Spain’s first female astronaut lands in Cartagena to inspire professional vocations

Sara García Alonso participates on Monday 8th April in Cartagena, alongside other leading national engineers, in ‘WomIn, the Women’s Forum in Engineering 2024′.

The first edition could not start with more strength. “WomIn, the Women’s Forum in Engineering 2024″, which will be held in Cartagena on April 8 with the firm purpose of inspiring professional vocations among the youngest students, will feature engineers of recognised prestige at national and international level.

Within the framework of the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT), the meeting is born with the aim of valuing the role of women in engineering, promoting the access of young women to STEM careers (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and highlighting the importance of female talent in industry and social development. 

Alongside Sara García Alonso, the first Spanish female Reserve Astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA), the students will have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of female role models such as Beatriz Miguel, the first female rector of a polytechnic university in Spain, the one in Cartagena; Anabel Díaz, General Manager of Uber for Europe, Middle East and Africa; Consuelo Lázaro, SAES Director of Operations; Noelia Ortega, Director of the Naval and Sea Technology Centre; and Cristina Abad, Director of Navantia Systems.

The event, which will take place in the Isaac Peral Room of the CIM building from 10 am with the sea as a backdrop, will allow free entry for school and university students until full capacity is reached.

This is an initiative of the UPCT in collaboration with the companies SAES, which this year celebrates its 35th anniversary, and Hidrogea, as well as the Naval and Sea Technology Centre.

The event will be hosted by journalist Azucena Marín and will feature Eva Franco, Director of Communication, Sustainability and Social Action at Hidrogea, to moderate one of the round tables. In addition, the audience will be able to ask questions and interact with each of the participants 

Great role models for the younger generations 

It was in 1929 when a woman received the title of industrial engineer for the first time in Spain. Today, 58 percent of people graduating from Spanish universities are women. But only 29 percent of young people enrolled in engineering degrees are women.

“WomIn, the Women’s Forum in Engineering 2024”, which is born with the vocation to become a national benchmark, aspires to increase these figures in the future to match those of other university disciplines.

It will do so with the help of Sara García, Beatriz Miguel, Anabel Díaz, Consuelo Lázaro, Noelia Ortega, Cristina Abad, as well as Eva Franco and Azucena Marín. Women, all of them, who have broken into predominantly male sectors becoming, without a doubt, great examples to be followed by the younger generations.