This is how "Tekniksprånget" has made more women become engineers

Employers in Sweden suffer from a shortage of engineers.

In order to get more young students to choose a higher technical education, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering in 2012 instituted the Technology Leap.

A program that offers everyone who has taken the student from the science or technology program an opportunity to practice as an engineer for four months with employers around the country.

Over half young women

Of those who practiced from the start of Tekniksprånget until the autumn semester 2018, 90 percent have gone on to study within four semesters after completing the internship, 51 percent of them are young women.

Among those who practiced between the autumn semester 2012 and the autumn semester 2018 and went on to study, 76 percent have chosen technical studies.

Of these, 48 percent are young women, according to a new study from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.

- There we see clearly that Tekniksprånget leads to more young women choosing to study engineering, says Helena Gyrulf, operations manager at Tekniksprånget.

Fewer drop out

The investment also leads to fewer people dropping out of their engineering studies, the study shows.

- We also see a positive effect on the throughput in the educations.

That those who have taken the Technology Leap have been given a goal picture of what the education leads to.

They also take that goal with them to the education and complete their education and go all the way to the degree, says Helena Gyrulf.

The engineering profession has long been male-dominated, but now there is an opportunity to change this.

- The important thing here is to highlight role models, says Helena Gyrulf.

"Fantastic opportunity"

Josefin Lindemalm, who was one of the first to join the program, is now a civil engineer and works with custom orthopedic implants that are designed using artificial intelligence.

- I was very tired of school in high school, but I have always thought that problem solving and efficiency has been very fun, so therefore I chose to apply for the Technology Leap.

That made me then choose to study engineering, says Josefin Lindemalm.

She thinks that more young women who are curious about technology should apply for the program.

- It provides a fantastic opportunity to try out the profession without actually being an engineer and you get very valuable contacts for the future, says Josefin Lindemalm.