We conducted the 2nd STEM Camp in Zagreb!

6. November 2023.

As part of the “Girls Own STEM” project, the 2nd STEM Camp took place from October 22nd to 25th, 2023.

After several months of planning and implementing their own local projects, we brought the girls together once again in Zagreb to present their 21 projects and exchange experiences from their work.

The camp featured 4 series of project presentations, a panel discussion, quick introductions to new mentors for future projects, two evenings of informal STEM gatherings, and two workshops on how to execute STEM projects.

We kicked off the camp on Sunday evening with an official opening led by Jelena Likić, president of the Bioteka association and project leader of “Girls Own STEM.” We welcomed the girls and introduced them to the program of the 2nd STEM Camp.

Monday started with presentations of the girls’ projects. The girls presented their projects to other participants, followed by a short discussion and questions about the projects. The projects presented on Monday included: MP Box, STEM Wizards, Pollination, Popularizing STEM, Weather Station, Little Garden, Viewpoint KUK, Recycling is Not a Hassle, MentalCheck, and Let Kids Love STEM.

We continued with the panel discussion “Leadership, Communication, and Collaboration in STEM Project Implementation,” which featured:

• Sonja Popović, Director at msg global solutions Croatia
• Karla Andrić, Founder of HAIKU Communications
• Martina Ptiček, Head of Development Team at Porsche Digital Croatia
• Sanja Veletanlić, Head of Go2human Hub
• Kaja Pavlinić, Director of Business Operations at Speck Agency

These five successful women shared their experiences, insights, and knowledge about project leadership, collaboration with teams and individuals, mistakes made, resilience, and how to communicate effectively with the public and media. We believe this inspired the girls for their future work. These successful women will be mentors for the girls through the “STEM Mentors for STEM Girls” project, a continuation of the Girls Own STEM project.

The day ended with “Evening of Informal STEM Activities,” where the girls had the opportunity to build robots, try 3D pens, play board games, and socialize. The program was led by Bioteka educator Katarina Horvat.

On Tuesday, we resumed with project presentations. The projects presented on Tuesday included: What’s up Borovo, Cibus and a Better Life, Smart Fun in Public Spaces, STEM: Youth for Youth, Bon Move, raSTEMo, Building a Research Center – Playing with Science, Neighborhood Buzzers, STEM Cosmetics, Bottle Less for a Day More, and Animal Shelter.

We continued with the workshop “How to Do Good STEM?” led by Kristina Duvnjak, Vice President and Program Leader at Bioteka. The workshop focused on interdisciplinary approaches to solving STEM problems.

The highlight of the day was definitely the Quick Mentorship Introduction. It was a meeting between women in leadership positions from top Croatian companies and our Girls Own STEM participants. Through the quick introduction method, the girls had the opportunity to present themselves and their projects to their future mentors and get to know the mentors involved in the “STEM Mentors for STEM Girls” project. The mentors who participated in the quick introduction were:

Anita Cvetić Oreščanin, Member of the Management Board and Co-owner of Poslovna Inteligencija
Anđelka Strajher, Director at Megatrend Business Solutions d.o.o.
Martina Ćurić, Global Marketing Team Coordinator at Schneider Electric
Sanja Veletanlić, Head of Go2human Hub
Ana Duvnjak, Director of the IS Department at APIS IT d.o.o.
Martina Ptiček, Head of Development Team at Porsche Digital Croatia
Slađana Krpić, Member of the Management Board at Poslovna Inteligencija
Lucija Pilić, PR and Business Developer at Gamechuck
Karla Andrić, Founder of HAIKU Communications

The day ended again with the “Evening of Informal STEM Activities,” led by Bioteka educator Katarina Horvat.

Wednesday was reserved for “Project Management 101” led by Jelena Likić, President of Bioteka. The girls who continue working on new projects, with Jelena’s guidance and advice, worked on developing ideas for future projects and improving existing ones. Girls who didn’t participate in this session visited the Botanical Garden at PMF with educator Katarina Horvat.

The camp concluded with farewells before the girls headed home.

A big thank you to all the girls for their participation, dedication, and effort during their work on the Girls Own STEM project and this camp!

A huge thank you also to all the guest speakers who responded to our invitation and took the time to share their knowledge, experience, and positive energy with the camp participants!

We believe the girls left the camp full of ideas and motivation for further involvement in our new project and look forward to their future achievements.

To conclude, let a few camp participants share what they learned and what impressed them most during the camp:

“I want to sincerely thank you for the incredible experience I had at the STEM camp. Your passion, dedication, and enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics truly inspired me. It was an amazing three-day camp full of new knowledge, challenges, and motivation for my future projects.”

“I just want to thank you for everything, especially the organization, which was excellent. I hope for further cooperation and you gave me the motivation for my future. Thank you <3”

“What impressed me most was meeting the girls again and getting to know the mentors.”

“I learned that communication is key to the progress of a project and that I shouldn’t be afraid. I am really glad that Bioteka and its staff provide such an approachable environment.”

“I learned how much we can learn in a short time, and I realized how important it is to listen to others until the end and give them a chance to express their idea because every suggestion is welcome.”

“What impressed me most were the projects other girls worked on. It was incredible to see how creative and smart they are and how their ideas and innovation are changing the world around them. Communication with mentors was also very inspiring. Their experience and knowledge motivated me to dive deeper and work more on my projects.”

“I’m glad I had the opportunity to participate in this kind of project. In addition to the formal part (workshops, camps) which was extremely useful, I would also mention the other side. The friendships and connections with girls from all over the country made, in my opinion, the first camp special. The diversity of culture, religion, nationality, and ultimately the places we live, led us to connect better and learn new values.”

This project is implemented by the Bioteka association with financial support from 3M through the GlobalGiving Foundation, and since December 2022, MET Croatia Energy has joined the project’s donors.