Germany’s largest online mentoring program for girls in STEM is celebrating 20 years of success, with the latest round starting in October this year.
The online mentoring program CyberMentor started a new mentoring round on October 20, 2025, marking their 20 year anniversary. CyberMentor has been sparking enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in girls and young women, bringing them together with dedicated and inspiring mentors from academia and industry. With the launch of the latest round in the program’s anniversary year, more than 600 mentoring partners will meet regularly online to share their enthusiasm for STEM and work together on exciting projects. The aim of the project is to spark enthusiasm for STEM among girls from an early age, to support them over the long-term and to increase the numbers of women in scientific and technical jobs as a result.
CyberMentor is the brainchild of Prof. Dr. Heidrun Stöger (University of Regensburg) and Prof. Drs. Albert Ziegler (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)), who have led the program since it was established in 2005. “20 years of CyberMentor – making our mark through 20 years of sustainable support for young talent and a commitment to equal opportunities,” underlines Prof. Dr. Stöger. “Taking part in CyberMentor boosts the girls’ self confidence and allows them to discover their enthusiasm for STEM subjects and pursue it over the long term,” adds Prof. Drs. Ziegler.
More than 11,700 mentoring partners have participated in the project since it was first launched. The impact is measurable and considerable: Follow-up surveys among past participants have revealed that 62% of the participants later entered a STEM profession or chose to study a STEM subject – twice as many as among their age group (31%) and considerably more than a control group of girls with a similar interest in STEM at the outset (44%). The former mentee Isabella, who has now started studying physics, is very enthusiastic about her experience with the program: “It is no exaggeration to say that my life would have been different without CyberMentor […] For me personally, the opportunity of having a female expert in physics on hand who believed in me and encouraged encourage to try things out was extremely beneficial.”
Thanks to the mentors volunteering and the support provided by state partners, companies and foundations, participation in the program is free of charge. In order for CyberMentor to be able to support girls like Isabella in their STEM journeys in future, the project leaders are working to secure long-term funding. Thanks to a newly set up donor page on the website, private donations can now also be accepted.
About CyberMentor
CyberMentor is Germany’s largest online academic mentoring program for encouraging girls to get into STEM. Girls and young women in grades 5 to 13 can enjoy the support of a personal mentor, a woman in STEM from either industry or academia, in a protected online platform. In addition, participants can network with up to 1,600 other mentors and mentees and work together on various STEM projects. The long-lasting impact of CyberMentor is reflected in higher than average numbers of former participants choosing to study or work in STEM subjects, as well as in numerous national and international awards, including recognition as a best practice model by the Harvard University and UNESCO. CyberMentor is implemented at the University of Regensburg and is funded by the Heinz Trox-Stiftung, the Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Science and the Arts, the Ministry of Education of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Siemens.
To CybermentorFurther information:
Kristin Frauenhoffer
PR CyberMentor
University of Regensburg
Chair of School Education
Phone: 0941 943 1776
presse@cybermentor.de