“[It] was the first time I’d been in a room with so many successful women so that was really empowering.”
Eve, UKESF Scholar

For the third year in a row, the UKESF supported the final-year female scholars to attend the annual Women’s Engineering Society (WES) Student Conference with all-expenses-paid places. Attendance was kindly sponsored by Enigma for 2018, a recruitment company that specialises in the UK technology sector.

Five scholars travelled to the University of Warwick for the tenth annual conference, which had a theme of ‘Building Sustainable Cities and Communities’ and took place from 23rd to 24th November. The conference brings together over 150 students, academics and young engineers, and provides the opportunity to network with role models, gain insight into societal challenges, improve technical skills and self-confidence, and develop career–life balance strategies.

The scholars who attended had a great time and shared their thoughts with Enigma in a series of interviews about the event, gender diversity in the Electronics industry and future career plans.

First up was Eve McGlynn, who is in the final year of a MEng degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Glasgow University. On the conference, Eve said, “I’m used to going into university and maybe being the only girl in the lecture theatre or one of only a few and, although I know there are lots of women in engineering at all different levels, that was the first time I’d been in a room with so many successful women so that was really empowering.” Read the full interview here.

Next was Andie Bejarano Carbo, in the fourth year of a MEng degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol. On her scholarship, Andie said,”I’ve been able to work at Dialog Semiconductor for two years, thanks to the UKESF, which I’ve really enjoyed. Getting industry exposure has been one of the best experiences as I’ve been able to build on my theoretical knowledge from university.” Read the full interview here.

Lastly, Lauren Page was interviewed. Lauren is in the final year of her BEng degree in Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey and was the 2018 recipient of our Skills 4 UK Scholar’s Award. On the opportunity to attend the conference, Lauren said, “I just appreciate so much that things like this are funded and are run; and that people recognise that putting all these people together in the same room is a positive thing and is worth the time and effort that it takes.” Read the full interview here.