Gender and Science Studies Competence for Students in Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Science Education. The Project “Degendering Science” at the University of Hamburg, Germany

Gender and diversity studies may attract more students, especially females, into science and engineering. Moreover, teaching the students competence in gender and diversity studies is a way to teach knowledge and skills which engineering and natural sciences students may need in their professional careers. Therefore professional training for science and engineering students should include topics such as social justice, ethics, gender equality, cultural identity, and mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. It might be a challenge for students coming from a traditional physics or engineering programme to transgress the boundaries and engage with fundamental thinking styles, methods, theories, and concepts of gender and diversity studies. Nevertheless, it will certainly be an exciting, enriching, and future-oriented challenge, as long as the curriculum and teaching methods keep the target group, their background, knowledge, special needs, and interests in mind.