Tag Archives: Napier STEM

Know Your Worth: We’re done waiting to equate

A call to action for STEM students to redefine diversity in tech careers

If you’re reading this post, it’s not by chance. There’s a desire for something new on your inside, a voice urging you to break norms, a little fire yearning for fuel, perhaps a dream of a tech career, held back by fear of unattainability. Even upon entry, there’s the concern of being undervalued and not considered worthy of senior roles. Guess what? You’re not alone.

The current situation

Despite the progress made in recent years, women and non-binary individuals are still a minority in most STEM fields. This underrepresentation not only limits diversity of thought and innovation but also perpetuates stereotypes about who belongs in these domains.

Why the hold up?

It is crucial to understand the challenges faced in breaking barriers to creating a more inclusive future. From societal expectations to subtle biases, the external forces, in combination with the internal hinderances (imposter syndrome, lack of confidence, fear of not being enough, etc), slow down the progress. By addressing these challenges, we can break the norm and redefine diversity in tech careers.

Empowerment through supportive communities

Building communities that celebrate diversity and inclusion, such as EQUATE SCOTLAND and Napier STEM, is essential. Encouraging networking opportunities, hosting events that highlight the achievements of women and non-binary individuals in STEM, and fostering a change within and around academic and professional circles can break down barriers and inspire collective action.

Know your worth: Equate Student Conference 2024

You must have encountered the familiar mantra from motivational speakers “It starts with you”. However, the veracity of this statement is undeniable. The truth is, your decision to contribute to global change, challenge norms and assert your creativity is the true starting point for making an impact.

QR code to register for Equate Student Conference

The theme of Equate’s 2024 Student conference is “Know Your Worth”. This theme has been chosen by our Equate Student Network. By bringing together students, organisations, and professionals, we hope to inspire the next generation of STEM workers to recognise and celebrate the value they bring to the STEM ecosystem. The conference will consist of a number of workshops and panel sessions on female leadership, women in construction, and knowing your rights for diversity in the work place. This is a great opportunity for transformation and self-empowerment, open to STEM students of all genders studying at Scottish Universities.

It will be held on the 21st of February at Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh, from 10am until 4pm.

Deborah Abassah, NAPIER STEM Student Champion

Info and planning meeting

If you’re a student in Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing, Engineering, and the Built Environment, you’re invited to an info and planning meeting online on Wednesday 31^st January, 2-2:30 pm. Contact Ella Taylor-Smith for an invite to the meeting.

Women’s Engineering Society Student Conference 2023

Phallideth Phen attended the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) Student Conference in Leeds on December 1, 2023:

As a first-time attendee, I was genuinely impressed by the overall organization and the invaluable insights gained throughout the event.

The conference’s agenda, featuring a diverse range of workshops, team-building activities, speaker events, Q&A sessions, and catering, provided a comprehensive look into the world of Women in STEM. The WES created a comfortable space for women professionals and students alike, fostering an environment conducive to learning and networking.

One of the highlights for me was attending two insightful workshops, namely “Continuous Professional Development” and “Identifying Your Strengths and Weaknesses in Presentation.” These sessions not only helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses but also guided how to develop and leverage them for personal and professional growth.

Participating in the team-building activity “Build the Bridge” was a fun and educational experience. This challenge required strategic planning, resource management, and effective collaboration with team members. The key takeaways included improved problem-solving skills, active listening, creative thinking, and a deeper understanding of cooperation and teamwork dynamics.

The speaker events were equally captivating, with presentations on “How to Get a Graduate Job in 6 Months” and “How to Build Confidence and Stop Apologizing.” The speakers’ engaging and humorous approach left me motivated and energized, offering valuable insights on job preparation and future planning.

Women attending the conference listening to a speaker — Women at the conference

Networking at the conference allowed me to connect with inspiring women from various STEM fields, facilitating the exchange of ideas on study subjects and future career plans. This networking experience has been powerful in motivating me to be more active and productive in my pursuits.

Additionally, the conference provided an opportunity to explore the city of Leeds, offering a glimpse into another part of the UK. However, my journey back to Edinburgh turned an otherwise fantastic day into a rather challenging experience, as train disruption meant I didn’t arrive home till 3:30 AM.

Attending the WES Student Conference was an incredible opportunity, fully funded by SCEBE, and I recommend that other students look out for similar opportunities. Such as the:

Equate Scotland student conference (21st February 2024, Edinburgh).
And the BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium (4th April 2024, Liverpool) . The abstract deadline is Monday February 5th, 2024.

Contact Ella Taylor-Smith re funding etc.

Napier STEM Society

Napier STEM is our society for women and gender minorities in SCEBE. To get involved in a wide range of events, follow our socials and/or join our network:

Ada Scotland Festival 2023: ENU events

Four events from SCEBE and Equate Scotland:

ENUSEC presents: Capture the Flag Competition

Test your cyberskills in ENUSEC’s annual Ada Scotland CTF. The competition is open to school students (S3-S6), college and uni students and runs throughout the Festival (2-13^th October, 2023).

Equate Scotland presents: Journeys into Data Science

Equate Scotland Journeys into Data Science

Online,
Thursday 5th October 2023, 12:30 to 13:30.
Join Equate Scotland online to explore opportunities for women and non-binary to come into a career in data science later in life.

Edinburgh Napier University presents: S2 Girls into STEM

4th year Civil Engineering Student

Merchiston Campus,
Tuesday 10th October 2023, 11:00 to 15:00.
On Ada Lovelace Day, we’re welcoming S2 girls and non-binary students into our the School of Computing, Engineering, and the Built Environment (SCEBE) at Merchiston, for STEM inspiration, challenges and fun.
To register a group please email outreach@napier.ac.uk

Napier STEM presents: Women and gender minorities in STEM careers event

Napier STEM Ada Scotland Careers Event

G04, Merchiston Campus, Wednesday 11th October 2023, 14:00 to 16:00.
Career-themed get together at Merchiston.
Women and gender minority students in Computing and Engineering (especially SCEBE students) are invited to come and listen to short career talks from professionals, ask questions, and meet other people, especially our Napier STEM society, and eat ice cream.

Lots more Ada Scotland Festival events

Lots more events on the Ada.Scot website and more being added daily.

If you want to chat about any of these events or get involved, please contact Ella Taylor-Smith.

Napier STEM Society – a society for women and gender minorities in STEM

Have you ever felt like the odd one out in lectures? Want to meet others who share this experience? With women making up 26% of STEM (Science, Technology, Maths and Engineering) university graduates, it is quite likely you are not alone.

Napier STEM is a brand new society at Napier which aims to overcome this by supporting and encouraging women and other gender minorities in STEM throughout their university experience. Hopefully, by reading about our society and what we have been doing will encourage you to become a member and join in with our next event.

Follow this ENSA link to become a member.

Idea for the society

Our society was created, while a group of us were discussing opportunities to strengthen the community of women and other gender minorities in STEM at Napier with the amazing support of Equate Scotland and SCEBE (The school of computing, engineering and built engineering).

Societies for women in STEM are common at other universities, but Napier was lacking one. We decided this was a great opportunity to put one in place, and we have found it very important to remain inclusive for other gender minorities who may also feel isolated in STEM.

As a society, we aim to provide support when students may be struggling and encourage STEM students to continue their studies. There are often gaps with support due to the discomfort and isolation often felt by these students. We strive to build a network for gender minorities in STEM with other students, and also beyond university with opportunities to be introduced to people in industry too.

What we have done so far

Our society has been holding weekly study sessions throughout the year at Merchiston Campus, with information about them being shared on our Instagram and discord. This has been a great chance for people to come along, meet others in the society and get a change of scenery for their studies and uni work.

This past year, we’ve managed to put together many fun events. Our first being our winter crafts event. This was a small event trying to kick off the promotion of the society while giving people a break from studying. We provided crafts supplies and a selection of movies to gain the festive feel before the semester ended.

We managed to host a very successful pub quiz last semester. Held at Three Sisters, we provided lots of our freebies from Equate, along with gift voucher prizes and sweets to our winning teams. There was an amazing turnout with all our tables full and a great atmosphere amongst everyone attending.

Our society members at the pub quiz

In partnership with Equate Scotland and SCEBE, we hosted Launching into STEM, which was a panel event open to women and gender minorities. We invited along four inspiring women at different stages of their STEM career to speak about their journey and experiences, with the chance to ask question and network. This had a very successful turnout and a lot of positive feedback, both from guest speakers and attendees.

Panel members and chairs at Launching into STEM event

One of our most recent activities, was a little movie and pizza night. After a poll of different movies around women/gender minorities in STEM on our Instagram, we selected The Imitation Game. The event was relaxed and low-key on the run-up to the end of semester and is something we will definitely be hosting again.

Ideas for the future

Our main goal is to grow the society and encourage more women/gender minorities to join to help provide a better uni experience for them when they may feel overwhelmed or isolated. As the society is new, we have been growing steadily, but currently we are still small, though we have a lot to offer students at Napier.

Next year, we plan to continue our regular study sessions and socials throughout the year. Particularly, we plan to provide networking opportunities by getting together groups to attend conferences, along with providing fun activities to allow people to get to know each other and a ceilidh for people to attend. We also plan to organise a lead walk in Edinburgh and movie nights to provide more fun and relaxed events for people to come along too. Continuing our partnership with SCEBE we will aim to have reduced costs, making them more accessible to people who wish to attend.

Make sure to look out for our freshers event at the start of next year and come along and join the society to meet others.

Equate Scotland and SCEBE

Equate is an organisation which strives to support and training women in STEM throughout their careers and companies with developing and maintaining diversity in the workplace. In connection to Equate, we STEM student champions are ambassadors tasked with organising events to encourage community for women in STEM within our university.

Our connections with Equate and SCEBE have played a massive role in our success. They provide funding allowing us to keep our membership prices low and our events cheap, gaining more from our partnership. We often work in partnership with them for events, helping promote workshops Equate are running and studies happening within SCEBE at Edinburgh Napier University.

Feel free to dm or email us if you have any questions or want to learn more about us

ENSA: https://www.napierstudents.com/organisation/societies/8440/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/napierstem/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/napier-stem-a46444254/
Discord: https://discord.gg/ZkZjxeAnVz
Email: napierstem@gmail.com

Women into Tech

inspiring women studying and working in tech