Lund University of Technology is pausing its Her Tech Future recruitment fair next spring. The event specifically targeted female and non-binary students.
University officials confirmed the decision this week. The pause has raised concerns about future gender balance in technical programs.
Annie Wilhelmsson, a student in the project group, said the fair made applying feel less intimidating. She chose technical physics after attending the 2019 event.
Wilhelmsson also expressed disappointment that the project group was not involved in the decision to pause the fair.
University Vice Chancellor Annika MÃ¥rtensson acknowledged the communication gap. She said dialogue is always important and they may have missed that opportunity.
While focusing on attracting women, the university may have overlooked other groups. MÃ¥rtensson admitted they concentrated heavily on female recruitment without fully considering student backgrounds.
The technical university will not completely abandon its focus on women. Instead, it will target specific programs that remain male-dominated and reach younger girls in high school.
MÃ¥rtensson noted they actually need to focus on attracting male students to some programs. Chemistry and biotechnology programs now have 60-70 percent female students.
The university plans to analyze why it has failed to reach certain young demographics. Officials want to understand which groups they have overlooked during their gender-focused recruitment efforts.
This shift represents a broader reassessment of recruitment strategies at Swedish technical universities. The initial push addressed severe gender imbalance but may have created new blind spots.
University leadership faces the challenge of balancing multiple diversity goals while maintaining educational quality.