Women in engineering will be a key focus area for the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland (BPEQ) with the announcement of its $12,000 partnership with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
BPEQ, the state’s engineering supervisory body, will provide funding over two years for QUT’s Women in Engineering (WiE) Alumni Network and the student organisation, Girls in Engineering Making Statements (GEMS).
BPEQ Chairman Dawson Wilkie said the partnership would deliver a boost to women studying and practicing engineering.
“Earlier this year BPEQ started a discussion with our female registered professional engineers (RPEQs), asking them for their personal experiences and ideas on ways to promote and support women in engineering,” said Wilkie.
“The major issue emanating from these discussions was the lack of attention on helping keep women in engineering, be it studying or at a mid-point in their career.
“Working with QUT, WiE and GEMS we will be able to more actively engage female engineers and support them with the right knowledge, experience and tools to keep them in the profession”.
Deryn Vahl-Meyer, QUT Science and Engineering Faculty’s Assistant Dean for International and Engagement, joined Wilkie in making the announcement, saying the partnership would be mutually beneficial for all parties.
“QUT has a strong reputation for producing outstanding engineering graduates, and this partnership demonstrates our combined commitment to encouraging and supporting women in engineering,” said Vahl-Meyer.
The QUT partnership compliments other initiatives BPEQ is planning or has actioned to support women in engineering, including the introduction of a new category of registration to Queensland’s comprehensive engineering registration system.
The RPEQ-non practicing category allows engineers on career breaks, such as maternity leave, to keep their registration current and avoid having to complete the full assessment process once they are ready to return to the workforce.
As part of the partnership BPEQ and QUT are planning a networking event expected to be held in late 2015.
[Pictured above are: (left to right) WiE President Erin Thomas, BPEQ Chairman Dawson Wilkie, Deryn Vahl-Meyer, Assistant Dean, QUT Science and Engineering Faculty and Olivia Hutchinson, GEMS President.]