Bradford engineers gender equality

A University of Bradford scheme to encourage more girls to study engineering has been held up as a national model of best practice.

A University of Bradford scheme to encourage more girls to study engineering has been held up as a national model of best practice.

The University's School of Engineering, Design and Technology (EDT) runs an annual two-day residential course called WISE, for girls in Year 11 or 12 at school.

A case study on WISE has been included in a new resource pack for universities produced by the Balance Project.

The Balance Project, funded by FDTL (the Fund for Development of Teaching and Learning) aims to look at ways of encouraging more women into engineering.

Girls make up just 12% of all university engineering students across the UK.

The university gave a presentation on its schools' activities programme at an event run by the Learning and Teaching Support Network a UK-wide project to promote high quality learning and teaching in higher education at the University of Bristol.

EDT Admissions Tutor Jack Bradley and Marketing Officer Joanne Crowther were invited to give the presentation at the University of Bristol.

The pair told delegates that in the past four years the School has run about 60 events for more than 3000 pupils in the area.

After the presentation, representatives from Cambridge and Lancaster Universities asked for further information and guidance in running their own schemes.

Crowther said: "We were only too pleased to speak about our schools' activities programme and share our experience with other universities.

Our links with local schools- and particularly in this case with girls in Years 11 and 12 - are fundamental.

"There is a marked gender inequality in engineering in the UK and we hope that projects like WISE will help to address this in the years to come".

The WISE course includes a hands-on design and build project interspersed with visits to industry, meeting professional engineers and talks about different aspects of engineering and university life.

The aim is to have fun whilst learning and provide a positive view of engineering to the girls attending".

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