Women in STEM panel discussion and careers fair

 

 

March 8th, International Women's Day, is backed by the United Nations and is celebrated across 40 countries. To mark the day, the Crick and Camden Council co-organised an event celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. During an afternoon packed with discussions and activities, volunteers from the Crick and its partners encouraged a group of over 270 students, mostly girls, age 15-19 to explore careers in STEM.   

"Do technological and medical advances affect how humans evolve?" and "What inspired you to pursue a career in science and did you encounter any challenges because you are a woman?" were among the questions that were answered by our all female panel, including Dr. Caroline Hill (Crick), Prof. Ewa Paluch (UCL); Emma Burrows (Google), and Marjan Gholamipour (Arup). The discussion was led by Timandra Harkness, author of "Big data: does size matter". One student said "It has helped me keep an open mind about the choices I have available" - a key message behind our event. 

Following the panel, we had 15 interactive stalls staffed by around 40 volunteers highlighting jobs related to the Crick Institute and its partners CRUK, UCL and Laing O'Rourke. There was something to engage everyone: apprenticeships supporting research, ethics discussions on the use of embryos in research, and the need for robust IT systems to support science. Crick scientists also used UV responsive beads to illustrate DNA damage and used smartphone microscopy to highlight the need for new technologies to tackle big scientific questions.   

"I got involved with the Women in STEM event as I believe it is important for Crick scientists to interact with students. I feel that I also benefit from the events - in the lab you get very focused on one question, but taking part in these activities reignites my passion for science in general." said Michelle Harreman, a research scientist at the Crick. 

"We wanted to show our audience the incredible variety of STEM careers paths. We hope to have inspired them and that they leave with the feeling that there should be no boundaries based on gender - that inquisitiveness, hard work, determination, creativity and love for what you do can lead you a long way" said Ivana Petrovska, Science Educator at the Crick.

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