January 2020
Women's Engineering Society eNewsletter
Welcome to the January edition of the WES newsletter. A very Happy New Year to you all from the WES office. 
 
In this month's newsletter we have the latest on all that is happening with WES this month. 
We'll also bring you updates from other organisations, upcoming events, job vacancies and all other news. 

Eager to get to a specific section of the newsletter? Click on the heading below:

The Women's Engineering Society is committed to supporting women in engineering. Click through the following link for more information on  being a WES memberIt costs just one pound per week and helps us to do our work to inspire and support women to achieve their potential as engineers, applied scientists and technical leaders.
 
If you have any news you would like to share with WES, please email us on [email protected]

Visit the WES website  and follow WES on twitter @WES1919
Follow  MentorSET  on twitter  @mentorset  or visit the  website.
WESUpdatesWES Update and Events
Upcoming WES Events


We've got lots planned for this year. Here are some of our events for your diary!

Top 50 Women in Engineering 2020 (WE50)
Launch date 8 March 2020
The Top 50 Women in Engineering for 2020 will be launched on International Women's Day - this year's theme will be 'sustainability'. Please look out for more information on the nomination process nearer the time.
 
Happold Lecture in Partnership with WES 
Wednesday 1 April 2020
This event, in partnership with the Happold Foundation, will be held at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London to mark the centenary of WES. 

Caroline Haslett Lecture and Awards
October 2020
This WES annual lecture and awards evening includes the presentation of the Karen Burt Memorial Award to the best newly chartered female engineer, Amy Johnson Inspiration Award and Men as Allies Award.
 
WES Student Conference
20-21 November 2020 - Warwick University
A two-day residential conference aimed primarily at female engineering and allied undergraduates aged 18 and over. This event brings together students, academics and early-mid career engineers and colleagues from supporting industry to explore pathways to technical leadership.
 
If you have any questions on the upcoming WES events in 2020 - please do get in touch with our Events Manager, Jo Weaver at [email protected]
Coming soon INWED20

 
Sign up to the #INWED20 newsletter at  www.inwed.org.uk  for news on International Women in Engineering Day 2020 and help to #ShapeTheWorld.

Centenary Trail Project Update 

We've done it! The Centenary Map has exceeded its target of 200 pins, to date there are now 263 women engineers featured on the WES Centenary Map, 79 of them are past WES members.
 
As a result of five WES Wikithons 106 Wikipedia articles about women engineers have been improved, 26 new Wikipedia articles and 21 Wikidata pages have been created. Three more Wikithons are planned before the project finishes (Belfast, Swansea and Newcastle) .
 
We will be pushing ahead with setting up a Heritage Working Group, for members who are interested in the history of women in engineering, and helping us to achieve and exceed our targets. Thank you to those who have applied, we will be in touch soon.
Verena Holmes Papers

As a result of the Centenary Trail project, we are pleased to have received 15 notebooks and various correspondence once belonging to Verena Holmes, the first practicing engineer who filled the role of WES President. If you don't know who she is then see her Wikipedia page and find her on the Centenary trail map

The letter give an fascinating insight into this remarkable woman's life and we hope to do more with this amazing find before it gets archived in our collections at the IET Library.

WES Centenary Women

Marjorie Bell (1906 - 2001)

Marjorie Bell,  electrical engineer and factory inspector, ran her own clothing factory before becoming the first woman to study electronic engineering at the Northampton Institute. She became a lecturer and demonstrator of electrical appliances, then in 1936 was appointed as a factory inspector in 1936, working across the country, receiving a medal for her work during the Second World War. Afterwards Bell worked as an inspector in Mandatory Palestine at the time of the 1947-1948 civil war and received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. 

In retirement Bell sat on numerous industrial safety committees. She became the first woman to chair a  British Standards Institution  technical standards committee. She was WES President 1956-57. Have a look at her Wikipedia page to find out more.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Bell
WES Partner Networking Sessions


One of the benefits of being a WES Partner is that your organisation can benefit from knowledge sharing networking sessions with other Partners from similar industries. WES runs these sessions throughout the year and the schedule for 2020 is as follows:
 
Birmingham - February 2020
Improve gender diversity within your organisation. 
 
London -  March 2020
How WES regional networks can support women engineers.
 
Manchester - April 2020
Diversity and Inclusion including inclusive leaders, recruitment and retention. 
 
Warwick - November 2020
Student / Partner Networking at our 2020 Student Conference.
 
If you think that the company you work for may be interested in becoming a Partner please email  [email protected]  for more information.
WES Photography Exhibition

Jo Douglas-Harris
A new photography exhibition of portraits of WES members will be held at Derby University from 3 February to 9 March. Geraldine Curtis, a photographer from Derby, began her project in April 2018 by asking for volunteers via this newsletter. 

She visited those taking part during 2018 to discuss the project and then went back in 2019 to take the portraits. The exhibition aims to raise the profile of women engineers and encourage more girls to take up a career in engineering. 

It is hoped that members will help support the exhibition by promoting it on social media and visiting where possible. Further details and/or offers of help etc can be requested by contacting Geraldine directly: [email protected]
JobsWES Jobs

Vacancies
General
(deadline dates given below)

Apprentices

Academic
TiredTired Engineer in Training
Tired Engineer in Training, Eleanor Yong, shares the drawings that she started to help break up the monotony of studying/revising.

Eleanor Yong Ninja Training
Eleanor Yong Was I Meant to Do Something Today
Events Upcoming Events
The WES website events listing includes events from across the country of interest to women engineers.  View it here.
news More News
Uncover Engineering Course

Uncover Engineering is aimed at girls aged 14-16 years old who are interested in problem solving within the STEM subjects. Participants on this course will get a chance to take part in several hands-on workshops and practical sessions during the day, whilst eating and sleeping in Somerville College, Oxford.
 
As this is the first time this course is running, we are piloting the course with 20 participants with the hope that this could expand over the coming years.
 
Applications are currently open and will close on Friday 31 January 2020
 
If you would like more information about this course, please  check out the website  or email  [email protected]
Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering -  Future Nominations Forum 2020

The Future Nominations Forum aims to gather early career engineers from across the industry to share their knowledge of innovations, areas and networks that they think are worthy of consideration for the QEPrize 2021. 

They are seeking early career engineers from any engineering background or educational pathway, including QEPrize ambassadors, their colleagues and other engineering professionals. Have a look here to find out more. 
2020 L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science UK & Ireland Fellowship Awards Programme

The fellowship awards are open to female early-career researchers working in the field of life and physical sciences, engineering, mathematics and computer sciences. Five outstanding female early-career scientists will be awarded a bursary of £15,000.

Applicants should apply online here
 by the  deadline 27 January 2020.
The IMechE Food and Drink Engineering Committee (FDEC)

The IMechE FDEC is seeking more female engineers to join their committee, you would not need to be a member of IMechE or chartered to join. They would also like  to extend an invitation to any WES Member that would like to come to their meeting at the National Centre of Excellence in Food Engineering at Sheffield Hallam and join in the events for the day on 29th January.

If you are interested, or would like more information, please contact the FDEC Chair, Keith Brewood   -  [email protected]
Partner WES Partners news

We would like to thank all our Partners for their continuing support of WES. To see the list of partners that support WES please visit the website 
here.

To discuss WES partnerships please contact: [email protected]
Have you read the WES Journal - The Woman Engineer?
All issues of the WES journal are available here. Become a member and get your own copy delivered to your door.
 

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