Greetings from the representative director

Aiming for a society where everyone can challenge and pursue what they love

Yumiko Nagoh

The representative director, An NPO STEM Career Path Project for Girls
(President, BMDesign Laboratory; Member, Japan Women Engineers Forum)

We need a society where individuals, regardless of gender, can fully demonstrate their abilities and individuality, and where diversity and failure to take on challenges are accepted. But the number and information on senior women in science and engineering are still limited in Japan, and it is not easy for female junior and senior high school students to have a wide range of choices and to envision their future. To improve this situation for enthusiastic and prospective girls, 17 years ago we created a summer training camp for these girls to study advanced science and technology in sophisticated ways and to meet people who are actively working in those fields. This program is called ‘Summer school for girls in junior and senior high schools (The Natsugaku)’. Supported by public funding, the Natsugaku have been held every summer since then. In December 2018, we established ‘STEM Career Path Project for Girls’ as an incorporated non-profit (NPO) organization in order to enhance the activities and manage the Natsugaku on independent financial sources. We hope that, by attending the Natsugaku, girls in junior and senior high schools can be exposed to various possible future career paths in science and technology to expand their individual possibilities and become human resources to create a diverse and sustainable society.