Tickets are now available for this one day WES conference to celebrate National Women in Engineering Day on 23 June from HERE. Non-members can receive an early bird booking rate if they book before 30 April.

Speakers include Jenny Willott MP; Professor John Perkins, BIS; Allan Cook, Chair of Atkins, Selex ES, BIS; Meg Munn MP; Frances Saunders, President of Institute of Physics; Ruth Spellman, CEO of WEA; Dr Peter Bonfield, CEO of BRE; Dervilla Mitchell, Director at Arup; Nina Skorupska, CEO of REA; Gareth Humphreys, MBDA; Barry Brooks, President of IET; Paula Gwinnett, JCB UTC; Katie Perry, CEO of Daphne Jackson Trust; Polly Williams, The Royal Society; Dr Carol Marsh from WES; Helen Wollaston from WISE; Dr Ellie Cosgrove from ScienceGrrl; Dr Pat Morton from WISET; and Anne-Marie Imafidon from Stemettes.

Resource packs are available for anyone interested in organising an event to celebrate National Women in Engineering Day from the WES office, which include stickers for students, careers information, ideas for activities, statistics and more. Take a look at the NWED website for further ideas about how you can get involved - whether you are an educator, a company or an individual -  and a list of events that are already being planned. 

If you have a qualification in engineering then your help is required to complete a survey on Women in Engineering - Are you In or Out? 

Complete the Survey Here.

Engineering is at the heart of the UK's economic future and the UK is currently acknowledged as a world leader in several key sectors. To maintain this leadership requires an ongoing pipeline of talent drawn from all parts of society. Women engineers and related STEM professionals who have left the sector, but who could return, have a key role to play. This survey is focused on obtaining a picture of this talent pool. We are keen to understand more about the employment situation of women who have obtained an engineering or related STEM qualification (science, technology, engineering and maths) and how the industry can attract these women back into the workforce, if they have left for any reason. This questionnaire can be completed by any woman with a STEM qualification in engineering, applied science, IT or maths whether you are still in the industry or have left it.

Please forward to any of your colleagues who are eligible to complete this survey. 

Initial results from the questionnaire will be available in June 2014 on the websites of our partners listed below and the final report will be published in the Autumn of 2014. 

• www.wes.org.uk
• www.womeninmanufacturing.co.uk
• www.talentretention.biz
• www.prospect.org.uk

Participants can register to receive survey results. By registering your details you will be entered into a competition to win a £50 M&S Voucher. Full data protection criteria apply.

Replies received before 31 May 2014 will be incorporated into the preliminary dissemination of results on 30 June but the survey will remain open until a closing deadline of 30 September 2014.

Engineering Inspiration - the sixth annual WES Student Conference takes place again this November at Aston University in the heart of Birmingham.

The residential conference on Friday 14 & Saturday 15 November brings together over 150 students and engineers to celebrate a shared passion in engineering and technology and to open students' eyes to career possibilities.

With prominent speakers from a range of industries, Engineering Inspiration aims to offer a stimulating and supportive environment where students coming towards the end of their study at degree and HND level can prepare for their new careers, gain confidence and form ideas for next steps.

The programme is shaping up to provide talks and panel discussions focussing on key areas of engineering in the UK - Energy Storage - Advanced Materials - Satellite Technology - Synthetic Biology & Engineering - Robotics & Autonomous Systems - Regenerative Medicine & Engineering - Manufacturing - Infrastructure Projects.

A strand of workshops also features, to help students gain career confidence by developing relevant communication skills, finding links to support organisations and establishing an effective career portfolio.

"Really positive. I felt like I was submerged in an environment of positive thinking, I came away from the event feeling more confident about my future."

This prestigious award honours the very best early career female engineers working in the UK today, highlighting the achievements of women in engineering and encouraging others to enter the profession. A prize of £2,500 plus the opportunity to become an IET ambassador and attend, network and represent female engineers at many events.

For more information click here

This is awarded to a young female engineer who is able to engage and inspire young people's involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). A prize of £750 plus the opportunity to become a WES ambassador and attend, network and represent female engineers at many events. For more details click here

The University of Bath is launching a new MSc in Modern Building Design starting in October as part of the HEFCE Postgraduate Support Scheme

One of the objectives of the HEFCE scheme is to encourage participation by
women in subjects where they are under-represented and therefore we want to
ensure we promote the new programme through Women in Engineering channels.

A maximum of 30 places are available. All students will be eligible for a
Fee Waiver covering the £8500 tuition fees. Students with UK Fee Status will
be eligible for £4500 placement bursary. Up to a maximum of
15 students with UK Fee Status and who meet widening participation criteria,
including Women in Engineering, will be eligible for an additional enhanced
bursary of £6000

Loughborough and Heriot-Watt Universities are advertising for 15 PhD Studentships as part of the £14M EPSRC Centre of Doctoral Training in Embedded Intelligence (EI).

EI is a multidisciplinary topic that covers manufacturing solutions, intelligent software, sensors, communications, design and packaging amongst others, and is predicted to be a 1.5 Trillion dollar industry by 2015. 

Starting mid-September 2014, each PhD will have industrial sponsorship ensuring the topics have real world applicability.  Enhanced stipends ~17k GBP per year tax free (equivalent to approx 24k GBP salary) make this training scheme very appealing. 

 The cohort of students will receive additional management and business skills training via the 'Transition Zone', an Institute of Leadership and Management validated programme, with gender and equality high in the training agenda. Specific coaching for female students will be provided, and a support network will be available to minimise 'pipeline leakage' for females in engineering, as they progress through their studies, and onto full employment.

Deadline for applications: 31st July 2014

More information and link to 'Applications' can be found here: 

The IET Women's Network is an initiative, set up in order to engage with under-represented groups within engineering and technology and support them throughout their career.

Tuesday 3 June 2014, breakfast reception from 8am, launch event from 8.30am,followed by networking. 

Conference Room, The Royal Society.

This event presents the results of research commissioned by the Royal Society, establishing the business case for diversity in the scientific workforce.

The event will begin with a breakfast reception from 8am - 8:30am, with the launch event running from 8:30am - 9:30. The event will end with refreshments and an opportunity to network from 9:30am - 10am.   

Please note that places are limited.

Follow this link for more information on the event, and to register your attendance.

WES has recently stepped up its output and corresponding workload and we now need to engage some volunteers to help us deliver our programmes. If you or your company can offer support in this respect, or if you know of any company CSR schemes that help charities such as ours by providing volunteers, please let us know. We have a huge range of opportunities. 

Specifically we need engineers who would be willing to deliver our Magnificent Women activity to schools (in all parts of the UK); we need cluster co-ordinators to bring together our activities locally; we need event helpers for the Women in Engineering conference and other events; we need help with the PR around National Women in Engineering Day; and crucially we need somebody to manage our volunteers. 

We also have a stand at the RAF Military Air Tattoo in Fairford on 10th, 11th and 12th July 2014 and we need volunteers for the stand where we will be running the Stixx activity.

Please contact Dawn Bonfield for further details

23rd June 6.30-9.00pm at the IET Teacher'r Building, 14 Enoch Square, Glasgow, G1 4DB

Scottish Circle of WES and Equare Scotland are hosting a joint evening evet in Glasgow to celebrate NWED.

To register click here

Speakers so far are

• Sue Cresswell, Atkins Global
• Professor Liz Tanner, University of Glasgow
• Fiona Rankin, Student, University of Strathclyde 

WISE are proud to announce that applications are now welcomed for the Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship 2014. Launched last year by Zara Phillips, the scholarship is open to young women who are starting an engineering degree course or apprenticeship in the UK this year. Due to overwhelming demand, we are also delighted to report that this year two scholarships will be awarded, giving an extra boost to a further female student embarking on the first steps of their engineering career.

The scholarship is a fantastic opportunity for girls. Each winner will receive £1000 per year for three years of their studies, the offer of a mentor from Jaguar Land Rover and a mentor from WISE, and the offer of a summer placement at Jaguar Land Rover.

Last year's scholarship recipient, Harriet Vickers, currently studying general engineering at Durham University, has already benefitted from her win and has also been active in her role as an ambassador and role model, inspiring other girls with her passion for the subject. Harriet said, at the WISE Student Colloquium: "People think engineering is 'blokey' because they don't understand what engineering is. It's not about proving yourself, but showing that it is possible. Stereotypes and preconceptions, you have to show they aren't true." She went on to comment: "My course is 10% girls, so I'm sat in a lecture hall of 160 with 16 girls there, but you don't let that put you off going for a career in engineering because that makes no difference to what you want to do. Don't let anything put you off, stereotypes or anything."

According to a report1 published by Engineering UK, Britain needs to double the number of engineering graduates and triple the number of engineering apprentices by 2020 to meet industry needs. At present2, just fourteen per cent of engineering and technology undergraduates are female, and nearly 50% don't go onto a career in STEM, a problem that Jaguar Land Rover and WISE are determined to address, and this scholarship is intended to support this aim.

Applications are invited until 1 August 2014 and shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview on September 2 2014.

To read more about the scholarship and download the application papers, visit the website For further information, contact Sarah Shaw, Communications Director or phone 07545 208530.

The BBBAwards will uncover inspirational role models; ambassadors who represent the very best talent in organisations across various sectors in the British economy. These Awards recognise both black men and women, both rising stars and leaders and will:

Demonstrate the value that black individuals contribute to organisations operating in the UK and will inspire a new generation of young aspiring business people

• Transcend stereotypes and highlight diverse business talent
• Highlight the often unsung contributions of black people to the British economy

Categories encompass many sectors, including STEM - a leader and a rising star will be awarded within each category.