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If you’d like to find out about  more about debates to be held in Bristol as the Green Capital of Europe 2015 see here.

The Royal Institution has  kept the tradition of this series of lectures aimed at the up and coming generation of scientists since inaugurated by Michael Faraday in 1825. Either tune into BBC 4 or go to their web site to see for yourself, click here.

Gloucestershire engineer recognised as inspiration to future generation of female engineers – 11 December 2014 Hear interview from Lucy here.

Young engineer Lucy Ackland, who works for Renishaw plc in Staffordshire, has been awarded the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) prize for her ground breaking work in 3D-Printing at the prestigious IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year awards ceremony in London last night. Recognising outstanding female engineers has never been so important after recent statistics from the IET’s Skills and Demand in Industry survey showed that women represent only 6% of the engineering workforce. Further IET research showed that only 1% of parents of girls were likely to encourage their daughters into engineering, compared to 11% for parents of boys.  Lucy said: “I’m so happy to have won this award – it means a lot to be recognised for the work I do in a really exciting, upcoming industry. I’m pleased to be considered a role model for future generations of female engineers because I believe engineering is a really enjoyable career choice but sometimes people are put off by misleading stereotypes.”   Michelle Richmond, IET Director of Membership, said: “The lack of women in engineering is a very significant problem, contributing to skills shortages which damage the economy. The shocking reality is that the UK is missing out on half of its potential engineering and technology workforce by failing to attract women into the industry. It also means that women are losing out on interesting and rewarding career opportunities. The difficulty in attracting women into engineering is down to a combination of things: from the careers advice girls are given in schools, to schools not instilling girls with the confidence to opt for science and maths at A-level, through to employers needing to do more to make their approach to recruitment and retention more female friendly. But it’s also a result of the lack of inspirational engineering role models for girls – which is where our Young Woman Engineer of the Year winners can play a vital role.”   Dawn Bonfield, WES President, said: “The Women’s Engineering Society is delighted that this award goes to Lucy Ackland, who has already done an enormous amount to engage and inspire the next generation of female engineers. We are looking forward to working with Lucy this year to do even more for young people, and crucially their parents, in changing stereotypes of the engineering sector and especially of the apprenticeship route into engineering. Congratulations Lucy.”   Chris Pockett, Head of Communications at Renishaw plc. said: “We are very proud of what Lucy has already achieved during her engineering career with Renishaw and her tireless work, often in her own time, to promote STEM-based careers to young people. The WES Prize is fantastic national recognition of this work and we know that she will continue to be a great ambassador for the engineering sector over the coming years.”     For more information, visit www.wes.org.uk,  www.theiet.org and www.renishaw.com

 

Bristol is a Laboratory for Change, and  will be inviting businesses and academia to see the city as the place to collaborate, develop and test new products and services aimed at advancing expertise in all areas of sustainability. Included in this year are many events committed to sustainability and which exhibits the use of technology to improve our lives. Within the programme there is a Greentech Camp aimed at 9-17 year olds to show how technology can be used to meet green goals.

For example the programme in 2015  includes:

International GreenTech Festival Digital Greentech: BBC Bristol Digital Week & Green Capital Digital Challenge ‘Green & Digital’ Cleanweb Event, 5th February 2015

The Watershed, 6th March, 12.00pm – 2.00pm

International GreenTech Festival Greentech Innovation: Greentech Camp & Venturefest Bristol Greentech Camp, 30th March 2015 – 2nd April 2015 The Greentech Camp will get young people interested in the potential of green technology. The camp will provide 9-17 years old with an opportunity to learn about and explore how technology can be used for green goals.

International GreenTech Festival Greentech in the City: White Paper, Video, Roundtable & Business Dinner ‘Greentech in the City’ Project, 10th March 2015 (TBC) – 18th June 2015 This project will gather insights from cities around the world on three areas of ‘Greentech in the City’: (i) how are citizens using technology to green the city; (ii) what infrastructure are cities investing in to encourage the application of green technology; and (iii) how are businesses and universities being encouraged to support greentech research, development, innovation and commercialisation.

For full details of the whole project see: http://www.bristol2015.co.uk/

 

NSETC is a new school, based in Weston-super-Mare, offering 14-19 year olds a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) focused education to help develop critical thinkers, increase science literacy, and lead to the next generation of entrepreneurs. As one of the school’s key focuses, NSETC have pledged their support to the national campaign, Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (#TEWeek14), which takes place from 3-7November 2014 and aims to change perceptions of engineering among young people, their parents and teachers.

For further details see  http://nsetc.n-somerset.sch.uk/category/news/

Discovery workshop for girls, parents and teachers

Saturday 22 November 2014
1.30-4.30

Join WISE at the ‘Create your Future’ event in partnership with UK Power Networks at St. Benedicts school in Bury St Edmunds. Book your free place

http://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/events/2014/11/create-your-future-bury-st-edmunds

WES – working to inspire women in engineering and allied sciences for 95 years; promoting careers in engineering; supporting companies with gender diversity; and speaking as the collective voice of women engineers. Their annual conference is to be held at Aston University  on Friday 14th November 2014 – Saturday 15th November 2014. Entitled Engineering Inspiration , it will be the  sixth annual WES student conference – brings together over 150 students and engineers to celebrate a shared passion  in engineering and technology and to open students’ eyes to career possibilities. Their conference details can be found on    see  http://www.wes.org.uk/

STEMalliance seeks  to nurture and train UK’s future STEM talent in order  to transform the skills and productivity of the people who power our engineering and advanced manufacturing technologies sectors, enabling UK industry to compete on the global stage.

For further information  http://www.semta.org.uk/STEMalliance