Greetings!
Welcome to this months newsletter.
It has been a busy month for WES members, see what the WES Central Cluster has been up to and WES member Rebecca Ward and her research. If you are doing something you would like to share with the WES Community let us know by contacting the WES Office.
Don't forget to put the 7th October in your diary for the WES event 'Getting there'
The next WES Council meeting is on the 11th June 2011, if you would like to become more involved in WES, come along as an observer to see what goes on and be inspired to take part. If you would like to attend please contact the WES office.
The WES e-news team
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Radical reforms for parental leave and flexible working proposed
The Government has launched a consultation on plans to introduce a new system of flexible parental leave from 2015 as part of its plans to create a modern workplace for the modern economy.
Current regulations are too rigid, reflect outdated notions of parenting and family responsibilities and restrict employers. Ministers want to help parents and business by giving them much greater choice and flexibility.
Under the proposals, once the early weeks of maternity and paternity leave have ended, parents will be able to share the overall leave allowance between them. Unlike the current system this leave could be taken in a number of different blocks and both parents could take leave at the same time.
The Modern Workplaces' consultation also includes plans to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees and measures to promote equal pay.
The consultation is available here and we encourage you all to respond:
To read the Home Secretary's speech she made at the launch of the consultation, please follow this link |
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Pylon Design Competition
Architects, designers and engineers are to be challenged to rethink one of the most crucial but controversial features of modern Britain: the electricity pylon.
A new competition has been launched on 23 May, run by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and National Grid calling for designs for a new generation of pylon.
There are more than 88,000 pylons in the UK, including 22,000 on National Grid's main transmission network in England and Wales. These stand some 50 metres high, weigh around 30 tonnes and carry up to 400,000 volts of electricity over thousands of kilometres of some of the most exposed, weather-beaten parts of Britain. But the familiar steel lattice tower has barely changed since the 1920s.
As well as exploring the design of the pylon itself, the competition aims to explore the relationship between energy infrastructure and the environment within which it needs to be located. The challenge is to design a pylon that has the potential to deliver for future generations, whilst balancing the needs of local communities and preserving the beauty of the countryside.
The competition closes on 12 July, with shortlisted candidates notified at the end of July. The shortlist will then have the opportunity to work with National Grid before submitting their final designs at the beginning of September. The designs will be open for the public to view and comment on via the competition website and also at an exhibition to be held at the V&A as part of London Design Festival (17-25 September). The judging panel will meet in October to choose an overall winner.
For more information and registration visit the website | |
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| University of Cambridge Research Project needs your help. | |
The Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, is looking at how women make decisions to have children. While a lot of research has looked at women coming back to the workplace after having children, researcher Irenee Daly is focusing on what is important for women before they make the decision to start a family
The Women's Engineering Society, has consented to distribute this survey on behalf of researchers at the University of Cambridge.
While the questionnaire is primarily designed for women who do not have children-any woman between (18-50 years) can fill it in. At the end of the
survey you will be able to pick from one of four women's charities to whom a
donation will be made on your behalf. It takes 12 minutes to complete-Details
are below:
When will you have kids?
Whether or not a woman wants to have children, changes over the course of her
life. This questionnaire is designed to model how and when these changes
occur. We hope to be able to establish what women of different ages think is
a good time of life to have children. This questionnaire also looks at how
much women know about reproduction, given that it is an always-growing area
of science.
The questionnaire will take 12 minutes to complete. You will also be given further information on the issues raised in the survey. Further instructions/information and contact details will be given once you clink on
the link
Thank you for your time, and please pass this on to as many people as you can, mothers, sisters, colleagues, girlfriends, cousins, classmates, colleagues, friends-around the world. |
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WES Central Cluster Visit
Coventry Transport Museum
15th January 2011 |
Following on from their successful first get-together last year, a small group from the Central cluster braved the cold during January for a trip to the Coventry Transport Museum. Once a key city in the development of the motor industry, the museum houses a huge and interesting collection of bicycles, motor bikes and vehicles, including classic cars, Formula 1 entrants and the world land speed record-breaking Thrusts 2 and SSC. Several of the group enjoyed a trip on the ThrustSSC simulator, experiencing what it was like to reach 763mph (and stop again!), before having a tasty lunch in the café.
A trip on the Great Central Railway, including a pub lunch, is being planned for May. If anyone from the Central cluster (Leics, Notts, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire) would like to come and has not been receiving emails from the cluster representative, Vicki, or anyone else from nearby clusters would like to attend, please contact the WES office who will put you in touch.
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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. |
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Getting there?
| | Connecting technical women in road and rail research, design and implementation
Friday 7th October 2011
The IET, 2 Savoy place
Call for papers and expressions of interest
WES has a history of topical and relevant events to connect and inspire women working in engineering, technology and allied sciences stretching back to 1919 when we were first founded.
This year's theme is road and rail transportation. The event will feature submitted and invited papers and career development in leadership.
Expressions of interest and a call for papers is now open. Abstracts of 200 words should be submitted to the event organiser with 'Getting there', 'abstract' and the authors name in the subject line.
The event is kindly supported by the IET |
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Quick Links
Women and Manual Trades are offering free construction taster courses in Camden for 16-18 year olds. The one week introductory course will include CITB best practice, bricklaying, concreting and carpentry. Candidates successfully completeing the course will be offered a position on a Construction Apprenticeship starting in August. Residents of the London Borough of Camden will be prioritised. To register please contact CJ at the Kings Cross Construction Skills Centre on 0207 9741 599. Deadline for applications is 10th June 2011
WAMT's Construction Diversity Expo at Londons's Guildhall on 12th September 2011
More info
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Related Topics
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| Daphne Jackson Fellowhip Research by WES Member |
 A research project is under way to investigate the energy use of the buildings and the associated carbon emissions at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The project is being carried out under a Daphne Jackson Fellowship, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and hosted by Cambridge University, where it is part of the Energy Efficient Cities initiative. The idea behind the project is to understand the energy use across the site and whether energy and hence carbon emissions savings can be made by more efficient use of resources, retrofitting energy saving measures or appropriate use of renewable technology always bearing in mind the unique heritage of the site. The Fellow, Rebecca Ward, worked previously for Atkins before taking a career break to raise a family, and she is excited about the challenges of the project.
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| Return, Change, Re-connect to a Career in STEM - an AWISE event. |
Tuesday 14th June, 20:00-22:00 Reception Rooms, Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, CB3 0BU
Looking to return to work in STEM? Need advice or inspiration to change career? Looking for new career opportunities within STEM? Then why not come along to this Cambridge AWiSE career evening and networking event. We are delighted to welcome Katie Perry Chief Executive of the Daphne Jackson Trust who will discuss the work of the Trust and how it helps women return to careers in STEM. We shall be joined by Daphne Jackson fellows past and present to share their experiences and hear from other women who have switched careers or returned following a career break.
To register online please follow the link. Or send an email
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Engineering UK paper on International
Gender Research |
Engineering UK have published a report investigating why the UK has the lowest proportion of female engineers in the EU and makes three key recommendations which it believes if enacted will help,
over time, redress the STEM gender imbalance within the UK. This research stemmed from earlier findings related to women in engineering that were reported in our Engineering UK 2011 the state of
engineering report.
To read the report click here |
| Public Database of Technician Qualifications and Programmes Available | |
To assist potential applicants, the Engineering Council has developed a public database of approved qualifications and programmes which contribute to professional registration as Engineering Technician (EngTech) or ICT Technician (ICTTech).
The database, found on the Engineering Council's website, can be used to search for apprenticeships, other employer schemes, NVQs/SVQs or vocational qualifications. Providers and employers who are aligned with particular qualifications and schemes can also be identified. In addition, most records contain a link to further detail in the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications, or to the SQA Subject and Qualification finder website.
Users can be fully confident in the quality of qualifications and schemes found on the database, as each one listed will have been through a rigorous approval process by one or more of the 32 professional engineering institutions that arelicensed to do so by the Engineering Council.
The database can be found by clicking here |
| Women Engineers: A National Study of Attrition and Persistence |
An interesting and very helpful report on women in engineering in the USA about the recruitment and retention of women with engineering qualifications in engineering careers. The report looks at the challenges women in engineering face in their careers.
To read the report click here |
| WES would like to thank all of its sponsors and supporters
and in particular, the IET, Transport for London, National Grid and Arup
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If you would like to sponsor our newsletter please click here for more information |
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