Equality Award 2023

Award for the STEM project Girls Go Science - "Doing science yourself"

The commitment to gender equality constitutes one of the guiding principles of the University of Regensburg. The Equality Award aims to highlight achievements and progress in research and teaching that contribute to the implementation of equal opportunities for men and women and broader gender equity. In the year 2023, the award seeks to commend innovative projects, structural initiatives, notable activities, or otherwise exceptional contributions to these goals within the realm of research and education. The award is endowed with 5.000,00 €. 

In 2023, the project “Girls Go Science” was selected as the Equality Award recipient. Conceived, initiated, and conducted by Dr. Stephan Giglberger at the Faculty of Physics, the project allows girls to participate in various workshops, such as the TMDC project, which focuses on transition metal dichalcogenide investigations. In this context, participants explore atomically thin semiconductors and learn how to make their layers visible. They further acquire the skills to produce microscopes using 3D printers, which can be replicated in schools and other research environments. This turns young girls into knowledge multipliers. The jury was particularly impressed by the project’s close collaboration with the University’s research activities and its relevance to the STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Female participants ranging from young pupils to master students and doctoral researchers are involved in the “Girls Go Science” program and are thus prepared to conduct the leading research of tomorrow.

By empowering female researchers, the project actively contributes to reduce structural discrimination and consequent abuses of power. The University acknowledges the resulting potential for tangible improvements in the scientific landscape. We wish to further highlight the Faculty of Physics’ strong efforts to improving gender equality, particularly by those individual members having made significant contributions and the faculty’s Representative for the Equality of Women in Academia and the Arts. 

The jury, composed of the University’s Representatives for the Equality of Women in Academia and the Arts of all faculties, commends Dr. Stephan Giglberger for his outstanding contribution to gender equality in the project, which does not only contribute to the goal of equal opportunities, but also promotes external connections through collaborations with schools and STEM-labs. For these efforts, we extend our sincere gratitude. The prize money is intended to further support and develop the project, as indicated in the award guidelines. 

Nadine Mundigl, who is currently in the process of obtaining her Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Dominique Bougeard on the topic of quantum effects in semiconductor nanostructures, will receive the certificate on behalf of all doctoral candidates actively involved in the relevant research. Her participation in the STEM program for young women in 2014 was crucial for her choice to pursue her research topic at the University of Regensburg. Additionally, as representative of the master students involved in the “Girls Go Science” project, Hanifah Mumtaz will receive the certificate. She is currently involved in a project on Sharp Interface Limits in Navierstokes/Allen Cahn Systems, supervised by Prof. Dr. Helmut Abels, and previously participated in the STEM program in 2018 before teaching in the TMDC project. The success of the “Girls Go Science” project further owes much to the contributions of Sandra Hannweg, a microsystems and electronics technician at MINT-Labs, who actively participated in the project. We acknowledge and appreciate the collaboration of the city and the university with Ms. Hannweg. The University of Regensburg’s sincere congratulations are extended to each one of you! 

Isabella von Treskow
University Representative for the Equality of Women in Academia and the Arts