PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — On Sunday, February 7, Professor Iris Bahar from the Brown University School of Engineering will speak at the 2016 Global Forum on Girls' Education, Creating a World of Possibilities, in New York City. This conference is hosted by the National Coalition of Girls' Schools (NCGS), and Bahar will be presenting on "Expanding the School Campus: Lincoln School's Partnerships with Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University" along with Suzanne Fogarty, Head of School at Lincoln School, an independent girls' school in Providence, and Laura Briggs, Head, Department of Architecture and Associate Professor of Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design.
Brown's School of Engineering and the Lincoln School have an ongoing collaboration and have offered the course, Introduction to Engineering, to Lincoln students. The course includes both laboratory and analytical components and introduces students to the engineering profession, engineering design, CAD, analysis of static structures, 3D printing, engineering materials, and electronics. The students gain practice in applying math concepts to engineering problems. The course meets once a week for three hours and students receive credit at Lincoln School.
The Brown School of Engineering is excited to be offering this hands-on course to high school girls from the Lincoln School. Whether they decide to major in engineering in college or not, Bahar explains that "the course has allowed the girls to get real experience in the engineer's approach to problems solving and design in a fun and accessible way. For our Brown student teaching assistants, the course has also been a great opportunity for them to personally demonstrate their knowledge and excitement of engineering and encourages girls to consider it as a viable and exciting career path."
The forum brings together educators, researchers and advocates from around the world, who work to empower girls with the tools and informed perspective they need to reach their full potential. The Brown/RISD/Lincoln panel will discuss the challenges and rewards of partnerships between secondary and university education.