The James Dyson Foundation Visits The Archer School for Girls to Inspire Next Generation of Engineers
Today, the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles welcomed the James Dyson Foundation for a day of tinkering to encourage exploration of a future in engineering. The James Dyson Foundation’s mission is to inspire young people to pursue a career in engineering and regularly hosts workshops for students of all ages in the hopes of sparking interest in STEM fields. The workshop was led by Samantha Kuderna, US Manager of the Foundation, and Kate Craft, Dyson engineer, for students in 7th and 9th grade. After an overview of the history of Dyson and the company’s approach to invention, Craft led a teardown of Dyson’s Supersonic hairdryer. As students followed step-by-step instructions to strip away parts of the machine, they learned about the innovative technology that powers the revolutionary hairdryer.
Craft and Kuderna also responded to students’ questions about working in engineering and nonprofit during a lunchtime panel open to Middle and Upper School students.
The James Dyson Foundation’s collaboration with The Archer School for Girls seeks to empower young women in a field where they are generally underrepresented. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, while female representation in STEM is increasing – from 8% of STEM workers in 1970 to 27% in 2019 – men still make up the majority of the field (73% of all STEM workers). In 2019, women represented only about a quarter of computer workers and 15% of those in engineering occupations.
The James Dyson Foundation introduces young people to the exciting world of engineering, encouraging them to think differently, make mistakes, and realize their engineering potential.
”We enjoyed having the opportunity to work with the students of The Archer School for Girls to get them hands-on with an engineering challenge. I personally was impressed by their creative thinking and determination to solve the problem at hand, attributes that will go a long way as they continue their education,” said Kuderna. “Our hope is that students leave today inspired to consider all their potential career paths, including engineering.”
Source: The Archer School for Girls
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The Archer School for Girls
The Archer School for Girls is for the ambitious and joyful. At the forefront of all-girls education, Archer is dedicated to empowering the next generation of female leaders. A contemporary girls’ school in Los Angeles, Archer sustains a collaborative, student-centered teaching and learning community that explores and contributes to the research on how young women learn and thrive. Since 1995, Archer has been inspiring young women to become confident, ethical changemakers by strengthening their voices and capacity to contribute positively to society and the world.
The Archer School for Girls is for the ambitious and joyful. At the forefront of all-girls education, Archer is dedicated to empowering the next generation of female leaders. A contemporary girls’ school in Los Angeles, Archer sustains a collaborative, student-centered teaching and learning community that explores and contributes to the research on how young women learn and thrive. Since 1995, Archer has been inspiring young women to become confident, ethical changemakers by strengthening their voices and capacity to contribute positively to society and the world.
For more information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, or visit our website http://www.archer.org.
The James Dyson Foundation
Founded in 2002, the James Dyson Foundation supports design, technology and engineering educational work in the UK and internationally in America, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia. To date, James Dyson and the James Dyson Foundation have donated over £140m to charitable causes, including £12m to Imperial College London to create the Dyson School of Design Engineering, and £8m to Cambridge University to create the Dyson Centre for Engineering Design and the James Dyson Building. At school level, the James Dyson Foundation offers engineering workshops and provides free educational resources. These include its most recent launch, Engineering Solutions: Air Pollution, introducing young people to air pollution and engineering’s role in finding solutions. The Foundation also supports the James Dyson Award, an annual international design award that inspires, encourages and celebrates budding inventors’ new, problem-solving ideas. The competition has supported 390 inventions with prize money, and is run by the James Dyson Foundation, an engineering-education charity funded by Dyson profits.
For more information, please visit https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/.
Photo courtesy of the James Dyson Foundation
Photo courtesy of the James Dyson Foundation
The Archer School for Girls admits students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status in its hiring or in the administration of its educational policies and programs, admissions policies, financial aid programs or other school-administered programs.
The Archer School for Girls’ mission is to educate students in an environment specifically designed for girls. As such, the school will consider any candidate for admission who identifies as a girl. Once admitted to Archer, all students in good academic standing who abide by Archer’s code of conduct and who meet requirements for graduation will be eligible to receive an Archer diploma, regardless of any change in sexual identity or other legally protected status.
