- Results
- October 2025
Power Up Girls 2025 – Vaasa, Finland
The two-day Power Up Girls camp was held in Vaasa, Finland, on September 24–25, 2025. It brought together twelve enthusiastic junior high school girls aged 14–15 to explore batteries, energy technology, and related skills as well as education and career possibilities. Organized by Vamia and Merinova within the framework of the European Voltage project, the camp offered participants an opportunity to learn about batteries, electricity, the energy technology, and visit Vaasa-based companies.
Over the course of two days, the girls engaged in hands-on workshops at Vamia’s Sampo campus and took part in company visits to Hitachi Energy and Vaasan Sähkö. The program combined practical experimentation, technical discovery, and industry insights, while fostering teamwork, curiosity, and confidence.
The purpose
Women remain underrepresented in technology-related careers in Finland and beyond.
The Power Up Girls camp aimed to inspire girls by providing basic knowledge about batteries, their role in modern energy infrastructure, the energy industry, and its technology in general. It also highlighted the importance of diversity in technology and energy careers. For many participants, this was an opportunity to learn about education and career possibilities before making decisions about their future studies.
Female employees from the visited companies acted as role models, sharing their experiences and encouraging the girls to consider technical education and careers.
Participants
The camp brought together twelve interested and enthusiastic girls from grades 8 and 9 from junior high schools in Vaasa. They were accompanied by four supervisors and teachers from Vamia and Merinova.
Students from Vamia contributed to the first day by sharing their experiences in technical studies and assisting with workshops. On the second day, company representatives from Hitachi Energy and Vaasan Sähkö hosted the group and provided presentations and guided tours.
Programme Overview
Day 1 – Workshops at Vamia
- Hands-on experiments: building lemon and potato batteries, creating circuits, measuring voltage and current, programming battery-powered Sphero robots, and generating electricity with mini power stations.
- Afternoon session in the car department: for example exploring vehicle batteries and electrics, testing and measurement techniques, and examining a hybrid demonstration vehicle.
Day 2 – Company Visits
- Visit to Hitachi Energy: presentations for example on their energy storage solutions, a guided tour of the production facility, and a career talk by a female role model.
- Visit to Vaasan Sähkö: a workshop on electricity distribution, and a creative session where participants designed their own electric appliances and electricity subscription products, often with batteries involved.
Key Highlights
The camp offered a unique combination of practical experiments, industry exposure, and role model interaction. Participants learned how batteries work, explored vehicle electrics, and gained insights into energy storage and electricity distribution. They also discovered that modern technology careers are clean, innovative, and increasingly digital, breaking old stereotypes about technical work.
Feedback
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Most rated the camp as excellent, and all indicated they would gladly participate again. They appreciated the variety of activities, the friendly guidance, and the opportunity to learn new things.
The Power Up Girls camp served as a pilot for similar events in the Vaasa region. The great feedback encourages pursuing further events to introduce the possibilities of tech careers and related education to the youth.
Acknowledgements
The main organizers, Merinova and Vamia, within the Voltage Project, thank LUMA-keskus Pohjanmaa, Akkuteollisuus ry, Hitachi Energy, and Vaasan Sähkö, as well as all teachers, students, and company representatives who contributed to making this event a success.