Tackling the issues of the future will increasingly depend on the dedicated work and creativity of engineers. In addition to the general shortage of skilled workers in the engineering sector, there is a structural under-representation of women in particular, which is reflected in the choice of STEM studies by young women. In addition, the professional fields for future engineers are changing due to global change processes and steadily increasing digitalisation. In order to increase the proportion of female students, motivational projects for the study orientation are seen as a possibility to inspire young women for engineering. With a view to digital and global transformation processes, a central question is: How should a motivation project for the transition between school and university be designed under today's conditions? This paper explores this question in a theory-based manner. After presenting theoretical findings on influencing factors in study orientation, current framework conditions and requirements are worked out in a two-stage study. First, there is a systematic literature review (SLR) on the state of research in STEM study orientation. Based on this, a qualitative interview study was conducted and evaluated with 25 young women, which identifies the framework conditions for motivational projects to attract young female engineers in today's world. As a result, concrete recommendations for action are given for the design of suitable concepts. In this way, this research work contributes to increasing the efforts of universities to attract young women to study engineering and to strengthen their motivation, self-efficacy and an engineering identity.