Robogals Information Document Contents

Robogals: An Overview ...... 3 The Case for Robogals ...... 4 Statement of Purpose ...... 4 Values ...... 4 Impact so Far ...... 5 Organisational Structure ...... 6 Robogals Global...... 6 Robogals Regional ...... 7 Robogals Regions ...... 8

Robogals: An Overview

Robogals is an international, student-run, not-for-profit volunteer organisation which aims to engage young female students in engineering related topics. Ultimately, our goal is to increase female enrolment in engineering, science and information technology courses at a tertiary level. This is achieved through training and sending university students to run LEGO robotics workshops for girls in primary and high schools within their regions. These workshops give students a unique hands-on opportunity to find out more about engineering and related fields, as well as interact with the university student volunteers.

In addition, Robogals also gives careers talks to high school students, and attends/holds a variety of events to raise awareness of the impact of engineering in everyday life. The Robogals Rural and Regional Ambassadors Program currently extends our reach into the remote areas of , and the Robogals Science Challenge (Australia only) encourages young girls and their mentors to learn about different types of engineering and science and complete an experiment and submit online. We are looking to expand these initiatives to more countries in the near future. There are also some more projects on the way. At a tertiary level, Robogals chapters run training, social, and networking events for university student members. As a student-run initiative, Robogals also provides opportunities for students to develop many important skills, such as leadership, communication, and creativity.

Robogals is committed to growth and our members have a desire to impact young women across the world. Since its founding in 2008 (by Marita Cheng, 2012 Young Australian of the Year and Anita Borg Change Agent Award recipient 2011- Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing), Robogals has expanded from the University of to eighteen chapters across five countries (Australia, , the , and the United States of America). Our impact is also increasing, results are summarised below:

TABLE 1: NUMBER OF GIRLS TAUGHT THROUGH ROBOGALS WORKSHOPS EACH YEAR

Year Number of girls taught in workshops 2008 ~40* 2009 ~250* 2010 1250 2011 2200 2012 3609 2013 7693 *Statistics were not officially recorded this these years so the numbers are approximate

A further breakdown of our statistics can be found in our ‘Impact so far’.

Currently, we have more than 90 executive members and 1000 university volunteers across our regions. We also have significant support from the professional sector, our sponsors including (but not limited to) AbiGroup, Australian Constructors Association, Defence Force Recruiting, General Electric, Google, Modern Teaching Aids and . The Case for Robogals

In today’s technological society, engineers are in increasing demand. However, Engineers Australia estimates that in the five years leading up to 2011, 70,000 engineers retired with only 45,000 engineering graduates to take their place. In addition to this shortage, there is a severe gender imbalance – in Australia, only 11% of engineers and 16% of engineering students are female. In the United Kingdom and America the number of female engineers 9% and 13% respectively. Therefore, there is not only a shortage of engineers, but an acute shortage of female engineers entering the field.

Females are statistically more likely to complete university after commencement. If we are to address this gender imbalance, then the focus must be on encouraging enrolment into engineering and related university courses. Robogals aims to do this by provides young girls with the exposure to the field of engineering and positive role models.

More information can be found here: http://www.robogals.org/about/the-case-for-robogals

Statement of Purpose

To substantially increase the number of young women pursuing engineering in their tertiary studies and careers.

Values

Robogals is guided by five key values, listed below. These are embodied at every level and affect every decision that is made.

Impact Robogals stays focused on effectiveness, strives to exceed all expectations and is relentlessly persistent in seeing plans through to completion.

Community Robogals ensures that all our members, schools, schoolgirls, host universities and partners feel respected, valued and part of the team.

Communication Robogals communicates clearly, thoroughly and frequently amongst our committees, members and external parties.

Initiative & Autonomy Robogals encourages creativity, individuality, and a sense of ownership, and devolves significant authority and autonomy to each of our chapters.

Integrity Robogals does what we said we would do, by when we said we would do it, and stays true to our values, aims and goals.

Impact so Far

Robogals measures impact in two dimensions – breadth, and depth. A succinct summary of breadth of impact can be seen in the number of girls taught in each year that Robogals has been running workshops. These figures are summarised in Table 2. The count is weighted 1 for the first visit and 0.5 for return visits with the same group of girls.

TABLE 2: SUMMARY OF GIRLS TAUGHT (WEIGHTED) BY REGION

Year Region Asia Pacific United Kingdom North America 2008 124.0 NA NA 2009 72.0 NA 2010 1091.0 NA 2011 2065.0 319.0 NA 2012 3485.0 560.5 125.0

Depth of impact can be measured through surveys conducted in workshops. The COO of Robogals Global will be completing a research project in the second half of 2013 concerning this, and it is anticipated that this will lead to more insight on this topic. Organisational Structure

The Robogals structure consists of three operational levels: Global, Regional and Chapter. The Robogals chapters are organised into three regions: Asia Pacific, UK, and North America. The Global committee is overseen by the Robogals Advisory Board.

Robogals Global

The Robogals Global Committee consists of:

 Chief Executive Officer (CEO)  Chief Operations Officer (COO)  Chief Technical Officer (CTO)  Secretary and Treasurer  Media and Community Manager  Project Managers: o Curriculum o Pathway into Engineering o Work Experience Directory

Key personal

The CEO is responsible for setting the vision and direction of Robogals. They are focussed on sustainability of the organisation and working with new universities and countries to start new chapters and extend Robogals’ reach. They also oversee the Global Team and mentor the three Regional Executive Officers. The current CEO is Nicole Brown.

The COO supports the CEO by ensuring the administration of the organisation runs smoothly (including managing the Secretary/Treasurer and CTO). They also manages the Media and Community Manager (responsible for responding to media requests and building a positive community in Robogals at all levels). They are also responsible for organising the SINE conferences in each of the regions throughout the year. The current COO is Sam Cheah.

Global Initiatives

Robogals Pathway into Engineering Programme This initiative, still in its infancy, aims to pick up where the Robogals Science Challenge leaves off. It consists of a twoBased off the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, it gives women 14 years and up an incentive and structure to commit two hours a week for a number of months to pursue both major and minor engineering projects, as well as extend their skills through an online course. There are three levels: Silver, Gold, and Platinum each level increasing in difficulty and time commitment.

Robogals Work Experience Directory This website is Robogals Curriculum Documents These documents

Robogals Regional

The Robogals Regional Committee operates in each of the three Robogals Regions and hold the positions as follows:

 Regional Executive Officer  Secretary and Treasurer  Regional Partnerships Manager  Regional Mentor  Events Managers: o Science Challenge o Rural and Regional Ambassador Programme

Key Personnal

The Regional Executive Officer manages the regional team and is responsible for the operations of their region.

Regional Partnerships Manager works with the dedicated sponsors

Regional Initiatives

Seminars Inducting New Executives (SINE) The SINE is the annual conference of Robogals, run in each region. It typically runs over 2-3 days, with the aim of training new executive members in running a Robogals chapter, re-energising returning executives, and farewelling outgoing executive members. It is also an opportunity for executive members from all chapters to meet, share best practises, and network within themselves and with sponsors. The location of this conference changes each year within each region.

Robogals Rural and Regional (RRR) The RRR program is an initiative aimed at empowering university students to take their passion for engineering to remote and rural areas of Australia. This involves bringing our Rural and Regional Ambassadors (11 in 2012) to a training weekend in Sydney and then sending them to visit schools in their local areas. This program allows students who often do not get exposure to engineering, robotics, or university to meet university students and learn about some of the opportunities available to them.

Robogals Science Challenge The Robogals Science Challenge is a web-based competition which encourages students to engage in an engineering or science related experiment, document their findings on film, and submit it to win a trip to Melbourne for a weekend of science related fun activities. It is aimed at 5-18 year olds, and in 2012 had about 50 entries. More information about this initiative can be found at the science challenge website, www.sciencechallenge.com.au.

Robogals Regions

Robogals Asia Pacific Robogals’ birth at the makes Asia Pacific the original Robogals region. From its beginnings in 2008, it now comprises of ten chapters, based at:

 The Australian National University  University of Melbourne  University of New South Wales   University of Southern Queensland   University of Western Australia  Tokyo Institute of Technology  University of Newcastle  University of Auckland (establishing)

The Asia Pacific SINE is held in September each year. Over the 2011/2012 period, 2921.5 girls (repeated visits count as ‘half’ a student) were taught in this region. In 2012/2013, the region aims to teach 5000 girls.

Robogals United Kingdom Robogals UK was founded in 2010 (with the first chapter founded in 2009). The current chapters are located at:

 University of Southampton  Imperial College, London  (establishing)  University of Liverpool (establishing)  University of Loughborough (establishing)  (establishing)

The UK SINE is held annually in February. Over the 2011/2012 period, 344 girls were taught in this region. In 2012/2013, the region is aiming to teach 700 girls.

Robogals North America Robogals North America is the newest region, founded in 2012. It currently comprises of chapters based at:

 California Institute of Technology   York University   University of Southern California (establishing)  Queens University (establishing)

This is a new and expanding region, with 137 girls taught since its inception in February 2012. Robogals is currently looking to recruit new chapters in both the United States of America and Canada. In 2012/2013, the region is aiming to teach 875 girls.