The 5th edition of RedeSTEAM launches: Redeia's competition to promote female talent in scientific and technological careers

The RedeSTEAM competition launches its fifth edition today with the opening of the registration period, available to all schools in Spain teaching the 3rd and 4th years of ESO or an equivalent FP qualification. This Redeia initiative seeks to encourage the pursuit of scientific and technological careers among girls aged 14 to 16, with the aim of reducing the persistent gender gap in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The terms and conditions for the fifth edition are now available here.

RedeSTEAM is part of the 'STEAM Alliance for Female Talent: Girls in Science' run by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, which promotes female empowerment in these subjects from the early stages of education. Since its inaugural edition, the competition has been warmly received by schools, with 679 girls from 121 schools across Spain taking part. Last year alone, participating schools represented 28 Spanish provinces.

The fifth edition of an inspiring competition

Choosing scientific and technological career paths is still uncommon among Spanish girls, which means, among other things, that female talent is often absent from essential sectors of the economy. According to data from the Women and STEAM Observatory, only 1% of female ESO students consider studying a technology degree, and barely 5% consider engineering. To improve these prospects, the RedeSTEAM initiative promotes STEAM literacy among young women, thereby breaking down the stereotypes that still surround these careers. 

The competition challenges young women to identify problems within their local communities and develop solutions to help advance towards a fairer and more sustainable world, through original and innovative technological and scientific projects that address one of the following three challenges: Affordable and Clean Energy, Digital Transformation for Social Innovation, and Climate and Balanced Ecosystems.

The teams from each school, made up of a maximum of five girls, will be responsible for developing their own projects – from identifying the problem to planning and executing the solution – incorporating at least two STEAM disciplines. The projects, which can be submitted in Spanish or a co-official language, will take the form of prototypes or models, alongside an explanatory video, photographs of the development process, and a descriptive report.

All projects will be evaluated in a preliminary phase by an independent jury comprising three women with outstanding scientific and technological backgrounds. They will judge based on five criteria: clarity in defining the problem, originality and creativity of the project, application of the STEAM curriculum, results and achievements, and the communication skills of the team members. The four best projects in each category will proceed to a second and final phase. In this phase, they will compete in each challenge for either the Jury Prize – awarded by a new panel of five Redeia experts – or the Public Prize, decided by a popular vote.

The students in the six winning teams will be rewarded with a trip to Madrid, where they will attend the awards ceremony and participate in immersive workshops designed to spark their curiosity in science and technology. The winning schools, for their part, will receive STEAM equipment and materials for their laboratories and specialist classrooms, valued at €3,000.