Engineering doesn’t benefit humanity. There are no women in engineering. These common misconceptions and more propelled UB undergraduates Katie Czerniejewski, Julie Fetzer and Dana Voll to launch the university’s first engineering summer camp for high school girls.

The camp, called Tinker, is happening this week at UB. It includes presentations from faculty, hands-on learning activities and tours of local industry, such as Praxair, Greatbatch and Moog Inc.

The idea behind Tinker, according to Czerniejewski, Fetzer and Voll, is to provide an opportunity for high school girls to explore STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, in which women are underrepresented.

The seed for Tinker was planted in late 2013 when Czerniejewski, Fetzer and Voll met with Liesl Folks, dean of UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, to discuss stereotypes that prevent women from studying STEM fields.

The students solidified their ideas in a report called “Perception of University Recruitment Strategies by Females Students in STEM” that ultimately won “Best Paper” at the 2014 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Integrated STEM Education Conference at Princeton University.

The camp, Fetzer says, is a way to turn those ideas in action.