Renishaw celebrates International Women in Engineering Day with Girlguiding Groups

Renishaw, celebrated International Women in Engineering Day with Girlguiding groups, by hosting an event at its New Mills headquarters site in Gloucestershire on June 25, 2022. The Company held the event to coincide with the international awareness campaign to raise the profile of women in engineering and showcase the diverse opportunities available to girls in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.

The event saw over 130 Rainbows, Brownies and Guides, ranging from four to 14 years old, visit the Renishaw site to learn about the foundation of the Company, the products it manufactures and the importance of attracting young people into STEM careers. They listened to a talk from an engineer who talked about why she chose to join Renishaw and the importance of attracting girls into STEM careers.

During the event, the girls took part in a range of workshops highlighting the different STEM disciplines. The science and engineering workshop included experiments where they learnt about electromagnetic induction and they were able to make RGB LED torches which they could take home to share with their families. The girls also attended a technology workshop where they learnt about the creation of Gromitronic, one of the three interactive Gromit sculptures made for The Grand Appeal’s Gromit Unleashed 2 trail in 2018. They were also able to see a plastic 3D printer in action to help them understand the impact of new technology on their everyday lives and how 3D printing can make a difference across many industries.There was also a maths workshop where the girls had to solve maths calculations to help them with a colouring-in puzzle.

“We wanted to show the girls how the subjects they enjoy at school, like maths and science, can be used in a future STEM career,” explained Rebecca Bound, Early Careers STEM Outreach Officer at Renishaw. “Providing girls and young women with fun and interactive experiences gives them the opportunity to see the possible applications of STEM subjects from a young age. At the end of the event one of the attendees commented, “I think I would like to work at Renishaw in the future”, which is music to our ears. We have also created our own STEM badge to celebrate the girls’ efforts at these type of events and these were handed out to all participants.”

“Our Girlguiding mission is, whoever they are, wherever they’re from, girls and young women can do amazing things – we give them the chance,” said Debbie Jackson, Severnvale Division Brownie Co-ordinator. “A visit to Renishaw to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day was a great opportunity for the girls to be inspired, discover new opportunities and maybe some of them will be our next generation of engineers.”

Renishaw holds many educational outreach events for local schools, youth groups, colleges and universities to encourage the next generation of students to find their passion for engineering and STEM careers.