Repository: UIHistories Project: SWE - Proceedings of the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists [PAGE 261]

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SYMPOSIUM ON DEVELOPING ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC TALENT Statement of A.E. Amour on the part of Emma Strada President, Associazione Italiana Donne Ingegnere Architette, Italy The problem of providing for the future growing demand for engineering and scientific personnel, needed for the development of industrial technology, has to be considered under three basic aspects. First of all is the availability of "raw material", that is to say, of young people endowed with good intellectual capacities for undertaking and successfully achieving the heavy curricula of engineering and scientific studies and the successive specialisations in different branches of engineering and science. Under this aspect, the problem is to find among young people a greater percentage of those who are endowed with mathematical and scientific aptitudes, with capacity for synthesis and analysis, with Imagination and creative thinking. These are qualities which can remain at a more or less static state, if they are not developed and trained during early youth, that is, if young people are not given the opportunity to study. The second aspect of the problem is exemplified by the farsighted spirit of social service of the Rotary Club of Milan, which has launched and supported the IARD Program. This program aims at the identification and encouragement of all boys endowed with good potential qualities, whatever may be their social status, to pursue studies in higher education. The selection is based on their personality and social environment, for therapy purposes, not for discrimination, aimed at developing them in the positive sense. The selection is made on the basis of three parameters: school marks, teachers' judgment and psychometric tests, essentially about their creative nonconformist thinking, by integrating the various results of IQ evaluation. The boys who are included in the ninth superior percentiles are offered the means to continue their study and eventually some assistance to their family. This program is aimed also at showing that it is necessary to personalize and make more efficient scholastic assistance. It has to be added that in 1962 only 23 million lire were assigned out of 100 million lire available for scholarships offered by Municipality, Government and local Authorities. Significantly enough, the selection is operated only among boys, not among girls. That Is, the Rotary (as many other organizations in Italy) do not yet plan to utilize the talent with which girls also are endowed by nature to satisfy the future request of engineers and scientists. Girls who are pursuing advanced studies can always apply for scholarships offered (the 100 million lire mentioned above) without discrimination. Actually women in engineering schools were but 0.53% in 1960, while in the Scientific Faculties of Universities (Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences) women represent about 1/3 of students. After obtaining their degrees they engage in the teaching field (mostly of the secondary level), as also do a good half of women who reach the Doctor's Degree in the Engineering field. About 1/4 of them retire to take care of the family, and only the remaining 1/4 undertake professional activity, either as employees in industry or independently in the civil engineering field.

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