Getting Hands on with STEM

198 female high school students from 30 schools around NSW and the ACT gathered at the University of Technology, Sydney for the 2013 bi-annual Women in Engineering and IT Hands On Day on Friday 5 April. The day consisted of  interactive activities which encourage 13-18-year-old female high school students to consider engineering and IT as a career option.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities included:

• simulating earthquakes and learning about the power of amplitudes and frequencies with UTS’s remote lab
• the chance to learn the basics of Javascript, one of the world’s most common programming languages
• using magnets, batteries and wires to make an artificial heart and
• discovering how robots can be used to save lives following natural disasters
• careers talks from various UTS Alumni including Daphne Chong, Senior Software developer at Mi9.

Thanks to UTS’s strong links engaging with industry the day also featured representatives from Engineers without Borders, UTS Motorsports, UTS Centre for Health Technologies, ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems, Commonwealth Bank, Microsoft, Tech Girls are Chic- Not Just Geek, Females in  IT and Telecommunications(FITT) and Symantec; as well as staff and student societies from the Faculty of Engineering and IT.

The Faculty’s Equity & Outreach Coordinator Laura Waibel said events like Hands On Day are important in convincing high school girls of the long-term societal benefits of studying and working in IT and Engineering.

‘’These industries are extremely important in shaping a sustainable and technology-driven future and women are currently underrepresented in both engineering and IT. We're hoping to change that one female high school student at a time because individuals regardless of gender and society as a whole stands to benefit from increased female participation in engineering and IT,’’ said Ms Waibel whose team were impressed by the energy of students at Hands On Day – particularly those who woke early to make the journey from Newcastle and the far south coast.

The next Hands On Day takes place on 6 August. Places fill up quickly so teachers are encouraged to book places early. Parents are encouraged to register their daughters to attend if schools are not able to allow an excursion.

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Best Foot Forward Career Skills Workshop with CBA: Interviews

Thanks to all participants who took part in the Best Foot Forward Careers Workshop on Thursday 25 October. The workshop was the second of a three part workshop series, organised by the Women in Engineering and IT Program and facilitated by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). Elise Ianno has been running these workshops to help give UTS women an edge when applying for jobs and internships. Elise is the Manager of CBA Graduate Recruitment Programs, so we were very lucky to have the benefit of her wealth of experience in the job application process.
This second workshop revolved around interviews, and we were given many useful hints and tips about how best to present ourselves in interview situations. Some of this advice included:

·         Dress appropriately for the occasion

·         Be prepared to give examples of your experiences in dealing with difficult situations. This includes situations that ended negatively as well as positively; so long as you demonstrate your thought process and what you learnt. This is an opportunity to talk about your extra curricular activities as well, so don’t limit your examples to work experience and university projects.

·         Be professional, always sit up straight and make eye contact. Don’t look around the room or ask personal questions, it’s inappropriate.

·         The organisation is interviewing you to see if you're right for the job, but you should also be interviewing them to see if the job is right for you.

·         ALWAYS ask questions! If you’re stuck for questions, ask the interviewer what attracted them to the organisation. This might give you an idea of what the working environment will be like.

After Elise’s presentation, students all had the opportunity to participate in a mock interview. Feedback from the interviews was mostly positive, with everyone acting on Elise’s advice. One pointer that everyone received was to give more detail when providing examples and not to rush your answers. 
The third workshop will be held in early 2013, so keep your eyes posted for event details and updates!

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WiE&IT Semester Spring Lunch

Each semester, WiE&IT hold a special luncheon to celebrate yet another round of exams, internships and hard work. In 2012 our Spring Semester Luncheon on 12 September saw almost 60 students and Faculty of Engineering and IT staff members in attendance. 

After networking over food and refreshments, the Director of the UTS Women in Engineering and IT Program; Bronwyn Holland gave a brief welcome and an overview of the year’s events. Bronwyn also paid her respects to Joan Bielski, who was an influential and passionate advocate for gender equality in Australia and who attended the Spring Semester Lunch in 2011. Sadly, Joan passed away in mid August, but her achievements throughout her career and her support of the WiE&IT Program will not be forgotten.

Bronwyn then introduced the two guest speakers for the day. First was UTS Alumni, Jenny Bhuiyan (BE-software) who now works for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Jenny went through her story of transitioning from studying a double degree of Bachelor of Software Engineering at UTS, to entering the workforce and becoming a valuable member of several teams throughout her career. One piece of advice that resounded throughout Jenny’s speech was to embrace every opportunity you can. This is a motto that Jenny herself has stuck by, and it has helped her identify her strengths and weaknesses, as well as give her valuable experience in areas not generally expanded upon in Business and IT studies, such as customer service.

After Jenny’s inspiring words, we heard from Seline Hardy, a current UTS student studying Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Science in IT. Seline reflected on her experiences at the Telecom Summer School in Paris in July this year. After making up her mind to go to Paris in 2011 and missing out on the opportunity, Seline made it her mission to attend the Telecom Summer School in 2012. Seline gave us an insight into her rural background from Parkes NSW, highlighting how much of a culture shock it was for her when she finally got to travel to France.

WiE&IT Program Staff would like to thank all students, staff and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for their support, and we hope to see you all at the next semester lunch in Autumn 2013!

Our two lovely guest speakers: Jenny Bhuiyan, BE-Software Engineering (left)
and Seline Hardy, BBusBScIT (right)

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WiE&IT second Hands on Day for 2012

On Friday 17 August 2012, UTS played host to almost 300 high school girls from 26 schools across NSW, making this Hands on Day the largest to date. Students from as far as the South Coast to the Hunter-Central Coast attended the Women in Engineering and IT second Hands on Day for Smarter Futures this year. Students participated in a range of activities which are designed to engage them with engineering and IT disciplines. As always, these days hinge on the contributions of activities facilitated by UTS academic staff, as well as industry partners such as Roads and Maritime Services, Commonwealth Bank, Tech Girls are Chic, Engineers without Borders NSW and ThoughtWorks. Student volunteers also played a vital role in the success of the day by helping the girls in their activities as well as telling them what its like to be a UTS female student studying engineering or IT. Whether it is designing computer games, controlling robots or constructing models of Spaghetti Bridges, each student learnt something new and gained an insight into student life at UTS.

Students learning about road construction and drainage

For more information about Hands on Days next year, click on the Hands on Day tab at the top of this page. To see another article about our last Hands on Day you can visit this link http://www.newsroom.uts.edu.au/news/2012/08/hands-on-day-marks-new-high-for-women-in-engineering-it

All our wonderful volunteers!

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Best Foot Forward Career Skills Workshop: Writing Effective Applications

In the WiE&IT office, we know that applying for internships or graduate positions can be a daunting and rather overwhelming process. That’s why last week WiE&IT hosted a careers workshop in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). This workshop was aimed at better equipping undergraduate and postgraduate female students to prepare for joining the workforce.

The manager of the CBA Graduate Program, Elise, gave an insightful and inspiring presentation on some of the processes involved when constructing a resume and filling out applications. She covered resume structure, cover letters, wording, psychometric testing and filling out applications in the session. The workshop was facilitated by Maria, the CBA Manager for Organisational Development, who gave some insightful comments and tips on how best to communicate achievements. Some important discussion points included:

-          How best to structure your resume

-          Protocol on providing references

-          When proofreading: read, re-read and re-re-read!

-          Use professional language

-          Apply for positions well before the closing date

-          Take your time to complete an application; its alright to save it and come back later

-          Never undersell yourself!

At the end of the presentation, students were encouraged to apply for some of the graduate programs available at CBA. Currently CBA are recruiting for their Summer Internship Program. Applications close in August so start your applications now!

As the workshop closed and attendees helped themselves to a little afternoon tea, the enthusiasm told us that that everyone had learned something new.

The next workshop is on 7 December 2012, registrations will open soon!

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Lucy Mentoring Program Launch

The 2012 Lucy Mentoring Program was launched on the evening of Wednesday 23 May, and was kindly hosted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia at their Darling Park offices. 

Empowerment, support and development were the themes of the Lucy Mentoring Program Launch, an industry event launching a four-month-long partnership of creativity and professional development between current female Engineering and IT students, and females in senior management and technical roles from some of Australia’s largest organisations.

The Program Launch saw a record forty four students matched with mentors from twenty four private and public organisations, including Accenture, Alcatel-Lucent, Attache-Software, Boomworks, C Smart Technologies, Deloitte, IBM, Qantas, Unilever, Woolworths, Construction Assignments, Hurstville Council, Coca Cola Amatil, Arup, John Holland, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Roads and Maritime Services, Railcorp, Siemens, Ausgrid, Hi Fraser and event host Commonwealth Bank. With an excitement akin to starting a new role or walking into their first ever university lecture, students were matched with senior professional women who will mentor them throughout the program and share their insights, life experience and expertise. 

Students were treated to an official welcome by Executive General Manager Steve McGregor, a self-confessed “Male Champion of Change” from Wealth Management IT at CBA. His welcome extended to the students chosen for the program as well as the mentors who volunteered to take part, thanking all responsible for the Lucy Program at UTS. His final words to the students, “Accept this invitation presented to you tonight – you are the generation of female talent we are proud to encourage, support and develop.”

There was a line-up of inspiring female speakers from a range of academic and corporate backgrounds. Nur Oyman, General Manager of CBA, spoke about the importance of mentoring in her career. Her golden advice to the mentees was to “be present, and have presence”, drawing on her experience of how confidence is a woman’s secret weapon in the corporate world. PhD Graduate, Minoo Masihpour, echoed the same tune. With a background in research in wireless communication networks, her academic studies gave her the confidence “never to surrender”.

The Lucy Mentoring Program is an innovative leadership program with the aim to inspire, motivate and educate young females about the opportunities available in senior corporate and public sector roles. Both mentors and mentees benefit from the mutually beneficial relationship, with Sabina Bhuiyan, Test Manager at IBM, calling it a “win-win” situation. 

Her mentee, Michelle Whye, a 4^th year Bachelor of Science in IT student, could not agree more. “I feel very privileged to be participating in the Lucy Mentoring Program. It is very encouraging to have contact with women in senior engineering and IT positions because they inspire us students to join these non-traditional female fields with confidence.”

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