December 2019
Women's Engineering Society eNewsletter
Welcome to the December edition of the WES newsletter. A very Happy Christmas 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 and all the celebrations that have happened or are happening for our Centenary year. 
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
IET Young Woman Engineer WES Prize Winner

WES is delighted to announce that this year's WES Prize Winner announced at the IET Young Woman Engineer Awards is Dr Claire Lucas. 

Claire works at the University of Warwick as Director of Studies for Systems and Information Engineering where she is responsible for teaching activity in Systems, Biomedical and General Engineering. She is passionate about developing curriculum which attracts female students to Engineering and believes that holistic systems thinking in particular has the potential to produce Engineers capable of solving society's grand challenges.

Congratulations Laura! 
Ladies Can't Climb Ladders publication 

The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 was one of the most significant pieces of legislation in modern Britain. It should have marked a social revolution, opening the doors of the engineering profession to WES members who had worked so hard during the War, and welcoming them inside as equals.
 
In Ladies Can't Climb Ladders Jane Robinson focuses on the lives of pioneering women forging careers not just in the engineering profession but in medicine, law, academia, architecture, and the church.
 
WES President, Dawn Childs, says of the book, '(a) rich picture of the struggles and successes of those amazing women who trod so quietly to leave such a massive footprint and legacy behind them.'
 
Ladies Can't Climb Ladders is published in January and will be available in all good bookshops!
Award for Nicola Grahamslaw

Congratulations  to WES Bristol and Bath Cluster co-ordinator Nicola Grahamslaw who has been awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' (IMechE) Young Member Visionary (Young Member of the Year) award for 2019. The award recognises technical excellence alongside volunteering as an ambassador for the profession. 

Nicola's career as a systems engineer started in the Aerospace and Nuclear energy sectors, and she is now using that experience to lead conservation of Brunel's SS Great Britain in Bristol, also working to help others in the Heritage sector use engineering to reduce their carbon footprint. Alongside her volunteer role for WES, Nicola is a STEM ambassador and a mentor to STEM students and early career engineers.
WES Centenary Women

Dorothée Pullinger

Dorothée Pullinger (1894 - 1986) was a pioneering automobile engineer and businesswoman.
 
In 1910, she began work as a draftswoman at the Paisley works of Scottish automobile firm of Arrol-Johnston, the oldest and largest Scottish car manufacturer. Her father, a car designer, was managing director. In World War I the factory changed from producing cars to aeroplanes, which gave her a chance to work in aeronautical engineering. She was awarded an MBE in 1920 for her work later in First World War One as a manager at Vickers munitions production, responsible for 7000 women munitions workers.
 
After the war, she returned to Galloway Motors Ltd, as director and manager. The company produced the Galloway car, designed for women and mostly made by women too until late 1920s. She then set up a Steam Laundry in Croydon and later Guernsey. During World War II, she was the only woman appointed to the Industrial Panel of the Ministry of Production. Later in life she still drove one of her own Galloway cars around the island, with apparently reckless disregard for the usual Highway Code. 
 
Dorothée 's Wikipedia page can be found here.
News from our WES Members 

WES Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire Cluster

WES Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire Centenary Celebration Summit welcomed existing and new members on November 27 at the University of Hertfordshire. WES partners joined the celebrations sending representatives from; Cordant Engineering, Leonardo UK, and Cadence. Guest speaker, Dr Emma Taylor Safety & Reliability Society Chair, had everybody hooked and re-evaluating their ideas on safety, and potential risks throughout engineering applications. 

The evening also included introductions on how to form a WES Student Group and provided a special insight into the Centenary Trail led by Helen Close, WES Centenary Trail Project Manager. The cluster is looking forward to 2020 and bringing everyone together again at the next event. 

Follow @HBBWES on Twitter to get involved with the cluster and to find out more about upcoming activities.
WES London Cluster

2020 Planning
The committee has been busy planning for next year and we have a packed schedule already! If you have an initiative that you would like to put forward, please let us know by emailing [email protected] 
 
New Cluster Coordinator
Starting from the January 1, Emily Torode will be our new London Cluster Coordinator. Emily works at Instron and has been a keen member of the cluster since 2018.
 
Thank you from Carolina
As I step down as Coordinator, I can't help but reflect on what was a great year 2019 was an amazing year filled with great initiatives, events and getting to know more of you. I will continue my involvement with WES as part of the committee and as a Council Member. I would like to thank you for your support and to thank my amazing cluster committee friends and the WES office staff for all of your support. Thank you for helping me make this year a memorable one. I can't wait for 2020!
WES Universities Group Board

The UGB has been involved with a lot of different events towards the end of the term. Loughborough organised a Christmas dinner that included the University Pro Vice Chancellor for Teaching and an external speaker from Rolls-Royce. Surrey had a successful charity bake sale and research park panel, whilst, Imperial college hosted a networking dinner with P&G. Finally, the University of Bath hosted their sustainability themed networking event: 'How you can make a difference in engineering' with a range of speakers, a panel discussion and a sustainability workshop.
JobsWES Jobs

Vacancies
General
(deadline dates given below)
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 How Many IT Technicians?
Eleanor Yong Christmas Tree
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
Electrifying Women Training Session
8 January 2020, 11.00-14.00,  Dana Centre, London
 
Electrifying Women  needs volunteers to help continue enhancing and sharing the history of women in engineering. This training session looks to equip attendees with the skills they need for blogging, presenting and researching in order to tell the history of women in engineering and to inspire more women and girls to find a path into professional engineering.
The three-hour session (with free lunch) will be run by the Electrifying Women team and takes place at the Science Museum's dedicated research centre.
 
Sign up here
 
Electrifying Women: a Wikithon
18 January 2020, 13.00-17.00,  University of Leeds
 
Join Electrifying Women, an AHRC funded project at the University of Leeds, to edit and add information about historical women engineers to Wikipedia. Training and historical resources (including suggested women engineers) will be provided. This is a free event, open to everyone!
 
Training will be delivered by volunteer Wikipedia editor Nigel Pepper. Complete beginners and experienced editors are both welcome to attend.
 
Sign up here.
Applications for Brunel Fellowship


The Brunel Fellowship are currently seeking applications for their 1851 Royal Commission Research Fellowships with a deadline of 6 Feb 2020. These fellowships give early career scientists and engineers the opportunity to conduct a research project of their own instigation.
 
As part of this programme the Brunel Fellowship, for those wishing to pursue a project in an academic engineering environment, was introduced in 2006. The Brunel Fellowship focuses on the areas of Civil, Mechanical and Aeronautical engineering and it would be fantastic to spread the word about this opportunity to your network.
 
More information can be found here
Volunteer Opportunity

Crofton Beam Engines  is a volunteer-led heritage centre in the Wiltshire countryside giving a unique insight into a surviving piece of the Industrial Revolution.
 
Crofton are looking to support a new group of women engineers at Crofton and provide them with the skills and experience they need to become long-term volunteers in our heritage engineering workforce. We welcome people of all backgrounds, ages and interests in engineering.
 
There are four three-month volunteer placements available, with expenses and other costs provided with financial support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
 
To learn more and receive an information pack and application form, please e-mail Catherine Hutchings at  [email protected]  or phone 01672 870300!

Electronics Everywhere

Electronics Everywhere shows young people how engaging Electronics can be.  Following the success of t he IET -funded pilot in 2017, the project was significantly up-scaled with generous support from the  ERA Foundation and 15 companies  in the Electronics sector.  In collaboration with the University of Southampton, the UKESF provides specially designed circuit boards to teach core Electronics concepts to A-level students in Physics (the  Music Mixer) and Computer Science (the  Logic & Arithmetic Kit).

Find out more about the project and how your company could get involved  here .
MSc in Engineering Leadership and Management
The MSc in Engineering Leadership and Management, delivered at TWI in Cambridge, is open for applications for January 2020. The part-time, work based course gives you the opportunity to develop your career and can be funded from the apprenticeship levy so there are no tuition fees to pay.

Offered by the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) in partnership with Aston University, the course has been designed specifically for the engineering sector and places an emphasis on the 'how' of leadership, with project-oriented learning and assessments through assignments that relate to your business' needs.

For further information, please visit the NSIRC website. If you are interested in the course for yourself or your staff, please contact Alison at [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.
 

WES Partners & Sponsors




















BAE logo
Airbus logo
National Grid Logo
Arup Logo
 

FISITA logo




















STAY CONNECTED: