The DETI Skills team at UWE Bristol launched their Diversity Demonstrator in September. The Diversity Demonstrator, a network of diverse engineering role models, will help address the nationwide skills and employment gap in engineering by championing engineering public engagement for children in the West of England, inspiring the next generation of digital engineers.
In order to appeal to under-represented groups and so increase diversity in the profession, the Diversity Demonstrator will focus on breaking stereotypes and challenging perceptions about STEM careers by showcasing a wide variety of engineering role models from under-represented groups within the industry, including women, people from low socio-economic backgrounds and people of Black, Asian and minority ethnicity.
To help them achieve this goal, they have recently become members of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). AFBE promote diversity in engineering and technology through their programmes and activities, and offer support to minority ethnic students and professionals within the industry. If you are a minority ethnic engineer we invite you to join the network so you too can benefit from the support on offer from AFBE.
For more information, or to join the Diversity Demonstrator engineering network please get in contact with the team at [email protected]
Engineering Outreach Events
Following the launch of the Diversity Demonstrator, the DETI Skills team have been busy organising engineering outreach events and activities for the year ahead, the first of which will take place next month during Bristol Technology Festival.
Working with Like To Be, a career event network that brings together students, educators, employers and professionals to offer unique digital career experiences, the DETI Skills team will be hosting a digital engineering careers fair. The event is aimed at young people aged 16-18 and will explore the role of digital engineering in creating a sustainable future. The online event will be open to students for the entire week of the technology festival, with opportunities to watch inspiring videos from a wide variety of engineers and interact via a live chat function.
The team will also be launching Women Like Me, a peer mentoring and outreach project aimed at boosting female representation in engineering. Now in its third year, Women Like Me pairs senior women engineers with junior women engineers to undertake mentoring and education outreach in the Bristol and Bath area. Engineering is a creative, socially conscious and collaborative discipline, and this project aims to support girls and women to make a difference in society. The launch event takes place online on Thursday 12th November, you can register for your free place here.
The team have also started working with My Future My Choice, a grass roots organisation who actively encourage young people to develop their career aspirations. Together they are creating an engaging and interactive activity – digital engineering themed careers cards. These ‘Top Trumps’ style cards showcase the wide array of roles available within the engineering industry and are modelled on real-life engineers, featuring a short video clip from each professional in the field. The team are still recruiting volunteer engineers to ‘become’ these cards. If you would like more information on how to get involved with this activity or any of the upcoming events, please contact the DETI Skills Communications Coordinator [email protected]
