Three VUB researchers are taking part in Eutopia's initiative to enthusiasm young women for careers in science. Saturday 11 February is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, an initiative of the United Nations. Eutopia is a European network of universities to which the VUB belongs. VUB researcher Fatima Zahid Ali: "Science knows no gender, only boundless curiosity and a relentless pursuit of discovery."
"Here's to creating a world where every woman - including trans women - has the equal opportunity to contribute their unique perspectives and make their mark through scientific pursuits." Fatima is a PhD student in the ECHO research group, which studies the meaning of media, culture and politics. She is also a teaching assistant in communication studies.
Eutopia is organising this campaign on 11 February to get women and girls interested in science and make it clear that academic doors are open to everyone, regardless of gender.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an initiative of the United Nations. It aims to connect the international community with women and girls in science and strengthen the links between science, policy and society for forward-looking strategies.
Fatima Zahid Ali: "Let's create a world where every woman - including trans women - has equal opportunities."
Discovering the unthinkable
Besides Fatima Zahid Ali, Cleo Goyvaerts and Antonella Fioravanti are also participating. Dr Cleo Goyvaerts is a researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Therapy at the VUB and received the International Lung Cancer Foundation's 2020 ILC Young Investigator Award 2020. “Scientists don’t believe in miracles, they proof them. Science is not about sex nor race but international teams with a shared drive to discover the unthinkable and make the world a better place.”
Antonella Fioravanti: Great science requires the participation of all kinds of individuals,"
Great science
Professor Antonella Fioravanti is winner of the EOS Pipet as the most promising Young Scientist of 2020. She works for the Department of Bioengineering Sciences.
“I am a scientist, but also a woman and a mom in science. As such I have the luxury, the honor and the duty of making this world a better place by making at service my curiosity, intelligence and knowledge to unravel the fascinating choreography of life. As today, women are still underrepresented in STEM, thus this world is missing a huge chance to improve itself without women contribution. Great science requires the participation of all kind of individuals, no matter what social or gender background they have. We are all the same, but we are all different in perceiving things and finding solution to problems.”
EUTOPIA
EUTOPIA is an ambitious alliance of 10 like-minded universities willing to reinvent themselves: Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Brussels Free University (Belgium), CY Cergy Paris Université (France), Ca'Foscari University in Venice (Italy), Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), Göteborg University (Sweden), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), NOVA University in Lisbon (Portugal), Pompeu-Fabra University in Barcelona (Spain) and the University of Warwick (United Kingdom). These ten pioneers are joining forces to shape the university of the future.
