Women and Girls in STEM 2025
Aiming for Cybersecurity Awareness
16 October 2025 | Brussels, Belgium
For the first time, the EIT Community is bringing together four flagship education initiatives in a unique two-day event in Brussels, the EIT Education and Skills Days. And Girls Go Circular is part of it with the Women and Girls in STEM session on 16 October 2025.
The EIT Education and Skills Days 2025 are the occasion to recognise five years of the Girls Go Circular’s impact in raising awareness of gender gaps in STEM and promoting inclusive digital innovation across Europe.
This year’s Women and Girls in STEM theme is Cybersecurity – and we’re spotlighting bold ideas, practical tools, and fresh thinking on ethics, privacy, and sustainability. It’s all about smart, impactful solutions and the women and girls leading the way.
Check the event agenda and register now to join us online 👉 by clicking here!
As part of this year’s event, students across Europe have been invited to team up and tackle real-world cybersecurity challenges. The most creative and impactful ideas will earn a spot on stage at the Women & Girls in STEM 2025 – live in Brussels.
Applications are now closed, but you can discover the selected teams!
Audience Choice Award:
Vote for your favourite team
Every year, Girls Go Circular organises the Student Challenge, a contest open to girls aged 14-19 across Europe. This year, students were asked to come up with a cool idea for a Cybersecurity solution, design their tool, and pitch their concept in a short video to show how it works and why it matters.
Teams from 24 different countries across Europe have been selected as national winners of this international competition, and YOU get to decide who wins the Audience Choice Award!
Vote for your top three teams until 8 October (midnight) here.
About the Challenge
Girls Go Circular alumnae were invited to come up with a cool idea for a solution that helps people stay safe online, design their tool and pitch their concept in a short video to show how it works and why it matters.
Schoolgirls had the opportunity to:
- Design a solution for a real-world challenge
- Get their idea seen across Europe
- Get the chance to meet students from 30+ countries
- Join a powerful community of young innovators
Award Criteria and Prize
Students were encouraged to think outside the box and develop a creative idea and pitch. The best teams are selected based on the creativity and relevance of their cybersecurity idea, the quality of their research and thought process, and the persuasive power of their pitch.
Their submission will be reviewed and scored by an expert jury according to the following criteria:
- Creativity and uniqueness
- Quality of reasoning
- Quality of design
- Quality of verbal and non-verbal communication
- Clear and compelling expression of the message