The appeal of innovation. New trends in STEM from a gender point of view

aBStraCt innovation is necessary to face the present challenges in society (europe 2020). We know that new ideas flourish from diversity. Differences between the two genders constitute a fundamental source of diversity in society. A consequence is that society could be more innovative if both genders are equally represented and they are both able to contribute. It is more and more important that diversity of ideas in decisional processes let to develop innovation. However, She Figures 2009 reveals that women in scientific research remain a minority with a trend present all over Europe: women comprise a majority of the students and about half of the doctoral research fellows in most countries. But only a few of them reach the very top (Badaloni et al., 2008), evaporating in the leakypipe (Badaloni et al., 2010). This proposal aims to:• monitor data about the presence of women in different curricula in STEM Faculties, along time, to evaluate possible positive gradient, index of change;• analyse different curricula, mainly innovative ones more oriented to interdisciplinary domains and linked with life sciences in Engineering Faculty, comparing them with traditional academic courses;• involve women and men students of different scientific curricula in STEM areas, in order to explore, via questionnaires, their views of Science and Technology, Woman and Man Scientist and their expectations of academic careers.