More Than Code: Supporting and Inspiring Women in Engineering
Imagine standing in the year 1919. World War I has just ended, and a group of trailblazing women who stepped into engineering roles during the wartime crisis refuse to step back. Driven by determination to continue their careers, they founded the Women’s Engineering Society. Fast forward to today, that legacy lives on through International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), celebrated every June 23rd. INWED elevates the profile of women engineers around the world and encourages more women and girls to enter the field, including new areas such as cybersecurity, medical technology, and artificial intelligence.
With this precedent, just as that pioneering group did back in 1919, women and girls around the world are reimagining what the engineering field can look like moving forward. That's an inspiration for how the global App Inventor community is working to create a welcoming environment, through meaningful, hands-on experiences.
Unlocking Engineering Talent in Higher Education
In Mexico, the Universidad Iberoamericana Leon launched the Ada Byron Scholarship program designed for young women starting their university studies. The program’s selection process involves a series of challenges where participants test their logical-mathematical knowledge as well as hands-on skills in, scientific, and technological areas.
Specifically, in the Artificial Intelligence Engineering track, participants learned about data science, recommendation algorithms, and physical computing. During the workshops, applicants engaged with the "Responsible AI in Every Classroom" curriculum, created by the App Inventor Foundation team. This curriculum blends AI, data science, and mobile app coding using MIT App Inventor, giving K-12 students a comprehensive foundation as they begin learning about artificial intelligence.
“More than a scholarship, we celebrate their courage to choose a career where the world needs new perspectives.” - Gustavo, Ada Byron Scholarship Committee Member
In just two sessions, the girls became real-world tech innovators. First, participants created a musical crowdsourcing app. Connected through a shared spreadsheet, the entire room watched their individual song choices fuse into a collaborative playlist in real-time. Second, to bridge the gap between a raw number and real-world meaning related to water quality, the girls connected physical sensors to their phones via Bluetooth and into an AI chatbot. Instead of a dry, abstract number, instantly the chatbot explained what those measurements actually meant for the safety of the water. It completely transformed a cold statistic into an instant, "aha!" moment.
Meanwhile, instructors managed the experience using the Classroom Portal. Built specifically for App Inventor teaching, this platform opens up entirely new possibilities. Instead of dealing with the friction of exporting, saving, and transferring individual files, teachers can instantly share project templates and students can then create versions and submit their progress in one digital space. Thanks to this tool, educators gained direct visibility into the participants' progress, watching them test, make mistakes, and improve.
If you want to bring this streamlined experience to your own students, we’d love to have you on board. Reach out to edu@appinventor.org to get an orientation and access to our beta, and help us shape the future of the platform with your feedback!
Reimagining STEM Outside the Classroom
The drive to reshape engineering fields extends far beyond traditional school walls. For instance, as part of the Technovation Challenge in 2026, a Junior Team from Lithuania, the “VIS STEAM Girls”, along with their mentor Alex, launched the STEAM Girls App.
Built using App Inventor, the app works like a digital toolkit designed to spark curiosity in STEAM. It shows local STEAM centers and activities, offers book and podcast recommendations focused on women in science and engineering fields, hosts an inspiring role model gallery, and even features a fun experiments section!
To make the app interactive, the team creatively used App Inventor components to dynamically retrieve the newest STEAM events and open calls directly from a spreadsheet and store user engagement data on CloudDB. This approach opens up great ideas about what block-based coding can achieve. Even though they are just starting, they created an app that truly inspires and promotes a direct call to action for engaging new generations of girls in the field.
Ultimately, this success was made possible by teamwork and dedication. Reflecting on the journey, their mentor Alex shared:
“The learning curve was slow at times but with the online tutorials, the Official Guide from MIT App Inventor book, the guidance received from the App Inventor Foundation team, and daily MIT App Inventor practice, I managed to support the girls in the STEAM Club and we finalized the app with all the functionalities we envisioned for it.” - Alex, STEAM Girls Mentor
These stories highlight a powerful truth: leveling the field for women in engineering isn't just about the final achievements, it’s about creating a space where women and girls feel supported, welcome, and fully capable of building real-world solutions.The only requirement to make an impact is the curiosity to solve problems. Whether you choose to learn a new STEAM skill, mentor the next generation, or take the leap to create something entirely new, every action counts. This International Women in Engineering Day let’s build a community where every aspiring engineer can thrive!
