2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engineering-Girls Framework (Resource Exchange)

Presented at PCEE Instructional Showcases

Engineering-Girls is a pre-college initiative designed to increase gender diversity in STEM fields by engaging high school students in a free, week-long summer program focused on engineering foundations. Participants collaborate on hands-on projects addressing real-world challenges, explore cutting-edge research through lab tours, and gain insights from student panels and guest speakers. The program concludes with a Demo Party, where students showcase their innovative solutions to the community. Materials presented in this exchange highlight the framework and timeline we’ve refined over the past decade, offering a proven model to inspire and guide similar initiatives.

Authors

Dr. Kimberly Wilkens University of Virginia [biography]

Kim Wilkens is the founder of Tech-Girls and founding board member of Charlottesville Women in Tech, a non-profit that provides human connections and resources for women and girls interested in or associated with technology. Kim has been at the forefront of K-12 computer science education at the local, state, national, and global levels and has over twenty years of experience integrating computer science in both school and out-of-school time. She completed her EdD in 2023 with a focus on creating equitable computer science experiences. Kim is currently the director of the Global Center for Equitable Computer Science Education in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia.
Hannah Moore University of Virginia
David Chen University of Virginia [biography]

Mr. David Chen is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia.

He is the founding Managing Director of the Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research. And serves as Assistant Dean for Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at the Unversity of Virginia.

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For those interested in:

Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
gender
Pre-College