As highlighted in the report, science is one of the core enablers of achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs): “The future is now; science for achieving sustainable development.”
It has an irreplaceable role in ending hunger, tackling climate change, reducing inequality, and accelerating progress across the 17 SDGs. But, unfortunately, the scarcity of the girl child in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has long existed for reasons such as in my case or others.

Having programs such as  Shaking up TECH is essential in attracting girls who may have the potential to pursue STEM but may be reluctant for fear of soloing or competing among boys or others. A little inspiration, encouragement, support, role modelling, and other inclusiveness can sometimes break the stereotypes in gander-career gaps. 

As a girl, I understood that science and sporty activities were only for boys. I wished to read accounting before my high school days with preconceived notions of “the bank has the easy task of money counting and bonuses.” I got enticed into science during high school in 1997 when the preferred school opted to place me in another class. No, I said to them I would not study that course. Eventually, my preferred school was changed, and as nature would have it planned, the new school’s headmaster then suggested placing me in the science class. She has “good enough grades” to pursue science,” he said. There was an ongoing national campaign to encourage more girls to study science orchestrated by the first lady in Ghana.

Luckily, in the current industrial era, “Industry 4.0”, artificial intelligence(AI), robotics, simulations, internet of things (IoT), and additive manufacturing (AM) are important levers in easing or omitting the conventional difficulties and barriers of potential science lovers. AM, for example, offers a simplified and integrated digital thread to engineer intricate designs that provide benefits similar to natural geometrical shapes, a possibility that has never existed in conventional manufacturing methods. Moreover, the capabilities of AM can be extended from everyday consumer goods like toys to high end-applications like human body implants.

Interestingly, there are different categories and several aspects of AM, such as design, materials, machine systems, software, training, education, etc., that require extensive and continuous research to bring it to the necessary academic understanding and industrial uptake. The educational sectors must introduce new subjects like AM at an early age to attract young minds to the field. Undoubtedly, AM will help achieve aspects of the 17 SDGs, particularly quality education, gender equality, responsible consumption, and production. AM enables the engineering of parts that go beyond human capacities for better resource and cost efficiency via optimized designs, customization, lead time reductions, superiority, scrap reduction, etc. Certainly, the creativeness, easiness, simplicity, and robustness, in addition to the increased part functionality offered by AM, make the process very suitable for anyone, irrespective of their gender, location, interest, etc., to design and/or manufacture products without prior experience, as a beneficiary to girl child engagement in science and technology.

I am confident to publicize that the change of course to science gave me an opportunity to contribute to students learning and the scientific, scholarly committee. I deem it a privilege to motivate young ladies to undertake science or engineering courses, including chemistry, design and manufacturing.