Forty-five female students from three Nottingham schools got involved in an Ada Lovelace Day event at leading life sciences incubator, BioCity Nottingham, to find out about the opportunities on offer through careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
A celebration of the achievements of women in STEM
The event, run and coordinated by Nottingham Trent University, BioCity and Ignite! with support from the STEM Ambassador Hub at Derbyshire Education Business Partnership, was organised as part of Ada Lovelace Day – an international celebration of the achievements of women in STEM.
The day recognises Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Nottinghamshire poet, Lord Byron, who is known as the first computer programmer due to her progressive work on the analytical engine.
The all-girl group of students from Farnborough Academy, Nottingham Free School and Nottingham Academy took part in the session, which was created to encourage young women to pursue STEM subjects, spotlighting the accessible and appealing career paths in science.
An exciting day of activities
The event involved the students, aged between 11 and 13, taking part in activities such as ‘draw a scientist’ and ‘people like me’ that highlighted that people with similar personality traits and skills are leading successful STEM careers – helping to challenge stereotypes related to the science field.
The pupils were then given a tour of BioCity’s facilities and a demonstration of the Floss Whizzer – an invention which uses an air vortex to shoot clouds of candyfloss into the air at 60mph.
The pupils also watched presentations from four women working in or studying STEM: Chiletam Hanson Ogbu (Nottingham Trent University). Billie Crowe (Azotic Technologies) and Lorna Duffy (Sygnature Discovery).
“The pupils who attended the event at BioCity had the opportunity to develop their problem-solving, technical and creative skills, enabling them to make informed decisions about their future careers. It is essential that events like these take place in order for progress to be made in the employment of women in STEM," adds Chiletam Hanson Ogbu, Computer Systems student at Nottingham Trent University.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.