More than 300 girls from schools in Drachten and the wider area experienced Girls Day on Thursday 14 April 2016. A day with activities especially for girls with an interest in technology. Innovatiecluster Drachten offered the girls a special program at the locations of the high-tech companies Philips, Whisper Power and BD. 

While the girls of employees of Resato International received a workshop Oculus Rift (virtual glasses) at the Whisper Power location, the girls at Philips competed for the best place with special assignments with a vacuum cleaner and hair dryer.  

Under the guidance of Photonis employees, the girls experimented with night vision goggles. Simultaneously at the same location at BD, other girls were taken to the lab by BD employees to see how the petri dishes and high tech go together to save human lives. The Innovatiecluster Drachten robot was there to play with and to control via your smartphone and to give commands with your voice.   

retain talent

According to Joost Krebbekx, program manager of Innovatiecluster Drachten, a lot of female STEM talent is lost because girls often have no idea what a technical profession entails. “By participating in Girlsday with fun workshops, we let the girls experience that technology is fun and that you can use a lot of creativity in it. Gone are the days when technology was only for men who got their hands dirty.”