Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day

A Year 7 student group from Bangor Central Integrated Primary School visited South Eastern Regional College’s Bangor Campus recently, to gain experience and information about the Engineering sector, as part of Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day.

Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day takes place on 24 February every year and is a day when volunteers and educators facilitate engineering activities to show girls how engineers can make a change. The aim is to help girls develop an interest in engineering, as it has traditionally been a male dominated sector.

The Year 7 Pupils, along with Vice Principal Steve Galvin, joined Aine McGreeghan, SERC Engineering Curriculum Manager, on the morning of Wednesday 23rd February to learn about Engineering as a career. The morning started with a “Draw an Engineer” exercise which led to a discussion on the stereotypical image of engineers.  They then explored the areas of engineering using a game console – the students learned about the design of the circuitry, programming, external components, manufacturing processes, internet and wifi communications. They also looked at formed cardboard packaging material and discussed how good design can reduce waste plastics and improve fuel efficiency, therefore reducing the manufacturer’s carbon footprint.  They finished off with an interactive demonstration of the laser cutter – cutting out personalised keyrings to take home.

Steve Galvin, Vice Principal of Bangor Central Integrated Primary School, commented, “The pupils really had their eyes opened as to how varied engineering is, and all the different jobs engineers are involved in. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience with many saying they would consider engineering as a future career.”

Aine McGreeghan commented, “We need to encourage young females to consider Engineering as a career early in their life, as there is still a significant shortage in this area.  Breaking down the stereotypes and opening their eyes to the variety of different roles in industry is just one of many things we can do to help.”

SERC is keen to encourage more young women to take up engineering and is currently working with Limerick University to find out what would attract females into the sector – click here for more information.

Visit www.serc.ac.uk to find out how you could unlock your future with SERC #BetterOffAtSERC Find us on Facebook, search SERC.

Caption: (left to right) – Bangor Central Integrated Primary School Students Oliver Rice, Aoife Canning, and Erin Loyal. Aine McGreeghan, SERC Engineering Curriculum Manager, Steve Galvin, Vice Principal of Bangor Central Integrated Primary School.