Crossroads - Summer 2014

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