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Engineering Innovations Award presented to one of our own, Analene Beyers

Congratulations to Analene Beyers, the branding coordinator on SAWomEng's Creative Design portfolio!Analene, a recent Process Engineering graduate from the University of Stellenbosch, was runner up for the ... more

GirlEng 2010 - Our Vision

by Hema Vallabh on Tuesday, Mar 2nd, 2010
As part of the growth of SAWomEng, 2009 saw the launch of GirlEng. This is new chapter of SAWomEng which taps into the talent pool at grass-roots level and is aimed at encouraging high-potential maths and science secondary school students to pursue a career in engineering. GirlEng advances two of the five SAWomEng pillars, namely: Mentorship and Igniting the Engineering Flame. In 2009, GirlEng hosted 5 one-day workshops across South Africa in Gauteng, Western Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape.

After a successful run of workshops in the debut year of GirlEng 2009, the vision for GirlEng 2010 is to further expand its reach to young, enthusiastic high school learners countrywide in 2010.

Increasing the number of events in key provinces

Part of GirlEng’s expansion will include increasing the number of events in the 3 key provinces – Gauteng, Western Cape and Kwazulu Natal. The events will no longer be just a 1 day workshop hosting only 60 girls, but rather broken down into 3 events:

  • Information session

    This will be an open session for all young enthusiastic high school students, during which the concept of GirlEng will be introduced. Presentations will be made introducing the world of engineering and where SAWomEng and GirlEng specifically fits into the bigger picture. At this event the students will be able to apply for the kick-off workshop where 60 high potential high energy students will be selected to attend.

  • Kick-off workshop

    Kick-off workshops will host the 60 selected delegates and will largely be based on the workshop format from 2009. Key activities will include:

    • Introduction to the world of engineering
    • Team building activity
    • Technical project
    • Information session (University entrance requirements etc)
    • Career guidance
    • Sponsor presentations

    From the girls that attend this workshop, those who choose to pursue a career in engineering will be invited to the third event, the mentorship workshop.

  • Mentorship workshop

    Those promising delegates who have chosen to pursue engineering studies will be invited to attend. These workshops will concentrate on mentorship activities and development of the learners in preparation for tertiary level engineering study. These girls will be given assistance in applying for bursaries, guidance on starting university life and the general mentor-mentee relationship building opportunities.

Expansion across South Africa

In addition to the full set of workshops being held Gauteng, Western Cape and Kwazulu Natal, GirlEng will also host events in 3 additional provinces: Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape. For more details about these events, please visit the GirlEng events page.



Comments: (2)



Reevana Balmahoon said on Sunday, Nov 13th, 2011, 19h29:20
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Comments: 1
Hi Zandile. Its great to hear from you, and we're glad that you're interested! There will be mentor applications opening soon- please keep a lookout on the website, and apply as a kzn mentor.
Zandile Silwane said on Friday, Nov 11th, 2011, 12h35:31
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Comments: 3
I wanted to be part of the girl eng team. I am currently studying chemical engineering at Durban University of Technology. I believe I am cimmiting myself wuth the people who will be f much value in my life. I attended two conferces were there were motivational speakers andI was motvated. My dream career is becoming a chemical engineer.