" WES members contributed hugely to a recent conference in the South West region of England on the need for 'STEM' skills in the future 'green economy'. Future plans for the SW include massive growth in non-carbon large scale energy production such as nuclear power, off-shore wind turbines, waves and tides as well as domestic  scale solar and wind. Hind Saidani-Scott (WES Council member) spoke about the need to ensure that the growth of jobs in these areas was equally available to women as to men and the importance of encouraging girls to study  the relevant subjects through school, further education and university. WES member Jackie Longworth reminded the conference of  the Stern review's conclusions that there would not be enough school leavers to fill this need so we also need to encourage adult women to take up opportunities for career change."

Striking the Balance 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Bang 2010 was the biggest celebration of science and engineering for young people and made a lasting impression on all who visited.

Over 22,000 people attended including 15,000 children and young people and over 4,000 teachers, parents and guardians.

 

The event involved over 110 organisations from across the private, public and voluntary sectors, and reached out to schools and students across the country. The Fair represented an unprecedented partnership of the UK's science and engineering communities and demonstrated a real desire to come together to celebrate and raise the profile of young people's achievements in science and engineering

 

To read more about the event click here.

 

The 2010 Very Early Career Award, presented by the Women in Physics Group of the Institute of Physics (IOP), was for the first time awarded jointly to two young women physicists on 5th May, for their outstanding achievements in physics research and their inspiring enthusiasm for disseminating a love of physics through a variety of outreach activities.

 

Laura Harkness, of the University of Liverpool and originally from Belfast, and Laura Russell, of University College Cork, Ireland, were nominated joint winners in a year which saw a particularly high level of achievement among the short listed candidates.

 

Dr Carol Thompson, chair of the IOP's Women in Physics Group, said: "This event is the highlight of the year for the Women in Physics Group. Many thanks must go to Shell for their continued sponsorship of the award, to all the young women who applied and to their supporters. The talent and enthusiasm of the "Lauras" and the runners up cannot fail to be inspiring to women, and even men, of all ages. We will be seeing more of them!"

 

For more information and interviews with the winners click here

 

 

For more info 

 

 

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.

 

 

Cambridge AWisE Career Development Day

 

Friday 18th June 2010

 

Since Cambridge AWisE formed as a network six years ago we have developed very strong links with WES. Our common objectives are to connect and inspire women in science, technology, engineering and maths, to encourage women to enter and stay in these fields and to provide opportunities for professional development. With this in mind,Cambridge AWisE would be delighted to welcome WES members to our first Cambridge AWisE Career Development Day on Friday 18th June.

 

Fitting career development specifically for women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics into our busy lives is a challenge.That's why Cambridge AWisE have got together experts for just one day of really high intensity training to help take your career to the next level.

 

The day will start with a talk by Dr. Suzanne Doyle-Morris, author of "Beyond the Boys Club". She will talk about the key strategies for success for women in STEM. This wil be followed by a panel discussion with successful women who will share what went well and what they learnt along the way while building their careers. Many of you already know Suzanne and that she is moving to Scotland. So for those of us down south, this is a great opportunity to work with her on one of her few trips down to England!

 

In the afternoon we have four workshops led by experts in their fields.

 

Understanding and Using Workplace Politics - Michelle Brailsford, Partner, Jupiter Consulting

 

Precision Thinking for Confident Outcomes - Kate Atkin, author "The Confident Manager".

 

Raise Your Game - Do You Reflect Your Worth - Carol Collins, President of the International Federation of Image Consultants

 

Using Body Language to Get Ahead at Work - Elizabeth Kunhle, author of "Body Language for Dummies".

 

And in addition to all of this, there's the fantastic opportunitiy to meet other women in STEM and make those all important connections whilst also drinking champagne in a Cambridge College

 

Early Bird Registration, before May 15th, £199. £247 after. We're offering a discounted full price for WES members of £222 and half price registration for unemployed women. Consider approaching your HR representative or Manager to see whether your company will support this incredible training opportunity. Busaries may be available for those at risk of redundancy.

 

Vitally all profits will go to helping Cambridge AWisE continue to operate as an inspiring network for women in STEM.

 

Book now by emailing Cambridge AWisE.

 

Places are limited.

 

To download a flyer please click here.

  

Speaking at the 'Decisions at 18' Careers Conference at Royal Holloway University of London today, Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of Engineering UK, highlighted the disparity in the percentage of female engineering professionals in the UK compared to other European countries. The fact that the percentage of women working as engineering professionals in Spain, Sweden and Italy, and the vast majority of other European countries, was twice that in the UK was simply not good enough he asserted and announced plans to commission a piece of research into the reasons behind the disparity.
 
Addressing the conference of teachers and careers advisors on the subject of STEM opportunities and barriers to entry, Mr Jackson announced that EngineeringUK had carried out a recent review of the data relating to women in engineering and technology and identified UKRC research that showed that only 9 per cent of UK engineering professionals are women compared to 18 per cent in Spain, 26 per cent in Sweden and 20 per cent in Italy.
 
This continuing lack of female engineers was one of three major barriers to tackling skills shortages in the UK sector, Jackson argued. Poor take up and retention rates for Further Education engineering courses as well as a ten per cent decrease in the number of 18 year olds were also causes for concern but none more so that the fact the UK ranked worst in Europe for the number of female engineering professionals.
 
Paul Jackson said: "The fact that the proportion of female engineering professionals in the UK is the lowest in Europe is shocking. It's essential we get behind these figures and understand why; what is it that our European neighbours are doing differently; what can we learn from them? Over the next twelve months, EngineeringUK will be commissioning research to understand what lies beneath this disparity and what the UK must do differently in future to address it. We need a step rather than incremental change in the number of women entering the engineering profession in the UK if we are to meet the future global technological challenges that lie ahead."