The New Platform Provides Free Online Interactive STEM Lessons

By: Nelly Ali

Mastercard has extended access to its signature Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum, Girls4Tech™, through a suite of new online, creative educational resources. The program has been designed to help parents and teachers engage and inspire kids, ages 8-12.

Through the newly launched website Girls4Tech Connect, as well as through activities made in collaboration with Mastercard’s education partner Scholastic, teachers and parents in Egypt and across the globe can download lessons to help students learn about STEM topics from the comfort of their homes.

These activities are built on global science and math standards – and incorporate Mastercard’s deep expertise in payments technology and innovation – to enable children to discover a range of STEM careers, such as Fraud Detective, Data Scientist and Software Engineer.

Now in its sixth year, Girls4Tech has engaged more than 800,000 students across the globe through inquiry-based activities and real-world challenges, all with the goal of inspiring more girls to pursue STEM careers and reduce the gender gap in these fields.

“Mastercard is pleased to launch Girls4Tech Connect, a fun, engaging and motivating learning platform with plenty of activities and resources to encourage youngsters to pursue STEM disciplines from home. Mastercard recognizes the fact that we are living in a challenging era, which has propelled educators and parents to rethink and adapt to new and innovative ways of learning. Through Girls4Tech, we strive to encourage young ladies to follow careers in STEM fields, which is in line with our commitment to achieving gender parity across the region.” said Magdy Hassan, General Manager – Egypt & Pakistan, Mastercard.

“There is a growing need for more STEM professionals; and now, more than ever, it is crucial to empower both parents and students to enrich themselves by using helpful, engaging and interactive digital tools that are easily accessible. As students finish the academic year via distance learning, we encourage them to continue exploring the exciting range of potential careers they can pursue through STEM subjects in the hope of inspiring a new generation of young Egyptian innovators,” he concluded.

Beginning this week, new activities will be posted on a weekly basis at the Girls4Tech website, Facebook page and Twitter handle. Lessons are currently available in English, with additional Spanish and Chinese language content to follow in the coming weeks.

While all lessons are designed for students to work independently, materials are also available for teachers to guide online sessions.

Impact Highlights from the First Six Years

• To date, Girls4Tech has reached more than 800,000 girls in 27 countries and on 6 continents.
• The program has engaged more than 4,400 employee mentors worldwide.
• Mastercard has partnered with Scholastic, Be Better China, Major League Baseball, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), R&A and YCAB in Indonesia to further scale the program and offer STEM skills in unique ways to girls ages 8-16.

·         As technology skills evolve, a new curriculum was launched in 2019 to give students deeper exposure to the growing fields of cybersecurity and AI – Girls4Tech Cybersecurity & AI.

·         Girls4Tech programs also extend to girls ages 13-16 with Girls4Tech 2.0, as well as a 20-week coding program, Girls4Tech & Code for girls 8-10.

To learn more about Girls4Tech and access the online lessons, please visit Girls4Tech Connect.