FemEng gets ready for Rwanda

FemEng Rwanda 2017 team In less than three weeks, the FemEng in Rwanda 2017 team from the University of Glasgow’s School of Engineering will be setting off to Kigali for the second year running, writes Ellen Simmonds, FemEng Project Manager.

With an array of fresh faces and new ideas, the four-week long outreach programme is set to even more successful than the year before.

Women in Engineering

Reaching more than 500 schoolgirls in 2016 alongside a 16-person team of Rwandan students and high-school graduates, the FemEng Rwanda team brought an innovative insight into engineering, STEM and careers in general to many who would otherwise lack this level of information and support.

The initiative began thanks to the help of Professor John Briggs, International Dean for Africa and Vice-Principal at UofG. FemEng at Glasgow was founded in 2013, aiming to increase retention of women in the School of Engineering through networking and by providing role models.

This group evolved to include an element of outreach, and now facilitates school visits to promote engineering to the younger generation.

From Aero to Biomedical to Civil, FemEng has representatives from many disciplines of engineering who have taken part in this work.

Branching out

In 2016, FemEng decided to branch out overseas, namely Rwanda due to its strong female presence and current links with Glasgow and the University

The team were invited back this year. Working with Jumai Abioye (UofG PhD candidate) and her company IAE Africa, FemEng have formulated ways to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit within the participants and give them opportunities to develop their careers prospects during the programme.

This involves a variety of careers-based workshops and a site visit to a local startup, Zipline, who use drone technology to transport blood and plasma products around Rwanda.

AFRIpads

The project is also addressing the fact that many young women in Rwanda consider sanitary products to be “luxury items”, which leads to a reduction in attendance of school or university. We are partnering with AFRIpads in order to provide reusable sanitary products to those who struggle to afford their own, and teach these girls and women the importance of keeping up with their studies - especially if they are hoping to emerge into STEM careers.

Thanks to our sponsors

The workshops provided to Rwandan schools by the FemEng team have been heavily supplemented this year, thanks to the inputs of our sponsors.

STAR Refrigeration, the Rapid Foundation and the University of Glasgow have given significant amounts of equipment and worked examples of interactive activities to communicate engineering and science concepts in interesting ways. Notably, the Proteus Group from UofG and the University of Edinburgh are giving FemEng prototypes of their Ingenious Circuits - resources and electronic equipment which aid in STEM teaching - to try out in their workshops. Funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, these circuits have been specially designed to suit classroom situations, working alongside teachers during the development process. Other donated items include a portable 3D printer, whirling thermometers and low-cost diagnostic devices for malaria.

Recognised by Parliament

Finally, the FemEng team are working with their supporting MSPs and MPs, Sandra White and Patrick Grady, to ensure their work in Glasgow and Rwanda is recognised through the Parliaments, and will be discussing long-term strategies following our trip in July. We are also entering discussions with the Allan Glen’s STEM Academy to aid in the creation of their career-based educational resources.