Aston University – inspiring more women into engineering careers

• Aston University is celebrating International Women in Engineering Day

• College of Engineering and Physical Sciences photography campaign of females as #EngineeringHeroes

• Campaign aims to encourage girls into engineering careers

A team of female engineering heroes from Aston University’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences has banded together to encourage girls into STEM careers.

As part of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), the world’s largest initiative to celebrate the achievements of women in engineering, Aston University’s very own team of engineers have shown themselves to be the very best STEM superheroes.

Aston University Mechanical Engineering Student and STEM Ambassador

Olamide Olabode

Dressed in capes and taking selfies for the event on Wednesday 23 June, female ambassadors from the College, in collaboration with the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology, have also put together video content to show off their engineering skills and become ‘heroes’ for girls wanting to do the same.

Also launching on the day will be a competition for participating schools linked to Aston University. Girls are being challenged to come up with their own superhero gadget / gizmo idea.

Professor Sarah Hainsworth OBE FREng, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Aston University, said they were proud to be a part of INWED2021.

“It is so important to us to encourage more girls into STEM subjects. Our hope is that through our teaching, and our partnership with the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology with its focus on technical skills for advanced manufacturing and giving students a clear route to technical employment, many will follow in the footsteps of our incredible team and be the STEM leaders of the future.

“At Aston University, we work on sustainability for the environment, bioengineering, robotics, machine learning, sensors, communications, artificial intelligence, technologies for future vehicles and the issues that shape our future. On International Women in Engineering Day (INWED 2021), our College of Engineering and Physical Sciences celebrates the amazing contribution of our women colleagues who represent the cutting edge of engineering who are making vital contributions to our health and wellbeing, our society and our planet,” she added.

Katy Lewis, marketing manager, said schools invited to take part were from the Aspire to Aston progressive programme, which works with 10 schools in and around Birmingham from areas of high deprivation.

“At each of these schools there are up to 40 pupils per year group who have the academic ability to aim for university but lack the knowledge and confidence to do so and are selected for the programme. Our aim is to raise aspirations and normalise the idea of going into higher education, which is why us doing challenges like this one is so vitally important, so we can’t wait to help find the STEM female stars of the future,” she said.

Currently the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences has 25% female academic staff (the UK STEM staff benchmark being 17 – 19%). The amount of female students studying the engineering subjects at Aston University has also grown over the past five years from 22% - 27%, above the UK STEM benchmark of 17% – 19%.

To find out more about engineering at Aston University, visit ww.aston.ac.uk/eps

For more details about the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology, visit this link: http://gbsiot.ac.uk/