'Are You Ready To Rock n Role?' by guest blogger Dr Elaine Hickmott

Recently I have been pondering the subject of leadership and role models.  When the SATRO team invited me to write a blog post supporting our celebration of Ada Lovelace in December I immediately knew my theme; role models and the part they play in innovation and encouraging future generations.

To explore this further let’s begin with two definitions:

Of all the potential links between role models and innovation, the one that resonates most strongly for me is inspiration; something or someone that stimulates the mind and can foster feelings of confidence and encouragement.  All of which help provide a fertile ground for innovation.

Sharing stories, explaining experiences and interacting with others provide the insights, spark the ideas and bring the human dimension needed to fuel creativity and the desire to make a difference.  Both of which are necessary to bring about innovation.  This is particularly important in STEM.  Science, technology, engineering and maths are part of our lives every day but not everyone appreciates or understands their contribution to society and the economy.  Therefore, we need role models who help raise awareness, showcase innovation in action and present STEM in a real world context.  And the best people to do this?  STEM professionals and their real life experiences.

In The Spotlight. Ready Or Not!

Like most people, scientists and engineers don’t wake up in the morning and declare, “Today, I am going to be a role model”.  It is a status bestowed upon us by others who see us as a positive example to be emulated.  This means it can happen at any time with any person.  Therefore, as STEM professionals and leaders we need to recognise the influence our behaviours and values have on others.  As well as embracing the fact that we have the chance to inspire those around us. 

A great example of this came from one of my clients; a scientist and director in the environmental sector.  During our work together she learnt that she was viewed as a role model by other females in the company who were pleased to see a woman on the Board. She told me, ”When I learnt I was viewed as a role model it was an amazing revelation to me, and made me even more determined to communicate successfully and be a positive example”.

A Stereotype-free Zone

Finally, there is an assumption that role models are people older and more experienced than us.  This is not necessarily the case.  Inspiration doesn’t have such a narrow outlook.  Personally, I continue to be inspired by the young people who I meet through working with SATRO.  Their ideas and fresh perspectives on the world add a new dimension to my own view; something I cannot achieve alone.  Plus meeting them makes me strive to be even better myself.  If by chance they see me as an example, I certainly don’t want to let them down!

Regardless of age, background, experience and aspirations, we all have the ability to inspire others to be their best, to innovate and to make a difference.  It’s a gift and it’s powerful.  How are you going to share your gift today?

by Dr Elaine Hickmott, Development Director and founder, EH Enterprises

If you would like to find out more information and/or book tickets for the Ada Lovelace Evening in aid of SATRO, follow this link. Alternatively, call Guildford Tourist Information on 01483 444334

'Are there sufficient women in non-traditional roles today?' by guest blogger Keisha Smith

The Ada Lovelace Discussion on 10 December is titled ‘Are there sufficient women in non-traditional roles/careers today If not, why not?’

I’m mostly familiar with my field of STEM and engineering and based on current statistics, the answer to the first question seems to be no. The latest figures (August 2015[1]) for the UK suggest that women make up 14.4% of all people working in STEM occupations and 8.2% working as engineering professionals.

So why aren’t there more women? My recent 6 week secondment with WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) has helped me with this question. Even though girls continue to do out perform boys at GCSE/A-level STEM subject, many areas of research suggest that some girls still don’t see non traditional STEM careers or engineering for people like them and many aren’t progressing with the subject options, such as physics, that are required for the engineering profession. Although it’s about 50:50 at GCSE level for boy and girls doing physics, at A-level it approximately 80:20[2] and therefore this has a knock on effect in the work force.

Work force figures are also affected, not only by the limited number of women entering the profession, but also by retention issues whereby women leave the profession because of lack of progression/training due to the culture of some companies.

I believe that one of the actions we can do to increase the numbers in the workforce is to try and encourage girls, both at primary and secondary level, to see engineering as a career for them. As a STEM Ambassador I go into primary schools and show students (both boys and girls) what civil engineers do, the varied nature of engineering and the positive impact engineers have on shaping the society.

Working with organisations such as SATRO also helps in encouraging girls into engineering. The company I work for was recently involved in a SATRO programme where an A-level student was given the opportunity to undertake research based on an actual project. CGL provided the student a brief based on one of our major brownfield sites in London and during the 2 weeks with the company she gained an understanding of what ground engineering (both geotechnical and geoenvironmental aspects) is all about. I supervised this work placement and it was very encouraging to see the enthusiasm she had for engineering and she helped to show me that with the right encouragement more girls could be driven to consider a career in engineering.

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[1] https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/resources/2015/09/women-in-the-stem-workforce

[2] https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/resources/2015/08/stem-a-level-and-gcse-statistics

- Keisha Smith

Guest blogger Charlotte Grobien OBE of Give it Away on 'Giving to charities'

Give it Away was formed with the sole purpose of trying to make profits from the property market in order to support a variety of Charities. Since its beginning in 2006, I have built 8 new houses and supported over 12 different Charities.  Building houses is not traditionally a work place where you find an abundance of women but I often think that with a feminine approach to the detail of how a house needs to be finished (and on time) in order to make a good sale, it is an area well suited to us!

In terms of choosing which Charities could benefit from these donations I took a similarly detailed approach.  By researching those who supported children with multiple physical and mental challenges in homes where finance was strained together with finding concerns who mentored young people out of difficulty to face a better future, I formed the basis for Give it Away. Donations are made to “projects” and because I choose the smaller Charities working locally I am able to see exactly how these monies make a difference to many families.

I am a firm believer in trying to create career opportunities for young people and to develop skills and interests they may not know they had so that they are less likely to face a crisis in their formative years.  SATRO do this at a time when there is considerable need for young people to focus on technology and innovation giving them practical experience in a range of related subjects they may never have considered exploring . If this happens to include more young girls taking an interest in non-traditional career roles so much the better – I have not found it a problem!

If I could exhort more people in their middle years to use their valuable experience and resources to “earn” money or offer “time” to help young people find a better future, I will have achieved something!

- Charlotte Grobien, OBE

The CISCO Little BIG Awards – Friday 20th March 2015

We use the internet every day: on our computers, on tablets and mobile phones. You can watch TV, make phone calls, send photos, and shop – all on the internet.

But even today less than 1% of all things are connected to the internet. What happens when your microwave, your central heating, your car, or even maybe your schoolbooks are connected to the internet? Cisco invited schools to take part in the Little Big Awards to show them how students thought their lives could be made better by connecting everyday things together.

Teams of 6 were tasked with coming up with their own idea for an application that connects things in the home or in people’s daily life: the Internet of Everything. With thousands of possibilities, the ideas could be wide-reaching or focused on one specific area. The important thing was that all ideas were thoroughly researched and followed through, supported by a Cisco mentor.

Students from Bishop David Brown School, Broadwater School, Cox Green School, Halliford School, Hampton Court House School, Magna Carta School, Rivers Academy West London, St Mark's Catholic School, Thomas Knyvett College, Tiffin Girls School and Twickenham Academy will gather on Friday 20th March to present their ideas to the judges with the winning team taking home the Little Big Awards trophy and other prizes. 

WARWICK ALTERNATIVE ENERGY DAY

The annual Alternative/Renewable Energy day was held at The Warwick School on Wednesday 9^th July as dynamic and exciting as ever with a number of engineers working with the science and technology departments at the school.  Students were grouped into large teams, divided into 2 engineering and 1 media team per group, each named after a famous scientist or engineer.  The day started with an introduction to renewable/alternative energies and then on to the design and build! It seems the pupils really enjoyed themselves, and gained a great insight into renewable and alternative energies. 

MEGA STRUCTURES CHALLENGE @ GLEBELANDS SCHOOL

180 year 9 students at Glebelands School are currently participating in SATRO's Mega-Structures Challenge, in which they have to construct a bridge made from paper sticks, held together with nuts and bolts. Their brief is to design and build a bridge that can hold the most weight! Problem solving and teamwork are key elements of the session. 

SUCCESS @ SOUTHFIELD PARK PRIMARY

On Wednesday 3rd July, SATRO headed to Southfield Park Primary School for the last Junior Business Game of this academic year. 60 pupils were put through their paces during a hugely exciting day running a stationery company.

As the pupils' fledgling companies emerged, they produced prototypes and competed for stationery orders from the panel of buyers.  Bank accounts were opened and accountants wrestled with the difficulties of cash flow, whilst sales managers were intent on winning orders and marketing managers were busy promoting their businesses.  The Game threw the students some real challenges along the way, including paper shortages and one off, time limited, opportunities to make more money for their companies!

Later in the day, in a bid to win the best presentation award, the students prepared short presentations, outlining what they had learnt.  Competition is always tough and the judges had a challenging job selecting the winner.

HARD WORKERS @ HEATHSIDE GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

Two SATRO Business Games were held at Heathside School in Weybridge last week. Over the two days, around 400 keen students from Year 10 took part. Participants had to start up a company and discuss their logo, company name and their roles within the business. They were then set the task of making and selling the goods to make a profit. The exciting  day ended with a presentation where the judges choose the winner.

One student commented, 

"The dynamics and roles of how a company functioned surprised me, but also helped me to learn how to work in a team to be successful. Working with different people I normally would not have, helped me to be more confident with my employability skills too."

Another commented, 

 "I was surprised by the freedom and how our choices affected us, we were given the freedom to make our own decisions with little or no guidance to the correct answer/product. I learnt how companies work and function with specific people doing very important and vital roles to make the company successful."

Some very valuable lessons!