Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Record numbers for the third edition. Approximately 3.500.000 people were reached on dedicated social channels

Milan, May 13 2019 – The third edition of STEMintheCity has just ended, the initiative promoted by the Municipality of Milan – in collaboration with important public and private sector entities and the support of the United Nations – to promote the diffusion of technical-scientific disciplines and new technologies digital as opportunities for the professional future of the new generations, especially girls. 
  
 STEMintheCity, which started at the beginning of April, promoted over 150 free events including seminars, training courses, debates and role modeling sessions, involving all nine municipalities, from the center to the most peripheral neighbourhoods, thanks to the collaboration of 146 partners from the public and private sectors. Over 12 thousand people participated in the public meetings, including teachers and students of all levels for a total of 107 schools and universities involved. Over 300 speakers and trainers were involved throughout the entire duration of the initiative. 
 The response was also excellent on the dedicated social channels, thanks to which it was possible to reach around 3.500.000 people. 
  
 Encouraging numbers also supported by a positive trend that indicates a reduction in the gender gap in STEM degrees, as shown by the data from the Talents Venture Observatory: in Italy approximately 18% of the total women enrolled in universities in the 2017-2018 academic year attend a STEM course, the highest figure in the last 10 years. The South is leading in reducing this gap with 19% of female students enrolled in scientific faculties. 
 If we take a broader look at the percentage of girls out of the total number of students enrolled in STEM faculties, we see that Italy does better than other European nations, ranking in third place, behind the United Kingdom and Poland, with around 37% of women in STEM courses (the European average stops at 32%). One last fact to reflect on: despite better academic performance, women are penalized on the job market: men earn around 25% more and find employment more easily. This shows how much more work needs to be done to ensure that gender differences do not constitute a professional and career limit.
  
 The third edition of STEMintheCity was dedicated, in the year of the five hundredth anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death, to the theme "Art and Science", testifying to the link between scientific research and artistic expression from which the great masterpieces of the da Vinci genius were born. 
  
 In the Opening of the STEM Marathon, the final event of the entire Milanese event, extraordinary women brought their testimony, confirming the multiple forms of female genius, which makes it possible to trace new paths in different fields without ever giving up in the face of obstacles and difficulties . Their stories inspired the girls present, showing them how STEM subjects can be the turning point for giving shape to their dreams and realizing their ambitions.