Upcoming Women in Engineering Panel Discussion - 9 July

Dear Supporters,
Leading up to our Women in Engineering & IT Hands on Day as part of Australian Engineering Week.............Please see below an upcoming event at Engineers Australia Chatswood Offices. There are many factors involved in influencing women to become engineers and scientists. Hear from a variety of speakers across all demographics. REGISTER HERE
Please email all enquiries to sydneywie [at] engineersaustralia.org.au

A warm thank you is extended to our friends at Engineers Australia-Sydney Wie Division and in particular our 2011 UTS Women in Engineering Scholar, Elizabeth (Biomedical Engineering student) for holding such an event.

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Women in male-dominated industries: A toolkit of strategies

This year, the Australian Human Rights Commission in conjunction with the Office for Women in the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs released a 'toolkit' aimed at addressing some of the issues facing women in male-dominated industries. The 'toolkit' is designed as a resource for employers and employees, which provides practical solutions to gender equality issues in areas such as attraction, recruitment, retention and career development of women. Follow the link below to find out more:
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/women-male-dominated-industries-toolkit-strategies-2013

We strongly recommend this document for Human Resources professionals as well as professionals in any fields considered to be 'non-traditional' for women.

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Women in Tech

This infographic can be found at: http://www.mbaonline.com/women-in-tech/

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Lucy Mentoring Program Graduation

On Tuesday 16 October, UTS Broadway campus played host to the final function of the Lucy Mentoring Program for 2012. The Program, originally an initiative of the NSW Government Office for Women's policy almost ten years ago, has been coordinated by the Faculty of Engineering and IT since 2010. This year from May until October over 40 female Engineering and IT students were paired with professional women from 23 different organisations within the public and private sector. Students spent 35 hours in an industry workplace, learning about career dynamics, how to balance work with family and other factors, as well as how to apply the theory being learned every day within the halls of University. The students' presented their insights based on their experience to an audience consisting of Mentors, Industry Guests and senior Faculty staff as well as colleagues from the UTS Equity & Diversity Unit. Guest Speaker on the evening was Sharon Dickson, Honorary Secretary from the Australian Computer Society's NSW Branch Executive Committee, who kindly sponsored the evening emphasizing their ongoing commitment to diversity within the Australian ICT industry.


Please see a final Program from the evening below. 

   
UTS Women in Engineering & IT Program, a division of the Faculty's External Engagement Portfolio, is grateful for the ongoing contribution of our industry Mentor's in supporting and developing young women studying technical degree programs. We are thankful for your advice providing insight, career awareness and friendship and we look forward to keeping in touch.    

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UTS Women in Engineering Alumni Event

It’s a rainy afternoon in Sydney, but the inside of the Powerhouse Museum is warm and alive with music and the smell of good food. Guests were welcomed in front of a giant 1920’s steam train and invited to take a look at the museum's Engineering Excellence Awards technology exhibition. Engineers from around Sydney, UTS alumni and staff were treated to canapés and drinks before presentations began.  
Themed, "Where have the flowers gone?",

the meeting is an invitation to UTS  engineering graduates to reflect on where they are now and share perspectives on the
experience for women in the profession today. 
The rate of growth of women in the engineering profession in Australia does not reflect even the small increases in university enrolments since the 1990’s. Reasons for leaving engineering uncovered by successive industry surveys include lack of flexible working conditions, workplace culture, lack of career development and pay inequity. At the same time, women are succeeding in engineering by adapting and by innovating and by finding progressive employers. What prospects are there for change that will better sustain and help retain women to succeed and flourish in their chosen fields and how can we collaborate to see it happen?
This topic was discussed by three panelists: Professor Marian Baird, Drenka Andjelic and Fiona Coe.
Professor Marian Baird has been a key policy advisor to government in the development of new legislation – Paid Parental Leave, Fair Work and the proposed Workplace Gender Equality Act.

Drenka Andjelic (Alumni) has put her values about work life balance into practice in the establishment of her project management company in the construction industry, and has won recognition for her innovation.

Fiona Coe (Alumni) has been a strong advocate for women in engineering as a student, and she has worked hard to make her professional workplace a more sympathetic environment. Now she is on a quest to find a way to resolve her passions with engineering practice.
After the speakers, there was a lively discussion  with many questions from the audience. Some interesting points of contention were raised and different view points discussed. You can view the entire presentation section of the evening by clicking here.

From left to right: Bronwyn Holland, Drenka Andjelic,
Fiona Coe and Prof. Marian Baird

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Women in Engineering Winter Gala Dinner 2012

To celebrate the conclusion of Engineering Week, the Sydney division of Engineers Australia invited women from all over Sydney and surrounds to join them for their annual Women in Engineering Winter Gala Dinner. On 11 August 2012, several representatives of the UTS Women in Engineering and IT Program attended this spectacular black tie event. This year, the Winter Gala Dinner was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Circular Quay, with stunning views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. After being greeted by waiters holding trays of drinks and told where we were sitting, we got an opportunity to mingle and appreciate the balcony view, as well as everyone’s extravagant clothing! A wonderful three course dinner was served, interspersed with speeches by the two guest speakers. 

First to talk was Sandra Triulzi, who is the National Diversity Manager at Abigroup. Sandra spoke about her experiences and about some of the things she has learnt over the years working as a female in a male dominated industry. One of her more prominent points was the need for there to be an industry wide paradigm shift away from emphasis on the ideal employee towards being an ideal employer.

The second presenter was the guest of honour, Professor Mary O’Kane, NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer. It was a truly special experience hearing Mary's address, which touched on many keen issues that affect women in non-traditional fields today. Everyone wanted a photo with Mary afterwards as a souvenir to remember her inspirational words. 

At the close of the speeches section of the event, everyone was encouraged to stay for tea and coffee and enjoy the venue. The night was relaxing and tasteful, and I can’t wait to attend again next year!

 WiE&IT Staff with Professor Mary O'Kane, NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer

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SWIEIT Speakers' Program - Riverina Road Trip

On Monday 30 July, Sydney Women in Engineering and IT Speakers' Amy (BE-mechanical) and Rochelle (BInfTech) travelled to the Riverina region of rural NSW to speak to over 120 female students in Years 7-12. After a frosty morning with ice on the windscreen of the hire-car, first up was the school hall at Murrumburrah High School where the speakers engaged a lovely group of girls with their journey about wanting to study engineering & IT and some robot friends they took along. 

The SWIEIT speakers' then drove to Young where they were met by careers adviser Susan Matthews and a delicious lunch in the library staffroom - Thank you, before speaking to a group of senior girls in the school's ICT resource centre! Last stop for the day was Cootamundra High School before a long drive back up the Hume Highway to UTS Broadway Campus. A HUGE thank you is extended to all three schools for hosting us and we would love to see some of you come and visit us for Engineering & IT Discovery Day on Friday 30 November at UTS.     

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Epic Month of SWIEIT Speaker Visits in Sydney

The Sydney Women in Engineering & IT Speakers Program has broken a new record, speaking to over 500 high school girls in years 9-12 throughout the month of May. The visits held at nine different schools around the Sydney region included, St Scholastica's College Glebe, Cheltenham Girls High School, Moorefield Girls High School Kogarah, Al Amanah College Liverpool, Roseville College, Catherine McAuley Westmead, Hurlstone Agricultural High School, Glenwood High School and Loreto Normanhurst. 

SWIEIT Speaker teams of UTS female students shared their own story with high school girls and answered their questions about engineering and IT in an informal atmosphere as well as talk about senior subject selection and pathways into engineering and IT. We even had the opportunity to take along some of our robot friends and explain that they were actually built by Year 10 students in January 2012 as part of the U@UTS summer school. On the visits, female students were able to identify the robotic sensors as well as think about areas in society where sensors and engineering innovations are used. 

We would like to warmly thank Careers Advisors, Mathematics and Science teachers at the schools listed above for allowing us to inspire your students. We were warmly welcomed and look forward to visiting you all again soon. 

The Sydney Women in Engineering & IT Speakers Program is an ongoing initiative between the University of Technology Sydney and industry partners GHD and Roads and Maritime Services NSW.   

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NSW Girl Geek Coffee Meet-up happening soon......3 May

Fancy a technology meetup with women in IT and Engineering over a good cup of coffee (or tea, chai, etc.)?

We wanna see as many UTS women attending as possible :-) 

NSW girl geek coffees are holding our first meetup of 2012 at Envoy Advanced Technologies - a growing Australian software and web development startup that already has clients such as Jetabroad, Spirit of Tasmania, Blindsonline.com.au and Lovelinks by Pastiche. 


They are also actively looking for graduates and interns to join their team.  Check out their website here: http://envoyat.com/

Date: Thursday 3rd May

Time: 3pm

Location: EnvoyAT North Sydney Offices, Level 14, 213 Miller Street North Sydney (Google Map is here: http://g.co/maps/37uvm)


There will also be Google freebies up for grabs! :)

Free Food and Drinks will be provided.

RSVP: Via the Facebook Event (confirm your attendance on the Event wall) OR via reply email with contact details.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us at sydgirlgeekcoffees@gmail.com.

Hope to see you there! :)

Regards,
The NSW GGC Ambassador Team 

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NSW Girl Geek Coffees

Email: sydgirlgeekcoffees@gmail.com

Site: http://sites.google.com/site/sydneygirlgeekcoffees/

Blog: http://sydgirlgeekcoffees.wordpress.com/

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