It is widely recognised that girls are underrepresented in STEM industries, and Technocamps aims to redress the balance. We offer clubs and seminars exclusively to girls through our GiST Cymru programme. Each workshop is delivered by female engineers and scientists who showcase the opportunities open to Women in STEM.
Our WiST (Women in Science and Technology) programme is a network of females working in STEM industries, who act as role models for the next generation of scientists and engineers. We encourage our role models to get involved with the project and we offer opportunities for individuals, companies, and other organisations to engage with young people by supporting the work we do in schools. In this way, we hope to reach girls who have not previously considered STEM as an option, and encourage them towards careers in STEM.
We collaborate with a number of external partners to ensure that the GiST Cymru scheme provides variety in terms of content and offers participants the chance to experience and explore STEM subjects in a fun and engaging way. These partners include: Chwarae Teg, British Gas, British Airways, National Museum of Wales, Science Made Simple, ESTnet, NHS Wales, and NDEC.
A key member of our role model network is Magnox Ltd CEO and Nuclear Institute President, Gwen Parry-Jones OBE. Gwen spoke at our 2021 International Women’s Day celebration, where she discussed the challenges she has faced as the UK’s only female station director of a commercial nuclear reactor. She has often been mistaken for a canteen worker or an administrator while in senior engineering roles and has felt underrepresented in board meetings. As a result, Gwen is passionate about gender equality and equal representation in Science and Technology in the media and society.
Wendy Dearing is another of our inspirational role models. Wendy is a nurse by background, and a BCS Fellow and Leading Practitioner of Federation of Informatics Professionals, she holds an MSc in Change & Innovation and was awarded an Honorary Professorship from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. As the current Dean of the Institute of Management and Health at UWTSD and the Chair of BSC Wales Health, Wendy has a passion for developing the next generation and empowering females to consider STEM careers.
To date, we have welcomed over 550 girls to our GiST events, and there are over 120 women in our WiST network.
If you’d like to be a Technocamps Role Model, get in touch via comms@technocamps.com.