Women in Engineering (WIE) hosted the annual Engineering Career Conference (ECC) for high school juniors on October 19, introducing them to engineering disciplines as well as students and faculty members from each of the College of Engineering’s eight schools and departments.

The high schoolers from across Georgia and the Southeast participated in a series of half-hour sessions with representatives from each academic program. The conference format was highly interactive, allowing high schoolers to view demonstrations, ask questions of undergraduate panelists, meet engineering graduate students, and participate in interactive design challenges.

Sessions were led by chairs, associate chairs, outreach directors, graduate students, undergraduates, and others. By the end of the conference, CoE schools presented a total of 64 well-crafted information sessions about their units. Because of the overwhelming support WIE received from each school, the number of students accepted to ECC more than tripled to 260 participants in 2023.

Parents also provided overwhelmingly positive feedback:

“The difference I notice at Tech 30 years after I started, is a much more supportive and inclusive environment for female engineers,” said parent Elizabeth Smith. “Thank you for helping to foster and grow that environment.” 

Another parent, Steven Hattier, brought his daughter to Georgia Tech from New Orleans to explore the College’s programs.

“As a father of a daughter very passionate about aerospace engineering, … it is amazing to have the support and encouragement provided to her by the event. Keep up the great work.”

WIE Director Joy Harris said her team was grateful for the support from staff and faculty members across the College and for the care they showed to the students who attended the conference.

“The Women in Engineering Office looks forward to introducing even more high school students to engineering in the years to come,” she said.