The Faculty of Biology of the University of Bucharest marked the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

On February 11^th 2024, representatives of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Bucharest marked the International Day of Women and Girls in Science at secondary school no. 56 in Bucharest, member of the UNESCO Associated Schools network (ASPnet).

The discussion was held in hybrid format, both at the school and online, and was dedicated to professors and pupils in primary and secondary education.

The Faculty of Biology of the University of Bucharest was represented at the event by assistant professor Maria Iasmina Moza, PhD, teaching staff and pedagogic practice mentor, who delivered a presentation about the Faculty of Biology and study opportunities, as well as its research facilities. Third year student and intellectual property expert Camelia Ganță also attended the event on behalf of UB, giving a presentation on women researchers.

Other delegates from Romania who attended the event and prospected on the future of education and science include: Madlen Șerban, General Secretary of Romanian national Commission for UNESCO, physician Liana Sticlaru, Alina Daniela Marcu, teaching staff at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest, Nicoleta Safca, president of the Association of Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, professor Maria-Cristina Radu, director of the secondary school that organized the event, and professor Monica Popa from the same school.

In the closing of the event, several pupils presented projects on the theme of remarkable women in science at international level.

The University of Bucharest: support and promotion initiatives of women in science

Given the fact that fixing the gender representation imbalance in the field of science plays an important role in the architecture of the global development plan, the University of Bucharest has launched, throughout the year, a series of initiatives meant to eliminate this discrepancy.

Among these, we can mention the UB for Women in Science project, which aims to support the promotion of the remarkable contributions in science of women in the scientific community of the University of Bucharest and to celebrate their success in the scientific field they activate in. At the same time, UB for Women in Science wants to contribute to eliminating invisible access barriers women in science are confronted with. More details on this initiative are available here.

Also, starting 2021, the University of Bucharest has stepped into a collaboration project named ATHENA: Implementing gender equality plans to unlock research potential of RPOs an RFOs in Europe, which aims to support gender research, eliminating possible barriers at recruitment level, promotions and access to funding and leadership positions. The project is circumscribed to the objectives of developing the European Research Space (ERA-European Research Area) and its main goal is writing and implementing of Gender Equality Plans-GEPs adapted to the specific needs of each institution, respecting the recommendations from the European Union. Starting from the premise that (gender) equality can and has to go hand in hand with excellence in academic research, the projects aims to unlock and stimulate research potential in partner countries.

More details on this initiative are available here.