With the support of UK Research and Innovation and UK Science Festivals Network, Engineering Minds has run a pilot project in the Royal Borough of Greenwich that aimed to stimulate the interest for a career in engineering for 15 girls aged 11-14 from under-represented groups. To reach these girls we have worked in partnerships with local community groups - Afyah organisation, the Greenwich Somali community and Greenwich Turkish Community. 

Two researchers and six engineers joined Engineering Minds’ effort to help these girls who had no interest for engineering to explore the fascinating world of this domain.

Corneliu Cotet PhD in Geospatial Systems

Alexandra Elena Vitel from Leeds University

Jennie Halloway from BAM Nuttall

Baran Khaksari from London Bridge Associates

Priyanka Sonawane​ from Momentum Transport Consultancy

Francesco Dragoni, Project Engineer and Esther Amarilla Garcia from CERN- the European Organization for Nuclear Research

Bahir Raiy - Mechanical engineering student at Newcastle University. 

They have all volunteered from the beginning of the project, in July 2021, and took part in the preparation meetings that aimed to find the most suitable way to engage with the girls based on research into under representation of females in engineering.

The topics covered during the project were chosen to reflect Greenwich based engineering projects that girls could relate to, as many didn’t feel that engineering was impacting in any way on their lives. The engineers explained how the local communities of SE London are daily affected by new and challenging projects and why gender balanced teams of engineers could be more effective and bring more creative approaches. 

Following the success of this pilot project, Engineering Minds will extend the model and has engaged with a few secondary schools from Greenwich who have expressed a strong interest for bringing engineering opportunities to their students. The new curriculum "Girls' Impact on Engineering" will continue to be used and improved to encourage teenage girls to explore a career in engineering and research. 

Inspiring girls who might have never contemplated becoming engineers is not an easy task, but without any doubt is one of the most rewarding projects that our organisation has run so far. You can read here more about the project’s experience on the UK Science Festivals Network blog

If you are an engineer or a primary/ secondary school willing to engage in this project, please email us at info@engineeringminds.org.uk.