SWIEIT Speakers visit - Davidson High School

  Today, the Sydney Women in Engineering and IT Speakers Program at UTS sent representatives to Davidson High School to talk to a group of 80 girls about studying engineering and IT. Davidson High School is situated in Northern Sydney and female students from years 9 to 12 sat in on the presentations by our speakers Allissa, Julia, Harshaa and myself!

  First off, Allissa, a second year civil engineering student, spoke about her experience applying for scholarships. She spent only three hours applying for as many scholarships as possible and was offered two, which shows just how easy applying for scholarships can be. Allissa was one of the two recipients of the 2012 WJ and LM Sinclair Scholarship, worth $50,000 each.

  I spoke about some of the innovative engineering designs of the 20th century, such as the Stratosphere Tower roller coaster in LA and the Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany, to show the girls how interesting engineering can be. We showed a video featuring Bill Gates, Mark Zuckeberg and Will I Am, explaining what coding is and how amazing jobs in IT are. Then Julia gave an inspiring speech about why she chose to study IT at UTS, the opportunities it's opened up for her and the advantages of being your own person. Julia was the only girl in her IT class the year before and implored the listening students to consider IST as a subject for years 11 and 12. She was also one of the recipients of the BIT co-op scholarships for 2013. Second round applications for these scholarships are opening on the 1st August and there are still plenty of places left. 

  Thanks go to Davidson High School for hosting us, we look forward to visiting again soon and hope to see some of your graduates joining the Faculty of Engineering and IT at UTS in 2014.

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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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Launch of the UTS Research Equity Initiative - Wed 10 April

[ATTN: Industry Professionals, UTS Alumni, Higher Degree Research Students and Bachelor students with an interest in pursuing a Research or Academic Career!]
 
Professor Attila Brungs, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, invites you to celebrate the launch of the UTS Research Equity Initiative. 

The UTS Research Equity Initiative, which aims to support researchers with carer responsibilities and to promote gender equity in research at UTS.
Current Higher Degree Research women within the Faculty and senior Bachelor-level students are warmly encouraged to attend.

Guest speaker, Dr Cathy Foley, Chief of the CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering Division and 2013 NSW Woman of the Year, will explore: Research, Families & Careers: can we have it all?

Dr Foley will speak to this topic from her own experience as one of Australia's foremost scientists and mother of two, and will look at what organisations can do to make a positive difference for staff with family responsibilities who wish to pursue their passion for their work, as well as their passion for life.

Dr Ann Reich, a recipient of the new Childcare and Carers Fund (Conference Attendance), which is one of the new programs under the Research Equity Initiative, will speak about the Fund and its impact from her perspective as a UTS Early Career Researcher.

Date: Wednesday 10 April, 2013
Time: 4pm to 6pm
Where: Tower building, level 5, Balcony Room
RSVP: Events@uts.edu.au

Please share this fantastic event with your peers including male researchers and colleagues who have carer responsibilities.

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