International Women in Engineering Day: GDST Girls Learn About Sustainability Careers
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3 hours ago
June 23 is an annual opportunity to inspire young girls to consider a future career in STEM
Every year, June 23 marks International Women in Engineering Day – a chance to celebrate women in the field and encourage girls to consider engineering as a future profession.
To mark the occasion, infrastructure consultancy AECOM and The Girls Day School Trust (GDST) – the largest group of independent schools in the UK – teamed up to show the next generation of women just how rewarding a career in engineering can be.
A total of 80 year nine and ten students from Sutton High School, Northwood College for Girls and South Hampstead High School participated in a series of inspiring workshops focused on engineering in the sustainability sector.
Directed by leading female engineers from AECOM, these sessions taught the girls what being an engineer involves and, in particular, the role they play in creating a greener world.
The pupils enjoyed plenty of hands-on activities, too. Working in teams, they acted as design engineers to develop urban regeneration proposals for sites near their schools. This task resulted in a number of innovative solutions, including installing solar-powered bus shelters, using recycling points to fund electric scooter rentals and setting up community allotments to encourage local organic food production.
AECOM senior sustainability consultant Celine McLoughlin-Jenkins said: ‘Leading these workshops with the GDST pupils has been a truly rewarding experience. We hope the girls at these schools have been inspired to consider a future in STEM professions.’
Pupils at Sutton High developed urban regeneration projects for sites near their school
The workshops were part of GDST’s Energy Programme, which aims to educate students about the importance of reducing carbon emissions as a key sustainability goal.
‘It’s more than just sustainability education,’ GDST’s head of sustainability, Anu Sabherwal, explained. ‘It’s about inspiring positive climate action by introducing our students to sustainability behaviours within their everyday lives, and strengthening their ability to work collaboratively to achieve common goals.’
The Girls Day School Trust is a group of 24 independent schools and two academies across the UK. For over 150 years, it has been committed to educating, inspiring and shaping creative and confident young women.
