Interdisciplinarity as an Entry Point into Computer Science: Women’s Pathways, Identity, and Belonging in Hybrid Higher Education

The study examines how academic interdisciplinarity influences women’s engagement with STEM, building on literature showing that integrating Humanities and Social Sciences enhances critical thinking, ethical awareness, and inclusiveness in techno-scientific education. While prior research has mainly focused on institutional and pedagogical outcomes, less is known about women’s lived experiences of hybrid pathways: using qualitative Thematic Analysis of interviews with nine female students enrolled in hybrid STEM programs, the findings indicate that interdisciplinarity operates as a relational process, shaping women’s trajectories, perceptions of belonging, and persistence in STEM, as well as their engagement in competitive environments like Informatics Olympiads. In fact, integrated pathways make these domains more accessible, enabling the construction of new hybrid identities, and providing resources for navigating gendered environments - including highly competitive settings such as IT contests - although their effectiveness depends on institutional recognition.