Empowering women in STEM

Inclusivity in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has once again been championed in the local science community as the Department of Science and Technology — Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) organized the Data Analytics for the Future (DAF-X) workshop for girls. 

Female students from regular and science and technology-oriented junior high schools around Metro Manila and nearby provinces gathered to participate in the said workshop, held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, as part of the second National Youth Science, Technology, and Innovation Festival (NYSTIF). 

Conducted in partnership with the University of the Philippines Los Baños — Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics (UPLB-IMSP), the workshop aimed to introduce the basics of data analytics to young students. It specifically offered lectures on beginner-level dataset preparation using R, dashboarding, basic quantitative tools and data mining using open-source data applications. 

During the workshop, participants learned about the essentials of data analytics through a series of lectures facilitated by esteemed professors of UPLB-IMSP, led by Dr. Destiny S. Lutero. The activities of the workshop focused on data analytics and visualization using Google Looker Studio, where students were taught particularly on how to add data, add charts and use controls to make dashboard pages interactive to users. 

After the workshop proper, the students then presented their dashboards – using DOST-SEI’s Women in STEM study data and gave their analysis of the meaning and relationship of the variables presented. 

Prior to the workshop proper, Bern Irish Arguelles, Science Research Specialist II of DOST-SEI and a former DOST scholar, inspired the young girls as she provided an overview of DOST-SEI’s publication Women in Science and shared about women’s involvement in the S&T workforce of the country. The said publication paved the way for the Tagisang Robotics Competition: Girls & Gears, the first and only all-female robotics competition in the country.