Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day

Last Friday, the NSW Smart Sensing Network partnered with UNSW Engineering’s Staff Gender Equity and Diversity Working Group to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day with an event featuring an expert panel focused on Research Translation and Commercialisation. 

The event was part of the NSSN’s Women in Sensing series that focuses on female researchers, entrepreneurs, founders and leaders who are driving innovation and change in smart sensing.  

Co-Director of the NSSN, Professor Julien Epps spoke of the work that the NSSN must do to keep driving visibility and outcomes of women engaged in the smart sensing network. 

“The NSSN has always been proudly diverse, people are at the heart of all that we do and our people represent rich diversity in all its forms. Diversity breeds innovation and we want to cultivate a culture of inclusion.” 

We know, and have worked with, many talented female researchers and innovators and want to encourage greater visibility, opportunity, and outcomes for them and those to follow.” 

The expert panel was hosted by NSSN Board Member Dr Diana Day and featured: 

The panel’s thoughts on research and commercialisation facilitated an insightful interactive session with a busy audience at UNSW. The panellists highlighted some of the key aspects that they had learned on their own commercialisation journey. 

Professor Kim Delbaere: “the key thing in terms of commercialisation for researchers is getting in and working with industry figures early so you really know and understand their processes. I spent a lot of my time looking to find seminars and upskilling myself in terms of how I could work best with industry, as it was something I didn’t previously know coming from a research background. That education with industry is always time well spent.” 

Alinta Furnell: “when you are working on commercialisation and with industry partners, something I have found really important is to remember that it is absolutely ok to pivot and be open to change from your original plan, in doing so, you can create something better than you ever imagined. When we engage with industry, we have to be really clear about the tangible outcomes that we want to achieve.” 

The panel also fielded questions from the audience and spoke passionately about the need to encourage young women into STEM careers, and the ways it can best be achieved. 

Associate Professor Beena Ahmed: “I’d really like to change the perception of electrical engineering in the world. For instance, if I’m at a dinner party, and I say I’m an electrical engineer, it shuts down the conversation. We need to get people to understand what exactly we do, particularly young women. We need to think about how we engage with girls at high school and get them to think about the amazing possibilities within this career.” 

Natalie Chapman: “We need to really open up opportunities for young women in high schools to see exactly where a career in STEM can take them and what opportunities it can open up. It's not just about teaching. There are so many different opportunities out there. I believe that girls need to see beyond simply the selection of their degree, they need to be given the chance to see just what a career in STEM can do and where it can take them.”  

The next NSSN Women In Sensing event will take place in Wollongong later this year. 

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