Girl Geeks launches its first UK campus program

Accenture is the first employer to support Girl Geeks Campus, a new British program to support female students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers.

Girl Geeks Campus was launched initially at Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, and offers female STEM students opportunities to discover career paths and develop skills that will help them find jobs.

Accenture is one of the program’s leading employers. The company will provide participating students with mentoring and career guidance as well as opportunities to develop professional skills and meet industry role models.

“This is a vital initiative to encourage more women to pursue STEM careers, both in the North East and across the UK, said “Bob Paton, the managing director of Accenture’s Newcastle Delivery Center. “Businesses — particularly those like Accenture, where we recruit STEM graduates — need to collaborate with the education sector to engage more females who are about to embark on their career paths. This exciting program will increase access to career opportunities for female STEM students and ultimately help them to fulfill their potential.”

Mia Chapman, the director of the Girl Geeks program, said “Promoting diversity in STEM is vital, through extensive research and consultation undertaken; Girl Geeks Campus has been developed as a concept to increase the role of technical females in education and subsequently industry.”

This story originally appeared on Tech City News. Copyright 2015