How Girls Go STEM helped Bulgarian student Maria Metodieva turn new skills into an award-winning innovation
From developing an award-winning wildfire-prediction concept to speaking at European institutions and championing opportunities for young women in science, Bulgarian student Maria Metodieva has achieved a great deal before turning 20. Girls Go STEM (previously Girls Go Circular), led by the EIT Community and coordinated by EIT RawMaterials, has played an important role in her journey.
Maria (centre) and teammates with their Best Power Pitch Award in the Energy & Environment category at the Conrad Challenge Innovation Summit
Maria Metodieva has wanted to be a scientist for as long as she can remember, driven by curiosity about how nature works and how its problems can be solved. At Bulgaria's National High School for Mathematics and Natural Sciences, she excelled in chemistry and biology, entered national olympiads and represented Bulgaria in international science competitions.
But robotics and the circular economy were not on Maria's radar until Girls Go STEM introduced her to them through its learning modules, opening up new directions for her scientific curiosity.
I learned not only the basics of robotics and circular economy but also that these fields are totally accessible to anyone, regardless of what they do for work or study. This inspired me to dive even deeper into those fields.
Maria Metodieva, Girls go STEM Alumni
In 2023, Maria took part in the programme's Robot Design Challenge, which invited teams of three girls from across Europe to develop a robot prototype addressing an environmental problem in their school or community. Together with her teammates Mila and Raya, she developed a concept and prototype and pitched their idea in a three-minute video.
Their project reached the final three at the Women and Girls in STEM Forum in Brussels, where they represented Bulgaria.
Predicting wildfires before they start
The team's choice of environmental challenge was influenced by Maria's parents, who had witnessed severe wildfires in Greece in summer 2023.
Rather than fighting fires once they start, the team wanted to explore ways to predict them before ignition. Their concept, FIXON, uses a sensor-equipped drone to assess wildfire risk and alert firefighting teams when conditions indicate a fire may be imminent.
The students produced a 3D model, developed their working concept and learned to pitch to an expert audience. The feedback they received convinced them that FIXON had potential beyond the competition.
This was the first time experts had believed in us for this project. I realised that despite being ‘just a teenage girl in the non-girl field’, I am capable of creating and expanding a solution to an actual world problem. I started believing that my voice was being heard.
Maria Metodieva, Girls go STEM Alumni
In January 2024, they entered the Conrad Challenge, the world's student competition for technological innovations for ages 13 to 18, where teams develop solutions to major scientific and societal challenges organised by the Space Centre Houston. Competing against around 2,000 teams worldwide, FIXON reached the final five in Energy and Environment, with Maria, Mila and Raya the only European finalists in their category.
Maria (centre) and teammates presenting their solution at the Women and Girls in STEM Forum in Brussels, 2023
In April 2024, Maria, then just 17, travelled with her teammates to Space Center Houston, where FIXON won the Best Power Pitch Award in the Energy & Environment category at the Conrad Challenge Innovation Summit.
That same month, just two days later, Maria also represented Girls Go STEM at the European Commission's Digital Education Action Plan review in Brussels, where she spoke about women in STEM and the ability of young people to contribute to solving real-world problems.
I talked about my hopes to make STEM fields equally accessible for everyone. Girls should feel encouraged to step into these spaces and see themselves as future scientists, engineers, or innovators.
Maria Metodieva, Girls go STEM Alumni
Creating opportunities for young talent across Europe
Since its launch in 2020, Girls Go STEM has reached more than 100,000 students and partnered with more than 2,000 schools across over 37 European countries. Its Circular Learning Space is available in more than 27 languages, with girls making up 86% of participants.
For Maria, the opportunities opened up by the programme have extended well beyond the original challenge. As a Girls Go STEM Ambassador in 2024–2025, she shared her experience at EIT Alumni CONNECT in Alicante and has continued to lend her voice to European initiatives supporting women in science and entrepreneurship. In 2025, she was named one of Bulgaria's 20 Under 20 and moderated at the Women & Girls in STEM Forum, where all had started in 2023.
More recently, she moderated the ESTEAM Supporting Women Entrepreneurs webinar series and was selected to participate in the European Institute for Gender Equality's Gender Equality Forum in November 2026.
Yet for Maria, the programme's most lasting impact has been on how she sees her own capabilities.
Girls Go STEM has mostly affected the way I view my capabilities. It made me realise that I can create my own product which can someday become a reality. Without Girls Go STEM, I probably would not be able to imagine anything close to this.
Maria Metodieva, Girls go STEM Alumni
Maria is now studying Molecular Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich, while continuing to pursue her ambition of combining scientific research with entrepreneurship. She hopes eventually to build a start-up that helps people and the environment, and to help other girls find opportunities in STEM.
Her advice to them reflects how her own journey began: “Just try. Pick any course, competition or hackathon from any STEM field and challenge yourself.”
Find out more about Girls Go STEM and how it is inspiring the next generation of women in science and technology.
