Earlier this month, researcher at FURIM Institutt Said Zeki Gökmen volunteered as a group leader at TENK-Tech-nettverket for kvinner Camp Oslo, a two-day technology camp for girls aged 13 to 19.

Said followed a group of participants throughout the camp, helping them move between workshops, work through technical problems and, when necessary, debug whatever had stopped working.

Over the two days, the participants explored technology through hands-on activities including building and programming with micro:bits, creating images and animations with LEDs, and solving a digital detective challenge using Python, HTML, Base64 and online tools. The workshops were combined with talks from women working in technology and opportunities to learn about different paths into the field.

For Furim, activities like this matter. Research and engineering should not exist only inside laboratories and universities. Giving young people the chance to build something themselves, get stuck, solve the problem and continue is one of the most direct ways of making STEM feel accessible.

Thank you to TENK and everyone involved in organising TENK-Tech-nettverket for kvinner Camp for creating that opportunity.