Let's debunk the myths surrounding women in engineering 18th June 2018

Andy Street, West Midlands Mayor has recently opened a £5m collaborative space for businesses, artists and academics to work together on new innovative projects. The Mayor cut the ribbon to open Phase One of Birmingham City University and Eastside Projects’ STEAMhouse facility, which has been masterminded as a place where SMEs and artists can work together on new projects and business ideas.

As International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) 2018 looms just around the corner lets remind ourselves that the theme is to raise the bar. However, perhaps it's time to use this bar to quash a few misconceptions instead, well that is what Emma Cygan, Design and Development engineer at steering system supplier Pailton Engineering, believes and encourages us all to do.  

According to the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), less than ten percent of engineering professionals in the UK are women, the lowest figure in Europe. Latvia, Bulgaria and Cyprus are leading the way, with female engineers making up almost 30%. Here, Helen Marston, engineer at resistor manufacturer, Cressall, discusses the role of women in engineering throughout history. 

  In a recently published report titled 'Why not physics? - a snapshot of girls’ uptake at A-level', Professor Dame Julia Higgins, claimed that “an ill-judged quip that girls ‘can’t’ do maths, or physics is ‘too hard’, can lead to girls making life-changing decisions that alter the subject they study or the career they pursue.”

  Elesa’s standard components are exemplified with its go anywhere performance of customer Power Jacks who provide electro-mechanical linear motion, lifting and positioning systems.

Do you reckon you could capture the dynamism of modern British industry? Well photographers of all experience levels are being asked to try as the 9th annual EEF Manufacturing Photography Competition opens for entries. This year the competition - in partnership with the GREAT Campaign - is asking photographers to capture the bright future of British Manufacturing and champion the next generation of talent and technology in the sector. Photographs can portray any stage of manufacturing - from design, process and technology in action through to the finished product – and feature individuals at work.

The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), the trade body for the UK’s safety industry, has announced its support for Maintec, the UK’s only exhibition dedicated to maintenance, plant and asset management held at the NEC, Birmingham on 6th and 7th November 2018.  The BSIF, who provide support and guidance on a wide range of occupational safety issues will be attending Maintec 2018 in recognition of safety being a increasingly important addition to the maintenance engineers job responsibility. 

OpreX is a new comprehensive brand for Yokogawa Electric’s industrial automation (IA) and control business. The OpreX brand represents excellence in the technology and solutions that Yokogawa cultivates through the co-creation of value with its customers, and encompasses the entire range of the company’s IA products, services, and solutions.