National Women in Engineering Day was originally launched in the UK on 23 June 2014 by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), in order to celebrate its 95th anniversary. Receiving UNESCO patronage in 2016, the initiative became international for the first time in 2017, adopting its now familiar moniker, INWED, and enabling the celebration of women in engineering to become global.
As part of UCL Engineering’s INWED 2020 celebrations, representatives from eight UCL Engineering departments have been interviewed about their experiences studying, and/or working, in their respective disciplines.
Two undergraduates, four research students, one post-doc and one Senior Teaching Fellow have participated in this year’s campaign, discussing everything from what inspired them to get into engineering in the first place, how the current COVID-19 situation has impacted upon their studies or research, and what advice they’d give anyone, especially young women, wanting to get into a STEM-related field.
Prof Vanessa Diaz, UCL Engineering Vice-Dean Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, notes how UCL Engineering “is working on an inclusive EDI Strategy Plan. We have made progress when it comes to gender equality and gender inclusion, but we acknowledge that we still have much to achieve.
Listening to these interviews is inspiring; hearing our students, researchers and tutors talk about their subjects with such excitement and passion is wonderful, and should make everyone even more determined to ensure engineering really is a profession open to all. Let’s celebrate the talent, sheer brilliance and determination of all these women engineers."
Prof Diaz also acknowledges the need for “diversity to tackle so many challenges, as demonstrated in these videos. I’m also particularly mindful of intersectionality and although INWED is a day to celebrate, there is also an opportunity and I would even say, a duty, to reflect on how to better support all women, being very mindful that all careers and experiences are unique but also, that many women engineers have to face multiple disadvantages whilst studying and throughout their careers. I want us to think how we can be inclusive and bring real equity into our profession as it is paramount for our future.”
Find out more about our interviewees’ research, work and experiences:
Ayushi Agrawal
PhD student, UCL Department of Mechanical Engineering
“Believe in yourself!”
Dr Gemma Bale
Postdoctoral Researcher, UCL Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
“Follow what you enjoy!”
Liz Bates
Undergraduate student, UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering.
“There is a lot of room to be creative!”
Amany Kassem
PhD student, UCL Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
“It’s not as intimidating as it looks!”
Dr Rana Khalife
Senior Teaching Fellow, UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering
“Do not limit yourself; explore everything!”
Maria Miscouridou
Undergraduate student, UCL Department of Computer Science
“Each stage is a unique learning opportunity!”
Halan Mohamed
PhD student, UCL Department of Chemical Engineering
“Reach out!”
Isabelle Van Der Vegt
PhD student, UCL Department of Security and Crime Science
“Don’t be afraid to ask!”
Follow the #INWED20 #ShapeTheWorld conversation on our social channels:
- Twitter: @UCLEngineering
- Instagram: @uclengineering
- LinkedIn: UCL Engineering
- Facebook: UCL Engineering
Links
- UCL Engineering departments
- Prof Diaz’s UCL IRIS profile
- INWED website (external site)
- Women’s Engineering Society (external site)
Image
- Caption: Headshots of UCL Engineering’s INWED 2020 campaign interviewees.
- Credit: Garance Mourgard.
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