National Day aims to boost number of female engineers

04 Jul 2014

University event brings together leading women in physical science – and those with potential

Last week saw the first ever National Women in Engineering Day (NWED) and to celebrate the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) wanted to highlight some of the women who are standing out from the crowd and promoting their profession.

This inaugural day was realised by the Women’s Engineering Society in celebration of their 95th anniversary as a charity supporting women in engineering. It has been recognised that a skills gap in engineering is looming, and one way of addressing this is to inspire women and encourage them to consider engineering as a realistic career option.

The EPS Community celebrated the day with an event organised by the University’s Athena SWAN Coordinator at the Concorde Hangar in Manchester Airport.

The keynote was led by Danielle George, Reader and Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning (EEE) at the University, with contributions being given from 20 leading women in the field from academia and industry including Unilever, BP, Amey, Cargill, Atkins, Mexichem and AkzoNobel. The event was attended by 25 delegates from the University, including postgraduates, undergraduates and research staff.