WES London Cluster 

Suzanne said about the win "I was delighted to have won the Midlands Final so to also have been recognised as the National Leader in STEM was truly an honour. I work hard to support and encourage women in STEM by speaking at universities, attending school events and volunteering as a regional coordinator for the Women's Engineering Society. I love my job but fear many women are simply not aware of the huge range of rewarding careers available in the sciences. I hope I can use this award to inspire more girls to consider careers in STEM".

Winning this award is the icing on the cake of a fantastic year for Suzanne after she won East Midlands Business Woman of the Year in March and was a finalist at the European Women in Construction and Engineering Awards in May. 

WES is mentioned in the BBC news story Why are there so few female engineers?

The Woman Engineer Journal  Not yet read the winter edition of the WES journal?  Click here to read it

We are excited to announce that we have a number of companies keen to run their own STEM Returners programme to utilise the talented individuals who have taken a career break from engineering, or who wish to transfer industries.

STEM Returners is a programme to help employers recruit, develop and retain the best available talent, and to enable highly qualified and experienced candidates to re-start their career. It aims to redress the gender imbalance within STEM, and work with employers to view CV gaps in a different way. Operating within an incredibly skills-short market, this scheme allows employers to attract candidates from a new talent pool, and give candidates a supported route back to their career.

The programme facilitates paid short-term employment placements for professionals returning to work after a career break. Alongside the experience gained from the work placement, the STEM Returners project will also provide support for the candidate in advice, career coaching, networking opportunities and mentoring. All of the candidates going through the programme will also have the opportunity to restart their career in a permanent position at the end of the programme.

Current programmes include nationwide opportunities with Kier, Engineering opportunities with Atlas Elektronik in Dorchester, Engineering opportunities with Babcock in Bristol and Scientific and engineering roles with DSTL in Wiltshire. Watch this space for more exciting programmes coming online over the next few weeks.

If you have taken a career break from STEM and wish to return please register here 

The webinar will be followed by a live question and answer session, allowing participants to pose their questions directly to Dr. Warnecke.

FISITA asks that participants register in advance here 

Energy Talks - The Energy Revolution

24 January 2018, 17:30-20:45 [£10-£20]
WeWork Moorgate, London

An evening of six short talks and panel Q&A from experts on the legal, financial and infrastructural implications of decentralised energy; including block chain technology, batteries and disaggregation. This exciting and fun event will have a contemporary feel and take place in a buzzing start up environment. It is  a great opportunity for both people who are working in this sector, or who aspire to a career in it.

Further information and book online here

Masterclass taster evening  25 January 2018, 19.00-21.00 [Free] The Royal Institution, London

An introduction to Ri Masterclasses: learn about their national Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science Masterclass programme, take part in Masterclass activities and find out how to get involved as a Masterclass volunteer or supporter. The taster evening includes a Masterclass inspired keynote talk, "The hidden maths of crowd flow and human behaviour" with Dr Aoife Hunt, followed by a reception where you can have a go at some Masterclass activities and chat to volunteers already involved in the programme.  Further information about the Masterclass speaker training programme and other ways to get involved here.

Find out more about the event and book your place now

#March4Women Sunday 

4 March 2018

London

2018's #March4Women coincides with the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, which extended the right to vote to the first women in the UK. They plan to mark this historic moment with a mass march from Parliament Square, to finish with a rally in Trafalgar Square, in celebration of those who have fought, and continue to fight for equal rights; and to call for action on inequalities and abuses that still remain. The Trafalgar Square rally will include music and speeches by some of UK's best-loved actors, each representing a key historical figure in the women's rights movement (including vital male allies) written by 'Suffragette' screenwriter, Abi Morgan. 

If any WES members are interested in attending the #March4Women, please do drop [email protected] a line.

Launched as a Regional Network at the INWES meeting in Freising, Germany on the 4 November 2016, INWES-Europe will become a legal entity early 2018. It  will be hold its First General Assembly on the 10  March 2018, preceded by the Third Executive Board Meeting of INWES Europe, on the 9 March, 2018.

 
For the occasion of the International Women's Day 2018, INWES-Europe invites all WES members and supporters to its annual events, to be held in English, including a conference on the 10 March with the theme: "Women engineers & scientists bringing concrete action to socio-economic impacts of Climate Change".
 
Please confirm your participation and feel free to send your comments and questions to the Secretary General:  [email protected] or to [email protected].
 
Follow I NWES-Europe on Facebook and on Twitter @INWES-Europe

Space Mission Operations Course (SMOC) 2018

19-22 March 2018 [£90-£1530]

Goonhilly Earth Station, Helston

Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd and Catena Space are proud to announce their third annual Space Mission Operations Course (SMOC), a practical course to provide participants with both a theoretical understanding of Space Mission Operations and hands on exercises.

The programme will be preceded by a SMOC Foundation Day on 19 March 2018 to bring you up to speed on the basic concepts underlying the course. The Foundation Day and SMOC can each be booked separately, or as a package.

Further information and book online here

The IOP Nuclear Industry Group (NIG) & Women in Physics Group (WiPG) have teamed up to host an event to showcase the work of women in the nuclear industry, and foster networking to both accelerate careers and captivate women's interest in careers within the nuclear industry.

This event will be open to all, whatever age or gender, and aims to continue the discussion on how to best support women, through sharing of experiences and best business practice.

For more details please email Joanne Cole at  [email protected]

The Skills and Education Group conference will take a focused and honest look at the further education and skills sector as it continues to demonstrate innovation and resilience to meet the challenges of the economic and skills landscape. The conference seeks to explore key issues such as apprenticeships, social mobility and the latest reforms to the sector in the shape of technical further education.

The conference promises to provide a platform to learn, network and collaborate with senior civil servants from government departments, politicians and sector representatives through seminars and interactive workshops. 

More Upcoming Events

To find out more about these previously advertised events visit the WES website:

• 8 February 2018, 2018 Everywoman in Tech Forum
• 6 March 2018, Women in Construction Summit
• 23 June 2018, International Women in Engineering Day 2018

Calling Leaders with Babies to join Fellowship Programme

A pioneering fellowship supports leaders with babies to continue their career development while looking after their young children, run by the Social Enterprise Leaders Plus.

The programme combines a House of Commons event, access to inspirational role models and entors with workshops focused on career development and support to overcome barriers such as a session with a sleep consultant. Fellows are welcome to bring their babies along to sessions.

The programme is for middle and senior managers and leaders with children under two. Candidates may be on maternity/shared parental leave.

Apply to join the fellowship here before 11 February

Free student places at EuroBrake 2018 FISITA is offering engineering students the unique chance to attend EuroBrake 2018 the world's largest braking technology conference and exhibition for free, enabling them valuable networking opportunities with peers, professionals and academics.

EuroBrake 2017 saw the first successful EuroBrake Student Opportunities Programme (ESOP) where 50 students from around the world took part in the conference - the programme returns again this year in The Hauge, Netherlands.

There are also some exciting sponsorship opportunities for companies looking to support the programme, so please do contact FISITA to gain some valuable brand visibility for your organisation.

Find out more and apply here

John Moyes Lessells Engineering Travel Scholarships

Applications now being accepted for the 2018 round of JM Lessells Travel Scholarships

These Travel Scholarships arise from a bequest from the late Professor John Moyes Lessells, an eminent mechanical engineer who emigrated to the United States of America in 1920. The scholarships are for Honours Graduates in Engineering from Scottish Universities, who wish to study some aspect of their profession outwith the UK. All branches of Engineering are eligible for consideration, including computer and software engineering. The Awards Committee would particularly welcome applications for scholars seeking to study in Asia, Africa or South America. 

More information and apply here before the 7 March 2018 deadline

The 37th FISITA World Automotive Congress takes place this October in Chennai, India - a major commercial, cultural and educational hub at the gateway to South India.

The Call for Papers is now closed, however there are opportunities for students, young academics and universities via the Student Congress, Travelling Fellowship and Islands of Excellence initiatives.

The Student Congress will provide the perfect opportunity for students and young engineers to learn, exchange knowledge and network with their peers as well as senior engineers and leaders from industry. Find out more about the initiatives here

 

KEEP+ is open to SMEs developing innovative new products and services, subject to eligibility, with the programmes core focus within the south east of England. Further information about the KEEP+ programme offer can be found at www.KEEPplus.co.uk. SMEs that are interested in benefitting from KEEP+ can email Carole Randall, Programme Manager: [email protected] 

Implementation of T level programmes

The  DfE public consultation on the implementation of T level programmes is an important  next step in the technical education reforms and everyone with an interest is invited to contribute at one of the  T level Consultation Events:

These events provide an opportunity to hear the latest on the Industrial Strategy and Careers Strategy and will help you to develop an informed response to the consultation. The events are aimed in particular at colleges, employers and independent training providers. 

Register to attend a session

#PressforProgress this International Women's Day and beyond

With purple being the 2018 colour of the year, feminism being last year's most looked up word, and International Women's Day being 2017's most talked about topic on Facebook even above the Super Bowl - the  world certainly seems ready for a year of activism for equality. Be quick and order your IWD Event Packs at https://www.internationalwomensday.com/EventPacks to help celebrate the big day on 8 March 2018. Search or publish events, upload resources, suggest speakers and much more via the IWD website .

Can you help Amelia with her Year 12 extended project?

She is researching the inequality that women face in engineering and why there is such a large gap in the amount of men and women in engineering. To extend her research, she has produced a survey about Women in Engineering.

Take part in the survey here

Volunteer at The Big Bang Fair 2018 on the 14-17 March 2018 at The NEC, Birmingham and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers! Develop skills in communication, organisation, problem solving and teamwork, share your knowledge and passion for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and see behind-the scenes at one of the UK's biggest event for young people.

The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair is the largest celebration of STEM for young people in the UK. 

If you would like to join the team and help young people explore the wonderful world of STEM, visit www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/volunteers to find out more and to apply for a range of roles.

Volunteers Needed For Family STEM Event The Smallpeice Trust believe anything is possible when you know how. That's why they're here to give young people everything they need to fuel their passion for engineering. To raise aspirations for a career in automotive engineering they are running a series of Family Engineering Days, part of a Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious project. Aimed at Year 9 students and their families, these events give a taster of what a future in engineering might be like.

They are looking for midlands based volunteers to help support these events. If you are available to attend a training day on the 13 February and one half day event running over half term (19th-22nd February 2018) please email [email protected] for further information.

An inspirational and talented team of young women from Denbigh School has won awards for 'Best Trailer Performance' and for their commitment and participation in being a 'World Finalist' in the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge in Abu Dhabi. In all, the team competed against 24 others from 17 countries .

The only all-female team, Epsilon Engineers', to get through to the finals, also came second overall in the world in the driving challenge. The nail biting competition, which tested their specially built scale model 4x4 vehicle in desert terrain and city obstacles, included a tricky climb up three steps with a drive up a steep curving ramp, a rock crawl, where the car had to navigate over boulders and a see-saw skateboard.