What does it take to build young girls’ interest in science and tech? Role models, opportunities to meet and learn, as well as experimentation! Since February, Ubisoft Education has organized several initiatives to encourage young girls to pursue careers in these promising fields.
Les Audacieuses at the Montreal Science Centre
In honour of International Women’s Day, the Montreal Science Centre held the second edition of its Girls in Science event on February 10. With a brand spanking new booth, Ubisoft Education and several female ambassadors of the studio attended the event to promote career opportunities in our field. Young girls aged 12 to 17, and their families, were introduced to programming and video games through Reseau Technoscience’s new digital kits and our own educational Assassin’s Creed Discovery Tour. Overall, 1,500 visitors attended the event and got the chance to meet with us!
Girls and code by Concertation Montréal
On February 21, we were one of two companies – including Desjardins – to participate in Concertation Montréal’s initiative, Girls and code, to offer a summer internship to a female student in tech. Naomi Catwell, who is currently studying at the Vanier CEGEP, will be joining one of our teams this summer as a generalist programmer. On April 12 we also took part in an initiative, aimed at 180 girls aged 14 to 17, led by Concertation Montréal. We had great discussions about video games, creativity and fulfilling careers in tech.
Introduction to programming at the studio
To commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8, forty of our employees’ daughters and nieces aged 8 to 12 were invited to the studio for an introductory session to programming with our partner Kids Code Jeunesse. Using micro:bit mini computers, this session was a great occasion to inspire and light that initial spark for tech at an early age!
Girls and science at ETS
On March 16, we headed to ETS (École de technologie supérieure) to promote careers in video games and programming to 350 young girls aged 13 and 14. Two teams of young women from Technovation Montréal joined us at our booth to showcase their mobile app prototype. What can be better inspiration than a young woman speaking about her experience in programming to encourage other young girls to follow the same path?
Le Code des filles in Laurier Quebec
On April 6, Le Code des filles held the second edition of a programming event at the Laurier Quebec mall. Organized exclusively by secondary school students in Quebec City, the event invited young girls of all ages to experience programming using robots. Several panel events including inspiring Quebecois women in tech presented great female role models. As a proud event partner, Ubisoft displayed its booth to promote careers in tech, accompanied by one of our female ambassadors.
Women in tech
Finally, let’s mention the Women in Tech initiative led in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal! The event was designed to inspire and encourage young women to consider careers in tech by showcasing three female ambassadors – a programmer, a researcher and an entrepreneur in tech. The initiative concluded with a meet up with Randi Zuckerberg during her stellar conference at Place des Arts on March 14 and a tour of tech companies from Silicon Valley with nine Montreal based start-ups. Kudos to Ubisoft Montréal programmer Julie Tousignant who was a perfect ambassador through each phase of the project!
We’d like to thank all of our employees who generously gave their time throughout these past few weeks to help us diversify the face of our industry:
Sarah Dugloud, Maimouna Brownrigg, Fanny Campagnie, Aurore-Alice Young, Ming Dutilly, Angela Carriero, Rachel Desmarais, Anita Haurie, Karin Bolanos, Juan Esteban Diaz, Laureline Petit, Julie Tousignant, Brian Mcwilliams, Aurora Huang, Vicki Ferguson, Pascaline Lavedrine, Gabriel Federico Reyes Baldò, Alexandre Ribard, Hélène Michon-Lacaze, Rosalind Yau, Maxime Schambourg, Halyna-Tatiana Boris, Nathalie Dubois, Michel Bouchard, Carlos Mejia, Eric Negro y Castro, Alexandre Leon Pelletier.
And a warm thank you to all of our fantastic employees who volunteer year round in our other Ubisoft Education initiatives (Game Lab Competition, Youth Fusion, Academos…) to prepare Quebec youth for the jobs of the future.
