The Toledo Society of Professional Engineers in partnership with The University of Toledo and DiscoverE are celebrating Engineers Week from Monday, Feb. 20, through Friday, Feb. 24.

Engineers Week is dedicated to bringing honor and attention to the engineering profession in Toledo and northwest Ohio.

As part of Engineers Week, UToledo will provide exposure to the profession for local youth through two events: the Engineer for a Day Program and the Introduce a Girl to Engineering Program Series.

More than 600 girls from 15 school districts along with the 14 companies and organizations plan to take part in this year’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Program.

Media are invited during the Introduce a Girl to Engineering program between 10:30 a.m. and noon Friday, Feb. 24, on the first floor of Nitschke Hall.

The Introduce a Girl to Engineering Program Series provides middle school-aged girls a greater understanding of STEM-career fields through interactive programming and presentations by women in the field of engineering throughout spring semester.

Studies have found that girls tend to lose confidence in math and science and lose interest in STEM fields in early adolescence. The award-winning program has been built to show girls in this age group that there are options for them along with people just like them who have made a career out of their interest in engineering and technology.

Throughout the five years of this program, more than 2,500 girls have taken part in this series from 32 school districts across northern Ohio, along with more than 30 companies, 10 student organizations and individuals from multiple professional leadership groups throughout Toledo and the northwest Ohio Area.

The Engineer for a Day Program, back after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-related delays, allows high school students throughout the area to see both the educational and professional side of various engineering disciplines.

Through lab demonstrations, presentations and a facility tour of the UToledo College of Engineering, roughly 180 high schoolers will see what the many faculty and staff within the college do on a daily basis to elevate the profession. Students also will take part in an afternoon job shadowing program that brings students into the workplaces of engineering firms throughout the area.