Imagine a forum where school-girls, female undergraduates, their parents, careers officers or teachers could ask questions about careers in STEM. Imagine the answers coming directly from women working in these industries or professions. Wouldn't it be useful to obtain up-to-date, direct, inside information not available elsewhere?
Roz Smith, Learning Services Manager of Connexions Leicestershire thinks so. She says "We know of no-one who has tried this before...If the quality of the service is high and process clear then we would be interested in promoting the service."
 
It will be high! The British Science Association East Midlands Region have already signed up over a dozen high-calibre women working in engineering, science, technology and, yes, even in maths! We are currently looking for women in a range of fields including dentistry, economics, genetics and medicine but anyone with technical knowledge would be welcome. We are especially keen to welcome advisors from ethnic minorities. If you would like to act as an Advisor please visit Stem Girls  and leave a message, or contact Philip Brown at the British Science Association.

 
Advisors need to provide a brief bio and if possible a photograph and a list of fields of expertise. Advisors receive questions via email which are relevant to their knowledge. They can withdraw from the scheme at any time, and if required their corporate logos can be displayed on the site in recognition of their time and effort. 
 

 

The Engineering Diploma for 14-19 year-olds will help develop future generations of skilled engineers by placing engineering at the heart of the curriculum for the first time, according to the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

For More Info    

  

MentorSET has recently recieved an application from a young quantity surveyor who is looking for a quantity surveyor mentor. If you have a knowledge of Quantity Surveying, preferably living in the South West and would like to be a mentor please contact our MentorSET Manager Jan West

 

 

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.

 

 

Employers of engineering and technology graduates are keen to recruit more women. They believe that teams made of diverse people - men and women - perform better than single sex teams. Recent research shows that when the percentage of women in the boardroom hits 30% that profits increase (McKinsey 'Women Matter 2' 2008). They don't want to give women preferential treatment, but they do want to encourage women to apply to them and to know how to present themselves to maximise their chances of success at interview.
 
The Doris Gray Student Conference for women engineering and technology students will connect women engineering and technology students from across the UK with employers for a weekend event showcasing the work of recent graduates and providing an opportunity for women students to find out more about what it's like working in engineering and technology jobs.
 
Who can attend?

The conference will be open to all women engineering students, undergraduate and postgraduate studying in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.   

 

WES Member Harriet Ashworth attended the Civil Engineers to the Rescue strand at this years WES Conference.

 

The session reminded us that we as engineers and environmentalists have a key role to play in society to deliver fully-integrated, sustainable solutions to engineering challenges.

Firstly Sally Sudworth from the Halcrow Group described how her company performs a qualitative assessment, based on recognised industry standards, of all potential projects. This comprises hundreds of questions tailored to strategy, feasibility, project appraisal and how energy use is to be minimised. Discussion of some of those questions provided a lively conclusion to her presentation.

Sian Thomas, from Thames Water, then gave us an introduction to the London Tideway Tunnels. These are the engineering solution to the problem of the capital's Victorian sewers overflowing, to the extent that up to 32 million tonnes of untreated sewage is discharged annually. From establishing the team (which includes Halcrow), to the building of the tunnels themselves and dealing with third-party infrastructure (13 local authorities plus such organisations as English Heritage); this was another fascinating presentation.

 
Kayleigh Messer

 

 

Following on from the success of this years conference discussions are already underway for next years annual conference. Volunteers are required to sit on the Conference Commitee to help plan and organise the event. If you can help please contact the WES Office.