On September 19, the match ball for the PSV Women vs. FC Twente Women game made its way onto the field in a special way. Not in the hands of the referee, but carried by a robot—a robot that six girls designed and built entirely on their own.
Behind the robot are six girls: Libi, Ella, Tessel, Marjolein, Alma, and Julia. They usually participate in various FIRST Robotics programs, both in the Netherlands and abroad. For this competition, they programmed, built, and tested the robot entirely on their own. This showed all the supporters what’s possible when girls are given the space to build and create.
“We sometimes hear that technology isn’t ‘for girls,’” says Marjolein van den Hurk (20). “But we program, build, and solve all kinds of problems. Hopefully, there will be a girl in the audience who thinks: I want to do that, too.”
With Fe+male Tech Heroes, PSV and its partners aim to get more girls excited about technology. This is desperately needed: there are tens of thousands of open positions in the tech sector, while only about 8% of technical roles are filled by women. By exposing girls to technology at a young age and highlighting role models, we show that technology offers a logical and attractive path to the future.
With this robot, Libi, Ella, Tessel, Marjolein, Alma, and Julia not only brought the match ball onto the field but also delivered a message: technology is for everyone. And who knows—the next generation of creators might have already been in the stands that day.