mercedes Alcañiz, and the person in charge of the project of Scientific Culture and Citizen Science.
In his speech, Eva Alcón highlighted the need to promote actions that make known the task that women carry out because «many times it is not recognized and is made invisible». In this line, he thanked the work carried out by UJI researchers because “your daily activity is the best way to claim the contributions of women to science, innovation and transfer,” he said.
As the rector explained, the program has three main objectives: to increase the presence of women in STEM disciplines, working from pre-university stages; break gender stereotypes, and promote and make visible innovative women, leaders and entrepreneurs.
The program includes a total of 25 actions distributed in four blocks: actions aimed at counselors and high school students, mentoring actions, actions to promote scientific vocations and entrepreneurship, and initiatives aimed at breaking stereotypes through the visibility of women researchers and empowerment courses.
The program, which takes the name of the mathematician and engineer Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000), responsible for inventions that have become widely used tools today such as Wi-Fi or GPS; It is coordinated by the Vice-Rectorate for Linguistic Promotion and Equality in collaboration with the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Transfer and the Vice-Rectorate for Students and Social Commitment, and has had the participation of the Equality Unit, the Scientific Culture and Citizen Science Project, the Unit of Educational Support, the Higher School of Technology and Experimental Sciences, the Institute of Feminist Studies and Gender Purification Escribano, the Isonomia Foundation, the University-Company Foundation, and the Gest-UJI research group.