NEWS: The WISE Awards 2015

Earlier this month I had the very great pleasure of hosting the WISE Awards 2015.  It was definitely an evening of celebration and inspiration, honouring the people and organisations leading the way for women in STEM.

Today the world is working hard to destroy the historic problem of gender imbalance in STEM education and careers. We’ve come a long way, though there is still much work to be done. That’s why events like the WISE Conference & Awards are very important – so many amazing role models on one stage!  As well as celebrating their work this is a chance for us to applaud and encourage them to keep pushing the agenda of getting more women working in science, engineering, maths and technology. I was completely honoured to be invited to host this event and had such a great evening standing amongst so many talented and driven women, celebrating everything we have achieved and continue to strive for.

Here is a message from Helen Wollaston (Chief Executive at WISE) and a list of the winners …

There was a buzz in the air at the WISE Awards 2015 in London last Thursday, the passion and the energy was palpable. To meet so many of our members was fantastic, all with their own distinct voices, personalities and plenty of humour. Sharing their stories on the night brought to life WISE’s message supporting our belief that our diverse and enthusiastic members can change the perception of Science, Technology and Engineering.

Also on Thursday, 40 years to the day after the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act, a packed WISE 2015 Conference kicked off with a lively panel discussion on how public policy can accelerate the progress of diversity in the STEM workforce. Hands-on displays in the Bloomberg  Expo were thoroughly enjoyed by attendees who were also treated to the premier of ‘Engineering Change’ a film by ICE about women in STEM. If you attended the Awards and Conference please take a moment to complete this short survey, your feedback is valuable to us.

I urge you all, as I did at the Awards, to spread the message of WISE, show your children, your nieces, nephews, siblings, partners and colleagues the inspirational videos of the nominees.  Not just the women and girls in your life. As I said in my closing remarks, this really isn’t a women’s issue – it is about business performance. If you hear anyone say they are not sure women are cut out for science, or are “naturally” drawn to other things, tell them about the WISE Campaign.

With the gauntlet thrown down to re-introduce a Male Champion award by McKinsey & Company’s, Managing Partner, Vivian Hunt , I am looking forward to welcoming even more of you to a bigger and broader WISE Awards in 2016.

Best wishes, Helen Wollaston

THE RESULTS:

WISE Girl Award – sponsored by Intel Corporation

WINNER: Stephany Baladas, Assistant Clinical Technologist Apprentice, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Shortlisted: Sarah Horgan, student, Sir Charles Kao UTC
Shortlisted: Toktan Tabibi, student, Stockley Academy

WISE Apprentice Award – sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc

WINNER: Caitlin Stuart, Building Services Design Technician Apprentice, Troup Bywaters + Anders

Shortlisted: Tiffany Connor, Production Technologist, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnology
Shortlisted: Hannah Mills, Apprentice VWCV Technician, Imperial Commercials

WISE Inspiring Young People Award – sponsored by Atkins

WINNER: Kris Harrison, Head of Lean Engineering, Selex ES

Shortlisted: Sheila Thomas, Scientist in Residence, Bowling Park Primary School
Shortlisted: Sue Threader, Chief Executive, Rochester Bridge Trust

Bloomberg Open Technology Award – sponsored by Bloomberg

WINNER: Amanda Smith, Community Engagement Manager, The Open Data Institute

Shortlisted: Anne-Gaelle Colom, Director, jQuery Foundation
Shortlisted: Hera Hussain, Community & Partnerships Manager, OpenCorporates and Founder of CHAYN

WISE Tech Start-up Award – sponsored by Goldman Sachs

WINNER: Charlotte K. Williams, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Econic Technologies and Professor of Chemistry, Imperial College London

Highly Commended: Kanika Bansal, CEO, Medicen Devise Limited
Shortlisted: Clementine Chambon, Co-Founder/CTO, Oorja: Empowering Rural Communities

WISE Campaign Award – sponsored by Network Rail

WINNER: Women’s Engineering Society – National Women in Engineering Day

Shortlisted: Babcock – Devonport Respect Initiative
Shortlisted: SSE – Gender Diversity Campaign

WISE Influence Award – sponsored by Royal Academy of Engineering

WINNER: Dr Marily Nika, Program Manager (engineering), Google

Shortlisted: Sue Kershaw, Director of Rail, Europe, at CH2M
Shortlisted: Miranda Kirschel, President, Women in Nuclear UK

WISE Health & Safety Award – sponsored by Amec Foster Wheeler

WINNER: Helen James, Beyond Zero Advisor, BAM Nuttall

Shortlisted: Kate Cairns, Independent Sustainability Advisor, Cairns Consultancy
Shortlisted: Nicola McCracken, Health and Safety Training Manager, Lagan Construction Group

WISE Hero Award – sponsored by Babcock

WINNER: Dr Jennifer Walsh-O’Donovan, Clinical Scientist/Rehabilitation Bioengineer, NHS Lothian

Shortlisted: Juliet Davenport, Founder and CEO, Good Energy
Shortlisted: Laura Peach, Volunteer Placements Programme Coordinator, Engineers Without Borders, and Wind Turbine Engineer, Centrica Energy

WISE Research Award – sponsored by Thales

WINNER: Amrita Ahluwalia, Professor of Vascular Pharmacology, William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London

Shortlisted: Margaret (Mandy) MacLean, Professor of Pulmonary Pharmacology, University of Glasgow
Shortlisted: Sharon Peacock, Director, Bloomsbury Research Institute and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Cambridge

WISE Employer Award – sponsored by AWE

WINNER: Bechtel

Shortlisted: Amec Foster Wheeler
Shortlisted: The Royal Air Force

WISE Lifetime Achievement Award – sponsored by Winton Capital

WINNER: Elizabeth Watson, Retired Head of Product Safety Assurance, Rolls-Royce plc

Shortlisted: Jacqueline de Rojas, President @techUK Area & Vice President Northern Europe @Citrix
Shortlisted: Dorothy Holford, Senior Fellow – Loads Data & Structural Capability Principal Engineer – Structural Integrity, Qineti

Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarships

Read about the Range Rover Evoque WISE Scholarship Winners and Shortlist

Range Rover Evoque WISE Undergraduate Scholarship – sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover

WINNER: Temilolu Danso, Mechanical Engineering student, Plymouth University

Shortlisted: Laura McElhinney, Mechanical Engineering student, Queen’s University Belfast
Shortlisted: Abigail Parker, Aerospace Technology student, Coventry University

Range Rover Evoque WISE Apprentice Scholarship – sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover

WINNER: Emily Swatton, Mechanical Engineering Advanced Apprentice, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy

Shortlisted: Sophie Judge, Advanced Engineering Apprentice, Royal Mail
Shortlisted: Frida Nzaba, Manufacturing Engineering Level 4 Apprenticeship, Rolls-Royce plc