About
What is GetSET?
Get Science, Engineering, and Technology (GetSET) is an award-winning outreach program hosted by the Santa Clara Valley Section of the Society of Women Engineers (SCV SWE) dedicated to encouraging and motivating young women from underrepresented groups to pursue STEM careers.
This unique program introduces 25 incoming high school freshman per year to the applications of math and science in real world situations through over 50 hands-on workshops. GetSET participants apply, interview, and are selected through a competitive process. This week long program is a four-year annual commitment, and participants return each summer until they graduate.
GetSET provides an opportunity for students that are curious about STEM fields to meet women working in the industry and connect with 100 other like-minded students through hands-on activities. These workshops are planned, led, and staffed by volunteer women in the engineering community.
The summer of 2020 was our 28th year hosting this amazing program and our first time hosting it virtually.
Our Roots:
The SWE-SCV GetSET program was started in 1992 as an expansion to the Higher Education Outreach Program (HOEP) program for high school sophomore minority women (funded by NASA). The Society of Women Engineers, Santa Clara Valley Section decided to continue to build on the valuable lessons we learned so that we could reach more young women on an ongoing basis. The GetSET program scope was broadened to include high school young women from freshmen to seniors, and has been offered yearly to not only introduce, but to provide sustained exposure to science and technology. The program continues today, entirely staffed by volunteers and supported by a diverse group of corporate partners.
We are committed to ensuring that girls are aware of career opportunities available in engineering and that they are capable of being 'that Engineer'.
GetSET's Mission
The SWESCV Section's Get Science Engineering and Technology (GetSET) program showcases the creative, exciting, and essential world of engineering to high school girls primarily from underrepresented ethnic groups. The program is designed to promote gender equality and leadership within STEM and related industries by expanding the interest of women in technology and engineering at an early age.
Our Approach
The SWESCV GetSET Summer Week program consists of a variety of engineering and science workshops, events, and tours. The program is held at a local college or university, where participants are engaged in the college experience. Events are led and staffed by professional women from many different companies and communities in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay Area. Women volunteers act as role models and introduce the participants to engineering and the sciences and help to foster leadership and team participation. Once accepted, participants attend the program through all four years of high school to reinforce the message that they can be successful in STEM-related fields.
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The SWE-SCV GetSET Program provides the continuity and support that is needed to help these young women succeed.