CyberMentor is an online mentoring program for female pupils from grade 5 to 13 in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) who are accompanied by women working in these fields.
Each student works with an individual mentor for at least one year. Women are still strongly underrepresented in STEM fields. One reason for this is a general lack of female role models. CyberMentor seeks to increase girls’ interest in STEM and to help them discover ways of entering STEM professions by presenting appropriate female role models working in STEM. Each mentor–mentee dyad exchanges weekly emails in which they discuss school, university study, careers, and other interesting STEM-related topics. Additionally, all participants have access to a members-only internet platform with various forums and chat options as well as to an online newsmagazine containing interesting STEM-related articles, book recommendations, and games. The project is examining three groups of pupils with a longitudinal research design: female pupils who registered for the program and are currently participating; Femal pupils who have registered but are only eligible to participate in the programme after one year (the waiting-list control group containing individuals with interests similar to those of the current participants); and pupils of both sexes who have not registered for the program (a control group consisting of students with various interests). The program is also developing and formally evaluating various training concepts for mentors.
Every year, up to 800 female high school students between the ages of 11 and 18 and up to 800 female academics from the STEM field from all over Germany take part in the program.
Funding:
CyberMentor has been funded by various companies (e.g., Mercedes-Benz Mobility, Siemens AG, and Bose Corporation), foundations (e.g., Heinz Trox Foundation), and ministries (e.g., Bavarian State Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs). For more information, see www.cybermentor.de (external link, opens in a new window)
Participating Institutions and Persons:
University of Regensburg: Prof. Dr. Heidrun Stoeger, Faisal Ahsan, Christopher Anastasiu, Natalie Bauer, Dr. Daniel Patrick Balestrini, Sonja Bayer, Dr. Tobias Debatin, Dr. Kathrin Emmerdinger, Kristin Frauenhoffer, Ildikó Győryné Csomó, Dr. Marina Kaas-Link, Dr. Beifang Ma, Dr. Sigrun Schirner, and Dr. Claudia Uebler.
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg: Prof. Drs. Albert Ziegler
