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We would like to pass on our thanks to everyone who attended the 'Crossing Bridges: connect and collaborate and shape your own future' event that we co-hosted with the Women's Engineering Society (WES) and Women in Architecture (WiA) at the IET on Wednesday 2nd February 2011. It was great to see such a mix of attendees from the three groups as well as other guests including the 2010 Karen Burt Award winner, Julie Templeton from Atkins Global. WES's Karen Burt Memorial Award is an annual award to encourage more women to aim for chartered engineer and corporate status.
Our keynote speaker was Sue Stockdale who shared the highs and lows of her expedition team crossing the Greenland Ice Cap where she learned about collaboration, teamwork and how you can understand and influence others by getting to know yourself. Here is some of the key advice and thoughts that Sue shared with the audience:
- To achieve in life you need three things: vision, passion and action.
- In a team environment, you need to be aware of how other people's goals can impact upon the whole team and it's necessary to accept what's important to others.
- Consider the skills that you bring to a team - have an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses - you need to know yourself but be ready to admit your weaknesses.
- How do people's differing expectations impact a team's performance? Could they cause a project to fail?
- If you don't have a passion or specific goal, it makes it easier to give up along the way.
- Pay attention to the detail - small details can distinguish you from the crowd.
- Think ahead - what are your steps to a long term vision?
- Be happy to help others progress in their careers but don't be a back-seat driver!
- Deal with anger or frustrations - bring the issue to the table.
- Find a compromise.
- Appreciate the differences between people.
- What will motivate you along the way? Reward yourself on your career journey.
- Innovations don't always save you time initially but that doesn't mean they should be discarded.
- Don't be complacent.
- Having good support is key to success.
Sue's presentation was followed by a short Q&A with Maggie Berry, Women in Technology's MD, Pamela Edwards and Clare Devine from Women in Architecture, Jan Peters, President of the Women’s Engineering Society and Sue Stockdale and then Julie Templeton from Atkins Global was presented with the 2010 Karen Burt Award. The evening finished with drinks and bowl food and lots of networking!
This is the second event that we've co-hosted with the Women's Engineering Society - we also worked with them on 'Women of Substance: Inspiring Women in STEM' in January 2010: http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/women-of-substance and we hope to work with both WES and WiA again in the future.
About the Women’s Engineering Society
The Women’s Engineering Society (WES), was founded in 1919 as a professional network of women engineers. Today WES is an active network and a registered charity working in partnership with employers, educators and other professional bodies and women’s networks to inspire women to achieve their potential as engineers, scientists and as technical leaders. WES members are largely UK based and work and study in a variety of disciplines. They offer MentorSET, an annual conference and the Doris Gray Student Conference as well as regional networking events, site visits and are currently campaigning for improved personal protective equipment for women and now sell Dunlop safety boots in our online shop. Visit www.wes.org.uk
About Women in Architecture
WiA champions the participation and professional advancement of women in architecture. It serves as a platform for debate, exchange and support between women architects, and as a link with the built environment professions. Women play a significant role in the built environment as: architects, engineers and design and construction professionals, campaigners and lobbyists, clients, contractors and developers, educators, policymakers and women in the media. WiA promotes women at all stages of their academic and professional careers. WiA aims to raise the profile, represent the views and promote the role of women in architecture and the built environment professions. 40% of students obtaining architecture degrees, and 34% of those qualifying for the Part 3 stage are women; yet they constitute only 17% of the practising workforce in architecture. This is reflected in the broader construction industry context, with female membership of professional bodies averaging only 10-20%. WiA aims to change this through its initiatives, activities and events. Visit here for further information
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