![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/gsp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/204\/2025\/07\/conference_photo-300x200.jpg\")
8 only 24% of undergraduate physics students identifying as female, and an even smaller proportion as non-binary.<\/p>\nIn April I was delighted to be selected to attend the Conference of Undergraduate Women and Non-Binary Physicists (CUWiP+), an opportunity made financially available to me by the Gold Scholarship Opportunity Fund. The CUWiP+ conference supports undergraduate women and non-binary physicists across the UK and Ireland by enhancing their physics knowledge, fostering personal and professional development, providing role models, building peer connections, and boosting confidence to pursue postgraduate study or careers in physics. This year the conference was hosted by the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick and provided opportunities to put into practice many skills developed as a part of the Gold Scholarship Programme.<\/p>\n
In 2017-18 only 24% of undergraduate physics students identifying as female, and an even smaller proportion as non-binary.<\/p>\n
This imbalance reflects systemic loss of talent, often called the \"leaky pipeline\", where many women and non-binary individuals leave physics before establishing themselves in academic or professional roles. CUWiP+ directly addresses this by providing intensive professional development: hands-on workshops, exposure to cutting-edge research, and candid discussions with postgraduate students and industry alumni. This nurturing environment helps undergraduates visualise themselves beyond undergraduate study, increasing their self-belief and readiness to pursue\u00a0advanced degrees or enter physics careers.<\/p>\n
By reinforcing scientific skills and supporting identity development, CUWiP+ fights attrition not by chance, but by design. In doing so, it plays a vital role in creating a richer, more inclusive physics community.<\/p>\n
One of the key opportunities provided by the conference is the workshops, talks and networking opportunities. From workshops on resilience and how to sell yourself to panels on experiences as a female and non binary PhD student and opportunities in industry as a physics graduate. My personal highlights were the networking events in the evening of two of the nights. Firstly an introductory networking event on the first evening with fellow attendees and staff from the University of Warwick. It was great to get my networking skills into practice in a less familiar environment allowing me to grow in confidence through the week. On the final evening of the conference, there was a formal sit down dinner, which the 1st year Gold Celebratory Dinner prepared me well for, especially being sat next to the former Vice Chancellor. This experience certainly eased up some nerves and anxiety as I ended up sat next to Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. An astrophysicist who discovered pulsars as a PhD student, a major breakthrough for which her male supervisor won the Nobel Prize. She\u2019s since become a leading advocate for women and underrepresented groups in physics, donating her $3 million Breakthrough Prize to fund scholarships for them. (Fun fact: She is also the former Dean of Science here at the University of Bath).<\/p>\n
One of the most valuable aspects of CUWiP+ was how it boosted my confidence to pursue further study and explore careers in physics. Throughout the conference, we heard from a diverse range of speakers who had taken very different paths, from those continuing in academia to others wo![\"Group](\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/gsp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/204\/2025\/07\/lab_tours-1-min-1-300x200.jpg\")
rking in research, education, or industry. Hearing their stories helped make these routes feel more tangible and accessible.<\/p>\n
What stood out most was the honesty with which speakers shared their challenges as well as their achievements. It was reassuring to learn that uncertainty is common, and that many people found their direction not through a clear, linear plan, but through exploration and resilience. This gave me a stronger sense that I, too, can shape a fulfilling path in physics even if I don\u2019t have all the answers yet.<\/p>\n
In addition to talks, there were opportunities to ask questions, network, and get advice directly from people just a few years ahead of us. These interactions helped remove a lot of the mystery around things like applying for PhDs or choosing a career path. I left CUWiP+ feeling much more confident in my ability to take the next step, knowing I\u2019m not alone and that others have successfully navigated the same questions I now face.<\/p>\n
Attending CUWiP+ was far more than a few days away at a conference\u2014it was a transformative experience that reaffirmed my place in the physics community. It helped me to see the diverse and fulfilling futures available to those of us who might not always have seen ourselves reflected in this field. From developing professional skills to connecting with inspirational physicists like Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, CUWiP+ has left a lasting impact on both my confidence and my aspirations. I\u2019m incredibly grateful to the Gold Scholarship Opportunities Fund<\/a> for enabling this experience, and I hope to carry forward what I\u2019ve learned both in my own journey and by supporting others like me as we work toward a more inclusive and representative future in physics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In April I was delighted to be selected to attend the Conference of Undergraduate Women and Non-Binary Physicists (CUWiP+), an opportunity made financially available to me by the Gold Scholarship Opportunity Fund. The CUWiP+ conference supports undergraduate women and non-binary...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2018,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opportunity-fund"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/undergraduate-scholarships-and-bursaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}