June 2019
Women's Engineering Society eNewsletter
Welcome to the June and Centenary edition of the WES newsletter.
 
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 news@1919.wes.org.uk

Visit the WES website  and follow WES on twitter @WES1919
Follow  MentorSET  on twitter  @mentorset  or visit the  website.
WESUpdatesWES Update and Events
INWED 2019

Thank you to everyone who was involved with International Women in Engineering Day 2019 (#INWED19). Your support of this international awareness campaign means that we have reached an unbelievable number of people on social media worldwide! To date we have had over 200 events registered with us, including 50+ International events, and this number continues to grow.

We are thrilled at how so many people have helped us to #TransformTheFuture for women in engineering and to promote engineering as a career to students and children this year. It really is invaluable - thank you! The full INWED 2019 evaluation report will be available in the next few months.

Top 50 Women in Engineering
In celebration of International Women in Engineering Day 2019, the Women's Engineering Society (WES) held the Top 50 Women in Engineering:  Current and Former Apprentices  (WE50) Awards. Now in its fourth year, the WE50 continues to showcase the extensive female talent across the sector; this year the focus was on women currently serving as apprentices or those who have previously undertaken an apprenticeship. A list of this year's WE50 winners can be found on our website here.
WES Centenary Lunch
 
A Centenary lunch celebration was held on our official birthday, June 23, the day that the Women's Engineering Society was founded. WES Members came together to celebrate WES' centenary at Ognisko, the Polish Club in London and had a wonderful time celebrating the last 100 years. Happy Birthday to us! 
WES Time Capsule

Would you like to send a message into the future? WES is putting together a time capsule to be opened in 2119. Sally Sudworth is collecting contributions - articles and objects, to go into the box which will then be sealed. It will need to fit into the size of a typical archive box.
 
Please contact Sally on  sally.sudworth@btinternet.com  to make arrangements to add your contribution.
WES and Subcon Conference

In early June Subcon the manufacturing supply chain show celebrated 100 years of WES. 

As part of the celebration WES CEO Elizabeth Donnelly and WES Council Member Jan Peters, MD of Katalytik, spoke on the need to improve the gender balance of engineering in the UK. They were also joined by WES Members Naomi Green and Yasmin Ali, who gave talks about their careers and diversity in the engineering sector.

Siemens and WES Celebratory Event
23 July 2019, Newcastle


2019 is a key milestone year for both Siemens and WES. To celebrate they will be holding a joint event to mark the WES centenary year and 130 years since the Siemens C.A Parsons factory was established. 
Hear from speakers charting the history of both organisations and find out how they are looking forward to the future of engineering. 

There will also be opportunities for networking.

WES Centenary Women

Verena Holmes was the first woman to be admitted to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, by association in 1924, but it took 20 years for her to elected as a full member. She gained a BSc in Engineering in 1922 and was an early member of WES. She became its President in 1931.

Holmes was advisor on the training of munitions workers during World War II. She founded Holmes and Leather in 1946 which employed only women. In 1958, she published a booklet, Training and Opportunities for Women in Engineering. Holmes held 12 patented inventions including the Holmes and Wingfield pneumo-thorax apparatus for treating patients with tuberculosis, a surgeon's headlamp, a poppet valve for steam locomotives, and rotary valves for internal combustion engines.

Holmes' birthday was 23rd June, coinciding with the formation of WES in 1919 and Women In Engineering Day. Happy Birthday Verena and WES!
WES Centenary Trail Officer
WES would like to welcome our new WES Centenary Trail Officer, Helen Close. 

On starting work with WES Helen says "I'm really looking forward to my new role, which brings together my passion for Women's history and my skills and experience in the heritage sector. I'm from a family of engineers, but like so many others - engineering wasn't a career for girls and I wasn't good enough at maths. It is these hidden negative messages which prevent girls from choosing engineering as a career, that we need to overcome.
 
The Centenary Trail Project will provide us with incredible role models from the past that will inspire girls and women to follow a path into engineering."
WES Nominations 

On 1 July WES will be opening nominations for Officer and Council positions.  A communication about this will be sent to all members.
News from our WES Members 

WES London Cluster

The London Cluster
Work Shadowing Week
The WES London Cluster has been delighted with the response to our initiative providing shadowing experience to girls in London. We have eleven places available in companies around London. The shadowing week will take place in July and we will be providing updates on our social media!
 Our latest LinkedIn article highlights the benefits of work shadowing

 
London Social - 31 July 2019
We would like to invite our London cluster for an informal social gathering on July 31  at the London Science Museum. We will be attending a Science Museum Late called 'Space!' and this will also be a chance to talk and network. Jo Foster from the IET will be joining us in this occasion.
If you want to join us, please email us at  weslondoncluster@gmail.com  
 
Celebrating 100 years of WES (Merseyside and Wirral)
11 July 2019, Chester

On 11 July the WES Wirral and Merseyside cluster will be holding its centenary event on the theme of the 'past, present and future' at EA Technology in Capenhurst Technology Park.  The event is free to attend.

We will hear from WES Trustee Sally Sudworth, the first female fellow in ICE Wales, WES fellow and chartered engineer and environmentalist about early WES pioneers. Sally will also be talking about techniques for considering and managing our future. Dr Allison Gardner lecturer in Bioinformatics and Co-founder of Women Leading in AI will deliver a speech and Q & A session about bias & diversity in Artificial Intelligence particularly in relation to how it has affected and affects gender equality.  

Register here.
WES Young Members' Board 

Lottie Goes to Space School 
Lottie spent this week at the Scottish Space School at Strathclyde University learning about all the engineering disciplines. She spent the week making rockets and launching them, wiring up a heart rate monitor, and listening to inspiring engineers and astronauts at various talks throughout the week. Photos of Lottie can be found using the hashtags #WESLottieTour and #ScottishSpaceSchool on social media platforms.
 
WES 100 Violets
  The WES 100 Violets challenge launched on 28 May 2019. Using our Ingenious Grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering, the WES YMB are challenging engineers to design and make an exhibit (e.g. a game, model, information board, computer based or physical) that celebrates and showcases an area of engineering/research, and shares this with the public. For more information and to apply please see our new website.
WES University Groups Board (UGB)

The end of the academic year did not stop some of University groups from planning some remarkable activities and events. 

A notable project, which has been organised by University of Glasgow's FemEng society and University of Strathclyde's Equate society, is the Wind Farm Project. Students, from different STEM backgrounds, were provided with female mentors for a week to guide them through the design process of a wind farm, taking into account social and environmental considerations. A very high standard of proposals was shown when the students pitched their ideas to a panel of experts at SSE's offices in Glasgow.

WESBath collaborated with the WES South West Cluster to organise a successful networking event to celebrate INWED19. The event aim was to bring together engineers from industry and academia to share how their work is contributing to the transformation of the future.

JobsWES Jobs

Vacancies
General
(deadline dates given below)

Returners

Apprenticeships

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 Stack Overflow
Eleanor Yong Beware of Hugs


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
Funding of up to £1,000 for engineering sector women available  

  
Funding of up to £1,000 for engineering   sector women available
Women & Leadership International is administering a national initiative to support the development of female leaders across the UK's engineering
  sector. The campaign is providing women with grants of up to £1,000 to enable participation in one of two leadership development programs: Leading Edge (for junior and aspiring leaders and managers) and Executive Ready (for mid-level leaders and managers). 

Find out more and register your interest by completing the Expression of Interest form here prior to Friday 2 August 2019. 
MSP Tech Incubator Event

  
To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day MSP (Manchester Science Partnership) are holding an event at their Tech Incubator. Join them to hear from inspirational women working in technology and Hadley Beenman, Chief Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,who will be leading the panel.There will be  networking opportunities with refreshments too.

To find out more and to sign up have a look here
Amy Johnson Named Lecture 2019  
1 July 2019, Hamilton Place, London
 
The Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committee will be hosting their annual Amy Johnson lecture which this year will celebrate the space industry in the 50th anniversary year of the moon landing.
The Panel focus will be:
  • the future vision for the Space sector and how diversity will help to achieve this vision
  • the role that women currently play in the sector and how they can contribute to the future vision
  • inspiring women to become part of the Space sector, drawing on the speaker's experience and background.
 
The lecture is free to attend. To book email conferences@aerosociety.com to register your place.

The Sacred Year 1919: Women and the Profession
1 May - 8 September 2019, Library Gallery, LSE Library, London

The Sacred Year 1919 marks the centenary of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act. This act enabled women to enter most professions and professional bodies for the first time. However, not all professions were opened by the Act; equality would take years of campaigning to achieve.

This exhibition celebrates pioneering women who first entered male-dominated professions such as law, accountancy, the Church, the sciences, the arts and engineering!

On display are archives, objects, posters and banners which chart this journey in those early years. The Women's Engineering Society and Caroline Haslett are featured in the displays. For more details go here.
Royal Academy of Engineering International Workshop
8-9 July 2019, London

In partnership with the  Lloyd's Register Foundation , the Royal Academy of Engineering will be holding an international workshop focusing on the decommissioning of offshore structures, including ships, & how the fundamental safety challenges in this area can be tackled globally. The workshop will be followed by a funding call for high-quality proposals aimed at addressing the challenges identified.
 
If you are interested in applying, please complete this  expression of interest form  o r contact  Hazel Ingham , the programme lead, for more information.
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: info@wes.org.uk.  

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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