National Event Engineers Equality

Women in Engineering workshop

As part of National Women in Engineering Day, Rochester Bridge Trust teamed up with the University of Greenwich to host an event to emphasise the inclusivity of engineering.

Called ‘Engineering – it’s in everything’, the afternoon event was attended by more than 70 adults and children aged from three to 17, not forgetting Trust mascot Langdon the Lion.

It began with a traditional cream tea, followed by presentations from women engineers and what proved to be a very competitive bridge building challenge.

Women in Engineering workshop

The speakers were Carol Valentine of Kent County Council and Sue Threader, Bridge Clerk for the Rochester Bridge Trust. Both talks were well-received and emphasised the wide range of work carried out by civil engineers and how their efforts are essential to our daily lives.

A bridge building competition then followed in which participants were provided with cardboard, string, sticky tape and paper clips and challenged to create their own model bridge. These were then tested for strength, with the winning bridge holding over 20kg. The prize hamper (including three bottles of wine, lego and KNex kits) was won by a team of young women from Fort Pitt and Rochester Grammar School.

Women in Engineering workshop

Bridge Clerk Sue Threader commented: “To see so many people taking an interest in our talks and immersing themselves in the bridge building challenge really emphasised that civil engineering is a fully inclusive profession.

“We hope the young people we met at this event – supported by their parents and teachers – have been inspired to consider this vital sector as a future career option.”

National Women in Engineering Day is an initiative run by the Women’s Engineering Society

 

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