Although the number of women in STEM-related fields has increased over the past years, women still lack representation and remain outnumbered by men by a significant margin.

As part of Solve for Tomorrow, a global educational CSR program of Samsung, Samsung China partnered with China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF) to inspire more young female leaders in science and technology.

Started in 2018 as an educational program for young girls of 12-16 years of age, the program provides a range of learning opportunities such as online lessons, in-person workshops and boot camps. By the end of the program, students use what they had learned to create a solution to societal problems that they want to address.

As of now, the program has seen 4,600 young girls acquire technological knowledge along with soft skills like leadership and critical thinking.

Designing Solutions for Rural Areas

In the countryside of Shanxi Province, people rely on coal for heat during the winter and transitioning into green energy is a daunting task for them, given their settings.

“I focused on what technology can do to improve the lives of those living in rural communities.” – Chen Ningxin

Chen Ningxin and her team joined to solve this problem with an environmentally-friendly solution that can generate heat with less energy input.

Chen, who participated in the program in 2021, visited the countryside that was suffering from extreme cold for a long period of time. She interviewed people to define the issue and get ideas on how she can address this.

With the help of an AI expert, she put her Python coding skills that she acquired through the program into use.

Chen and her team’s solution automatically adjusts temperature for better energy-efficiency, and uses solar energy which will reduce financial burdens of the rural families as well. They expect that this will save 3,600 Yuan annually if installed in every household of the village.

Chen now dreams of creating an infrared sensor that automatically activates the heating system when people come inside. She is also planning to design a mobile app that can adjust the temperature remotely.

“Joining this program was one of the best decisions I’ve made during high school.” – Liu Xiaoyu

Liu Xiaoyu was a program participant in 2018. She focused on the living conditions in Inner Mongolia and came up with a waste compactor that can help people deal with industrial waste. Her team even visited the region to test it out and interview the people living there. She also got a chance to visit Cambridge University to learn more on what she needed. Now, she is pursuing her goals at University of California San Diego.

Through a range of educational programs, Samsung will continue to help the young generation unlock their full potential and become leaders of the future.