"Our desire is to contribute one more grain of sand to break down barriers, to end gender stereotypes and other discrimination in the STEAM disciplines, Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture/Art and Mathematics. The 'ENGINY-era' association was born as a result of the difficulties I had during my university days and that accompanied me throughout my professional career due to being in a place considered for men and being a woman. A few years later, I had two boys and a girl and I wondered if I could do something to make it easier for them and her to choose what they wanted to choose," says Sílvia Planella, founder and director of the 'ENGINY-era' association . Together with the educational team of the Institut Tordària, in the town of Tordera, the Girona-based entity recently promoted a mathematical gymkhana. The proposal included the participation of first, second and fourth year ESO students from the school. "For years, we have liked to organize a special activity on the occasion of Mathematics Day. This year, we looked for options on the Internet and found the 'ENGINY-era' association, and we immediately loved it. The goal was for students to see mathematics from a more attractive, more entertaining perspective," says Marta Gascons, head of studies and mathematics teacher at the Institut Tordària .
The 'ENGINY-era' association organizes gamified activities throughout the entire educational stage: workshops, fairs, shows, gymkhanas, programs, storytelling and a long etcetera. "We are reinventing ourselves to do all kinds of activities around learning STEAM disciplines in a fun, applied and interdisciplinary way", explains Planella. "Women role models are essential. If girls and young women don't know a woman engineer, a woman biologist, they will hardly consider becoming one. They need to see that we are happy doing our job. We don't have to go looking for Marie Curie, the great stars of technology. We simply have to encourage them to study what they want, not to set limits", concludes Planella.