Women's Engineering Society

e-newsletter October 2014

Welcome to this month's newsletter.

To keep right up to date follow WES on Twitter @wes1919

If you have any news or events that you would like to share with the WES Community please get in touch.

And don't forget if you're not already a WES member why not join a society that continues to inspire and support women in Engineering, Science and Technology. Our target is 950 new members to mark our 95th year!

Best wishes

the e-News team

WES AGM 2014

The WES 2014 AGM will be held on Saturday 29 November 2014 at 2pm at:

Institution of Engineering and Technology, 80 Cambridge Street, Birmingham, B1 2NP.

Further details of the Preliminary Notice, Proposals and nomination forms can be found on the WES website All members are very welcome to come along, and we would be grateful if you could let us know if you are planning to attend so that we can get an idea of numbers for refreshments. Please email Cath

Smarter London - How digital technologies are shaping the city

Join Peter Murray, Chairman of New London Architecture (NLA) for a curator-led tour of this fascinating new exhibition, Smarter London, that is supported by Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Every part of our city - buildings, services, transport and movement - can be recorded, designed, controlled or monitored using computer technology. The spread of new technologies and the co-ordination of this data have the potential to make cities even smarter.

So, how can smarter technologies improve the way we design and plan London? How can technology help us to make the most of existing resources and make the right decisions about where to grow to facilitate London's burgeoning population? And what influence will new data inputs have?

NLA's study, Smarter London, has been conducted by researchers from the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at UCL. The results form the basis of the current exhibition in their galleries.

The 45 minute private tour will commence at 18.15, followed by networking and canapés, kindly provided by Parsons Brinckerhoff

To register your place click here

Campaign for Science and Engineering Annual Distinguished Lecture 2014

Dr Ellen Stofan, NASA Chief Scientist

NASA's Journey to Mars

Friday 14th November, 19:00

The Science Museum IMAX, Exhibition Road, London

We would be delighted if you could join us for an evening of stimulating discussion at the Science Museum on the 14th November 2014

The NASA Chief Scientist Dr Ellen Stofan will provide an overview of the agency's plans to develop a human exploration pathway to Mars, and highlights of other NASA science programs, including a human mission to an asteroid, and opportunities for international co-operation.

Registration is from 18:30 with the lecture beginning at 19:00. After the lecture, there will be a drinks reception amongst the exhibits of the Science Museum. The event will finish at around 21.30.

To regisiter click here or email

IET Women's Network

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.

WES Jobs Page

The WES website has a page dedicated to job vacancies.

Each month we will list the latest vacancies available. For further details and how to apply please visit the website. If you have a vacancy you wish to advertise please contact the WES Office.

Teaching Fellow

Employer: University of Birmingham

Location: Birmingham

Salary: Starting salary for this post (Grade 7) is between Ł28,695 and Ł37,394 per annum (depending on qualifications and experience) with potential progression up to Ł39,685 a year once in post subject to satisfactory performance

Term: The post is a 3 year fixed term appointment.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified individuals for an exciting and challenging opportunity to undertake a leading role in developing student engagement and student support whilst contributing to the teaching activities within the School.

MTC-RAEng Chair in Modelling and Simulation of Complex Manufacturing Processes

Employer: University of Birmingham

Location: Birmingham

Salary: Competitive package for an outstanding candidate

Term: Permanent

Ranked amongst the world's top 100 institutions, the University of Birmingham is an elite institution that offers an inspirational research and learning environment. The University's strategic plan is designed to establish it firmly as one of the leading global universities by capitalising on its academic range and financial strength. You will be joining a University with one of the most compelling and ambitious agendas in higher education.

Principal Mechanical Engineer, BAE Systems

Employer: BAE Systems

Location: Barrow-in-Furness

Salary: Competitive

Term: Permanent

BAE Systems is responsible for hugely complex and innovative undertakings and we require enthusiastic and talented Principal Mechanical Engineers to join us in shaping the future of the UK submarine capability.

Naval Architect, BAE Systems

Employer: BAE Systems

Location: Portsmouth / Barrow-in-Furness

Salary: Competitive

Term: Permanent

BAE Systems is responsible for hugely complex and innovative undertakings and we require enthusiastic and talented Naval Architects to join us in our large naval architecture team. The work will involve managing the design and build for a number of submarines and ships

Principal Systems Engineer, BAE Systems

Employer: BAE Systems

Location: Frimley, Ash Vale or Weymouth

Salary: Ł40,000+ (dependant on experience)

Term: Permanent

BAE Systems is responsible for hugely complex and innovative undertakings and we require a skilled Principal Systems Engineer to join us in producing system and subsystem designs for each generation of the Combat Systems.

Stations Delivery Director, Crossrail

Employer: (Agency) Harvey Nash

Location: London

Salary: Based on skills and experience

Reporting to the Crossrail Delivery Director, the Stations Delivery Director is accountable for delivering the ten central-section stations (a critical part of the integrated railway), safely, on time, within our funding envelope and in line with our Sponsors' (TfL & DfT) requirements.

Senior Test Engineer, BP

Employer: BP

Location: Pangbourne, Berkshire

Salary: Competitive salary

Term: Permanent

This is an exciting new role created to coordinate, manage and analyse test results from the testing activities of a new automotive technology; working for the chief engineer (product) the role will require the individual to build upon their knowledge of automotive technology, and conduct robust and time efficient testing in collaboration with OEMs. A keen eye on detail is essential along with strong statistical and data analysis competence.

For more details and how to apply visit the Jobs page on the WES website

Join Our Mailing List!

Are you a WES Member?

If not click here to find out why you should be!

It costs a pound a week and helps us to do our work to promote engineering and technology amongst women and girls.

"A Woman's Place...? Women's Careers in Science: Sharing best practice between academia and industry".

The Physics and Engineering departments at Lancaster University are hosting an event at Lancaster University on Wednesday 12 November 2014 and is entitled "A Woman's Place...? Women's Careers in Science: Sharing best practice between academia and industry".

The aim of the event is to promote women's careers in science, in both industrial and academic settings, as women are still vastly underrepresented in science.

The event will last from 10.00-16.00, and will feature a range of speakers and workshops, details of which can be found on the website. There will also be plenty of time for networking.

For further details and to register visit the website

Grants available for British Science Week

This year the British Science Association is offering a series of grants for schools and organisations to run events during British Science Week (BSW, formerly NSEW), 13-22 March 2015:

Kick Start Grant Scheme for schools in challenging circumstances
School activity grant (up to Ł300)
NEW 'Our school community' grant (up to Ł700)
BSW Grant Scheme for Scotland
School activity grant (Ł200)
Organisation activity grant (Ł350)
BSW Grant Scheme for Wales
School activity grant (Ł200)
Organisation activity grant (Ł350)
NEW Community Grant Scheme (Ł500 for community groups whose targeted audience/participants include those not traditionally engaged with science).

Please visit the website and read the grant guidelines for each respective grant for more information:

IET Logo 2012

DP Gateway Logo

National Grid Logo 2013

Arup Logo 2013

BAM Logo 2013

And finally....

If you have any articles that you would like to have featured please contact the WES Office.

We'd love to hear your stories of ideas to inspire young people, schools outreach activities and projects you are working on that we can share across the WES community.

Don't forget to forward our e-newsletter to your friends and contacts, male or female and help to inspire more young women to consider engineering and technology as a career.

With good wishes

the e-News team.

WES would like to thank its supporters and sponsors, particularly our Event Partners: The IET, BAE Systems and Selex ES.

Our Company Members are: DP World London Gateway, Malvern Instruments, Arup, Bam Nuttall, Edwards Vacuum, Hyder Consulting, Bureau Veritas, Matchtech, Instron, Transport for London and Mars.
Student conference sponsors include BAE Systems (Event Partner), Selex ES (Event Partner), Instron, Malvern Instruments and BP.