Girls Invent's purpose is to inspire girls to become innovators and inventors.
'Why are only men inventors?'
One day Dr Mark Glazebrook’s teenage daughter asked him why 'only men were inventors?'. This thought inspired him to create the Girls Invent initiative. Mark is an inventor and a business leader, passionate about social innovation.
Mark believes many girls are held back from realising their full potential. He blames the media for showing stereotyped gender roles. Girls Invent inspires girls to believe that they can do anything.
Girls Invent has now expanded throughout Victoria. Workshops are run in over 100 Victorian schools in both regional and urban centres.
Learning how to innovate
The Girls Invent core program has six innovation modules. Students learn about all the stages of coming up with a new invention or product. This includes idea creation all the way to commercialisation and market entry.
Each year, selected students present at the Girls Invent pitch night in Melbourne. They compete for prizes, mentoring and perhaps even investment from Scale Investors.
As in any pursuit, having belief in yourself can be more powerful than technical skills. This is where Girls Invent comes in. Believe that you can do something and worry about the detail later.
Reviewed 27 October 2020