The Bristol branch of the Girl Geek Dinners had its launch event on Monday 15th of February.Over 70 women (and some male guests) interested in engineering and technology attended the event. Our event was sponsored by the Department of Computer Science of Bristol University who hosted a wine reception for us. Jo Reid from Calvium, our keynote speaker, gave an inspiring talk about the evolution of computing and technology throughout her career. Participants could then mingle and enjoy the food and the company.

The group will have regular events around at least one speaker on a given topic, and there will also be food, drinks, and time for the women to chat. Our community gives the opportunity for technical women to meet other like-minded women, who are also passionate about their field. Men are also welcome to the events as long as they are invited by a female participant. Bristol Girl Geeks are also organising workshops in schools and colleges to show young girls our passion for engineering, and break some of the stereotypes!

The group is for women of all ages and backgrounds interested in engineering and technology. For more information about our next event, visit our website or Facebook: Bristol Girl Geek Dinners.

If you are interested in sponsoring us or want to know more about the group, please contact the organiser, Jessica Cauchard

 

WES member Philippa Spreadbury has recently become a marine engineering cadet.

 

I am a phase one marine engineering cadet at South Tyneside Marine College. At the end of my cadetship I should hopefully have an HND in marine engineering, hold an 'Officer of the watch' certificate and a STCW95 (Standard of Training Certification and Watch keeping '95). Put simply I will be an engine room officer.
 
The cadetship is broken up into five different phases; these comprise of 102 weeks of college time and 52 weeks of sea time. At college we are doing practical things like metal turning and fitting and the more academic subjects such as mechanics, electrical principals, applied heat as well as ship stability and construction.
 
Before we are allowed to work on a ship we have to go through a basic week of short courses these include 'First aid', 'personal and social responsibility', 'Basic Sea Survival' and 'Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting'. 
 
The two more practical courses are fire fighting which lasts for three days and the basic sea survival; this takes only a day to complete. The days are then split up into two parts a class room briefing and a practical afternoon. For the practical test in sea survival we had to get into a life raft under survival conditions which was good fun. The fire fighting was daunting because we had to wear thick heavy quilted clothing and full breathing apparatus (BA Kits), but the test was simple, we had to navigate a series of ladders and rooms locate a casualty and then retreat back to the weather deck with the full team plus casualty. The difficulty came with the pitch black, the heat and a soundtrack of people screaming and crying. We were a bit annoyed because we weren't actually allowed to put the fire out but then again we where only the second team in. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Being part of a local networking group is something
a lot of people over look but being part of a larger

group can benefit both you and the employer.

Support in areas that you need advice, contact with others in similar situations or just meeting other women in a still male dominated environment. With that in mind the ladies of Airbus, Broughton

organised a gathering to discus the formation of a

local networking group. I went to highlight the work of WES; I was joined by Milada Williams of WES & UKRC and Joanne O'Brien of Semta to talk about networking and the sort of things that can be achieved. Whether a lunch time get together or seminars on selected topics, however you choose to meet up, the opportunity to communicate with each others is important. So many thanks to Loraine Winstanley & Christine Milner for organising this meeting. 

WES Annual Conference 19th-20th November 2010

 

WES Doris Gray Student Conference 20th-21st November 2010

 

Both conferences are being held in Sheffield this year.  We are overlapping the two events in order to give both student and qualified engineers an opportunity to network and learn from each other. 

 

To submit a paper visit Conference website or contact the WES Office.

MentorSET is always looking for mentors which our present mentors tell us can be a very rewarding experience.  In particular this month we are looking for:
 
Environmental Engineering mentors for three early career mentees in Cambridgeshire and North Yorkshire

Mechanical engineering mentors for six mentees (early to mid career) in North East England, North West England and South East England.

Mentors required for IT professionals across the UK
 
If you are in a different field and would like to be a mentor, we would be delighted to hear from you.

To find out more, please contact Jan West or go to the MentorSET website

The Council for Science and Technology(CST), the quango tasked with advising the Prime Minister and heads of the devolved governments on sustaining and developing science, engineering, and technology, has issued a strong warning for the UK Government to "adopt a clear long term vision for support for the research base, and for deriving economic and social benefits from that investment."
More Info

We're looking for a female in the fields of engineering, science, technology
or construction for a 3-month paid position.

This new primetime factual series for Channel 4 (UK) and National Geographic
(USA) will explore an extraordinary era of industrial history and bring to
life the colossal task that was achieved in the construction of Titanic.
Using traditional Edwardian techniques, machinery and materials, the team
will rebuild or restore integral parts of the legendary vessel.  This
documentary series will look at the design, engineering, social and
industrial history of the time.

We're looking for women from any discipline that may be relevant to this
project.  Those interested can contact Marcie directly on 020 7424 7701, or by
email

You are invited to the 6th London Hopper Coloquium at BCS HQ, London on 4 May 2010.  This is 1-day event featuring a diverse group of women speaking about their research and providing networking opportunities for all career stages.

 

Keynote speakers include:

 

Sadie Creese, University of Warwick - Security in the Clounds

Samia Faruq, Queen Mary Univsersity of London - Mutant Bees: Perception of Colour in Different Natural Lighting Conditions

Clare Hooper, IBM and University of Southhampton - Understanding and Re-Providing Social Connectivity in a Pervasive World

Alice Miller, University of Glasgow - Who Says Model Checking doesn't find Real Problems?

 

The event is free but places are limited.  Further details and registration 

 

Two summer internships in topics related to Constraint Programming are avalible at the University of Dundee. These are funded by the Royal Society at the rate of a £1000 bursary per month. I am ideally looking for candidates who would like to do a PhD after their degree, as this
will be a taster session for this further study.

One of the projects would be suited to a strong C++ programmer with a good algorithms background. The second is on information
visualization, so would suit someone interested in HCI or Design. A Constraint Programming knowledge would be advantageous

You will also have the chance to attend the international Constraint Programming Conference in St Andrews.

If you are interested please email Karen Petrie to discuss.