Inspiring the
thinkers of tomorrow

GirlEng: Who We Are

SAWomEng’s core philosophy has always embraced 'Igniting the engineering flame' and the retention of women in engineering. However we are also an organisation whose target market has traditionally been female engineering students in their penultimate and final years. In a sense we've been preaching to the converted. More importantly, we’ve been placing the horse before the cart so to speak. One cannot solve the women engineering conundrum by focussing on the retention of women in engineering without attracting girls into engineering. So it is from this very conundrum that the GirlEng concept was born. GirlEng is the missing piece in the SAWomEng stable. This is how it fits into the puzzle:

It is the GirlEng dream to start the engineering journey from the schooling stage. With GirlEng we aim to inform and encourage these young minds to enter into the fascinating world of engineering so that they can start their journey on changing the world one step at a time. The very definition of an engineer is one who is: ’concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. As such, the work of engineers is the link between perceived needs of society and commercial applications. Some consider this profession to be the link between art and science’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer, Feb 2009). So, if your interests lie in creating a prosperous nation with efficient infrastructure, technological advancement, ’a better life for all’ then look no further

GirlEng is aimed at attracting female students in Grade 10 and Grade 12 into engineering. GirlEng advances two of the five SAWomEng pillars, namely: Mentorship and Igniting the Engineering Flame.

Mentorship:

The SAWomEng delegates have been an under-utilised resource thus far. Delegates will now deliver speeches at high schools in their provinces post the conference. Each delegate will also mentor at least one female high school student. We believe that through this mentorship, school girls will be inspired to study engineering and will excel in industry. This is as challenges in both the academic and working worlds will not be insurmountable, as they will have SAWomEng ‘ex-patriots’ to counsel them.

Igniting the Engineering Flame:

Interaction between the school girls and SAWomEng delegates will result in mutual excitement about the engineering industry. This will aid both the attraction and retention of female engineers, hence ’igniting and fuelling the engineering flame’. The SAWomEng website will play a pivotal role in advancing ‘GirlEng‘. Sponsoring companies will have the opportunity to advertise bursaries and work-shadowing opportunities on a ’GirlEng’ link.