change the corresponding academic
cultures in order to support the inclusion of diverse students, and thus becoming more attractive to all students.
At RWTH Aachen University (
Germany), the Department Of Computer
Science launched an interdisciplinary
research project, “IGaDtools4MINT.”
(The acronym “IGaD” stands for integration of gender and diversity, while
“MINT” is the German equivalent to
STEM) As a result, customized measures were developed, evaluated, and
(after a trimmed screening) transferred to the Technical University of
In order to counteract a shortage of skilled labor in technical fields, as well reap as the benefits of more diverse teams such as increased creativity, the advancement of women and diverse students should be a goal for educational institutions and universities in particular.
In spite of extensive research, measures, and promotion programs in STEM-subjects
(science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), which are meant to increase
matriculation and lower the dropout rates, the number of women remains static
Berlin. IGaDtools4MINT is a coopera-
tion of the Learning Technologies and
Gender and Diversity in Engineering
research groups of RW TH Aachen Uni-
versity. The primary goal of the project
was to develop and realize a concept
striving for a sustainable increase in
the proportion of women in computer
science and other STEM subjects, as
well as aiming to reduce dropout rates.
The project was funded by the Federal
Ministry of Education and Research
(BMBF) and the European Social Fund
for Germany (ESF); it ran from Febru-
ary 2011 to January 2014.
in technical and natural-scientific
courses of study. In German universities, women only represent approximately 30 percent of first-year students
in STEM subjects, and this percentage
has remained almost unchanged during the past five years [ 1]. In computer
science this ratio amounts to merely 20
percent, even though a slight increase
has been noticeable in the last few years
[ 2]. The reasons for the apparent low interest of women in computer science are
multilayered. Therefore, a narrow point
of view and superficial explanations
do not provide the necessary means to
In Germany, the IGaDtools4MINT research project aims
to integrate gender and diversity in STEM subjects.
By Tobias Berg, Rebecca Apel,
and Carmen Leicht-Scholten
DOI: 10.1145/2604993
In Search
of Diverse
Students