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Women's Engineering Society eNewsletter
 
April 2009
Greetings!
 
We had a great response to our new e-newsletter, we hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to share this information wider than WES with colleagues or friends you think may be interested. They will be able to subscribe to the eNewsletter from the website soon too.
March was busy with National Engineering and Science Week and International Women's Day.Do share your stories with us and join in on the WES twitter.
This month we bring news of more developments for conference and details of the student congress, our planned workwear campaign and more award winning and inspiring women engineers. Do enjoy reading it.
 
from the WES eNews team
In This Issue
Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award
MentorSET
Education Programme Development
Purple Boots - work wear campaign
Finally doing what I always wanted: applied engineering
UKRC Conference
Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship
International Women's Day Event
Young Woman  Engineer of the Year Award
 
YWEOn 4 March 2009 Bijal Thakore, global client development and technical consultant at LEGO systems, won the WES Prize at the Young Woman Engineer of the Year awards.  She received an engraved trophy, a certificate and a cheque for �500.
 
Bijal obtained a placement with Rolls Royce Defence whilst at university.  She worked for AIRBUS as a composite research trainee engineer before joining LEGO Systems where she works both in London and Denmark. 
 
Bijal said, "Being recognised for this is a great honour.  I love waking up every day to solve challenges for LEGO's B2B applications team that combines solutions in engineering, technology as well a social behaviour and hence, being able to break the traditional silos in which different sectors operate."
 
The overall winner of the Young Woman Engineer of the Year 2008 title was Hanna Sykulska.  Hanna has been working at Imperial College Electrical Engineering Department for four years.  During this time she has also worked on the Phoenix NASA mission as an instrument downlink engineer.
 
MentorSET
 
MentorSET Manager, Jan West says
 
You have probably had unofficial mentors in your life:
  • an enthusiastic teacher;
  • a manager or tutor who encouraged you to aim higher; 
  • a supportive colleague/friend who provided guidance when you were unsure of how to deal with a work issue,
In the past people found their own mentor.  It is sometimes not easy to do, particularly if you are a woman working in a male dominated environment or wishing to return after a career break. 
MentorSET is a national mentoring scheme operated by WES for women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (and those wishing to return).  We match mentees with mentors using the mentee's own requirments- career progression, gaining a particular skill etc.  MentorSET has helped many hundreds of women in the last 6 years.
 
To find out if MentorSET is for you or to be inspired, read the case studies on the MentorSET website.  The scheme is free to WES members and affiliated organisaitons and always welcomes new mentors and mentees.

 
Education Programme Development - can you help?
 
The WES education programme is growing. 
  • Kate Viscardi is calling for WES members to take part in interviewing engineering and technology professors and heads of departments. Contact the office for a briefing pack if you can spare an hour or two to help. 
  • Carol Marsh, Chair of the Doris Gray Fund and WES Industry Education Liaison lead, is looking for sponsors for student bursaries, speakers and companies to inspire women students to continue to work in technology roles beyond their degree for the Doris Gray Student Congress on 14-15 November.
Purple Work Boots Campaign
 
Responding to discussions on Daphnet for safety clothing in women's sizing and especially boots available as small as size 1, we have a sub group exploring a UK led version of the Australian Purple Boots Brigade Campaign. Run in affiliation with a breast cancer charity the Purple Boots are manufactured by Steel Blue and only distributed in Australia and Tasmania.
 Dawn Fitt, past WES president,  has agreement in principle from Breakthrough Breast Cancer and growing interest from different sectors to support the campaign for better provision of safety clothing for women and greater awareness of breast cancer.

We need to gauge demand for the boots from individuals and companies. Join us on Twitter http://twitter.com/WES1919 or send us your commitment to bringing Purple Boots to the UK and

  • demonstrate your and your company's commitment to diversity in the workplace by supporting this key campaign.
  • actively support Breakthrough Breast Cancer
WES supports Breakthrough Breast Cancer which campaigns for improvements in breast cancer services, treatments and research across the UK and also spreads the message that breast cancer does not discriminate against age, race or even gender and that early detection saves lives

The funds raised from the Purple Boot campaign will assist in funding the Breakthrough Breast Cancer education and awareness initiatives.
The Women's Engineering Society will not profit financially from this campaign.  
Finally doing what I always wanted: applied engineering
 
WES member Hind Saidani-Scott declared that engineering education and engineering prospects in Britain are amongst the best in Europe in a recent interview for science careers at science mag.
 
She always wanted to be an engineer since the age of 12, hoping to repair her grandmother's television which she was spending too much money on and not having it in good working order.  But when she got my Baccalaureat, engineering was new in Algeria and laboratories were not available.  It was then that she chose to study physics.  After her degree, she got a scholarship to study in France and decided to go to an engineering school to fulfil her dream.  Unfortunately, during her stay there, she was confronted with gender and racial discrimination and lost all enthusiasm or love for engineering or research.
 
"It was not until I came to the UK" she says, " and worked with an exceptional supervisor (Mr Brian Day), that I rediscovered again what engineering was about."
With time and experience, I can say that engineering education and engineering prospects in  Britain are amongst the best in Europe as they are still based on apprenticeship and learning from experience.For full article click here
Tomorrow's women - tomorrows world report on the UKRC Conference
 
'Tomorrow's Women, Tomorrow's World' was the theme for this years UKRC conference and there was a call for action to increase the participation of women in science, engineering and technology at all levels from its 18.7% base today.
Margaret Ajibode, Industry Liaison Officer of WES attended the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Annual conference held in London on the 12 March and reports back here for you.
The conference was opened by Lord Drayson, the Minister for Science and Innovation, who spoke about his passion for science and his support for the UKRC. The national launch of 'She's an Astronomer',  as part of International Year of Astronomy 2009 was also held at the conference. WES member and published author, Lucy Rogers has been a UKRC blogger this year as part of their contribution to this.
An impressive array of companies were presented with the prestigious UKRC CEO Charter which commtis an organisaitons to building workplaces that value and reward women engineers and scientists. WES is delighted to see some of its exisitng comapny members, including ngrid and IoP sign up and is encouraging other employers to do the same. 
The event was a sell out and a lviely networking session at the end of the day enabled WES members to connect and meet women and men from a diverse range of sectors and roles. 
Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship 
 

Margaret Ajibode

Margaret Ajibode, WES member has been awarded the Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship 2009 to carry out research on businesses in the USA, Australia and India who have been successful in recruiting and retaining women in engineering and technology professions.
International Women's Day event with IET and BCS - 'skies unlimited for technical women'
 
 
As part of International Women's Day celebrations, WES worked with Margaret Ross of the British Computer Society Hampshire Branch to hold a joint event on 9 March between WES, IET and BCS.
WES President, Jan Peters gave an overivew of women in engineering and technology initiatives and Virginia Hodge FIET, FBCS of NATS spoke engagingly about enterprise architecture. Virginia  opened everyone's eyes to the challenges of keeping a critical 24/7 operation such as air traffic control operational with no compromise to saftey whilst compeltely modernising the infrastructure. We all left  a little wiser.
This event is just the kind of event that WES wishes to see more of, working across different professional societies, ensuring that techncial women speakers are featured in regional programmes as well as bringing events to the regions that help women manage their careers more effectively.
If you wish to organise an event contact the WES office and we can help to publicise it.
And finally....
If you have any articles you would like to have featured please contact the WES office  by clicking here.
We'd love to hear your stories of your schools outreach activities or ideas to inpsire young people that we can share across our community.
 
Don't forget to forward on our e-newsletter to your friends and contacts, male and female and help to inpsire more young women to consider engineering and technology as a career.
 
With good wishes
 
the e-News team. 
WES 2009
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
WES90logo.jpeg
THE POWER OF CHANGE
 Inspiring the next 90 years 
Surrey University, Guildford
11-13th  September 2009
 
BULLETIN
Company Members Session announced for Friday 11 Sept to bring together WES company members with internal company networks. Make sure your company/employer is represented.
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Quick Links
House of Commons Innovation, Science and Skills Committee
Engineering: turning skills into reality

 
A "passion" for space travel.  Interview on BBC News 24 Click Programme
 
Anousheh Ansari made headlines in 2006 when she paid $20m (�14m) to become the world's first female space tourist. She is an engineer and CEO of a company in Texas

 


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Dates For Your Diary

 
16 April - BCSWomen Undergraduate Lovelace Colloquium, a one day event for women students of computing - Leeds University.  Further info on
 
24-25 April - NEC, Brimingham National Engineering & Construction Recruitment (NECR) Exhibition - supported by WES 
 
3 - 7 June - Cheltenham Science Festival
 
16-18 June - National Electronics Week, Earls Court
 
30 June  - 4 July - The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2009 

10 September - WES panel and networking event, British Science Festival, Guildford

 
11-12 September - WES Annual Conference, Guildford
 
14-15  November - Doris Gray Student Congress, Edinburgh
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