EIT
By founding a 35-member school club in Türkiye, a Girls Go STEM Student Ambassador has inspired a new generation of girls in her community to consider STEM careers.
Ceren Cannazik has been drawn to science since childhood. Her aunt, a biologist, used to explain how cells work and how life is formed. She found a second passion in engineering during middle school, when she joined her school's robotics team and began developing tech-for-good solutions, such as mini kits to help children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds find joy in small engineering challenges. Still, despite being invested in STEM from an early age, she felt uncertain about what her academic or career path would look like.
That changed when she applied for the Girls Go STEM Ambassador programme.
Girls Go STEM is an EU-funded programme with the mission of closing the gender gap in STEM across Europe by training girls aged 14 to 19 in digital, green and entrepreneurial STEM skills, reaching more than 37 countries. Through its Ambassador Programme, Girls Go STEM participants like Ceren can become multipliers, extending that mission into their own schools and communities.
Ceren applied to become a Student Ambassador for the 2025/26 cohort after researching the disadvantages women face in STEM fields. She hoped the programme would help her build her own confidence while also helping other girls in her community do the same. Girls Go STEM mentoring sessions helped her realise she was not the only girl unsure of her future path. A specific session with a biomedical engineer revealed how her two interests, biology and engineering, could come together, piquing her interest in a biomedical engineering career.
Those moments gave Ceren the confidence to build something for other girls, leading her to found Çiçekli Girls Go STEM. It first started with a presentation she put together at a café with a friend that was then pitched to her teachers and school principal. Now the club has 35 members who take part in mentoring seminars with women engineers and hands on projects spanning topics such as artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship.
I love taking advice and reaching out personally to my own role models. But when I found myself giving advice and encouragement to others, I realised I could be [a role model] too. I feel honoured and happy to inspire people in my community, even if it is just a little.
Ceren Cannazik, founder of Çiçekli Girls Go STEM
Ceren has cemented herself as a role model for other Girls Go STEM members by succeeding in several STEM areas. In 2025, her robotics team '4th Dimension' received the Engineering Inspiration Award at the FIRST Robotics World Championships for multiple projects, including an accessible coding platform for neurodivergent users, a sea surface cleaning robot addressing local water pollution, and STEM kits distributed to children in earthquake affected areas. As team captain in 2026, the team received a second Engineering Inspiration award and won the prestigious FIRST Impact Award at Halic Regional. Ceren has also competed internationally in entrepreneurship and science competitions, reaching the global final of the Diamond Challenge and winning a silver medal at the British Biology Olympiad.
Girls Go STEM gave me this amazing opportunity to connect with inspiring and mind-shaping women role models and also, of course, to meet my like-minded peers from across Europe.
Ceren Cannazik, Çiçekli Girls Go STEM
Her drive has encouraged teammates and club members to enter STEM competitions and to continue the work of Çiçekli Girls Go STEM as Ceren transitions to university. There, she hopes to build on this experience by bringing together women engineers and entrepreneurs for knowledge exchange and creating another safe, encouraging space for the next community of girls and women interested in STEM.
Girls Go STEM is currently accepting applications for its next cohort of Student and Teacher Ambassadors, with applications closing on 7 September 2026.
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