On Tuesday the 15th February WES Bath hosted a networking and speakers event centered around the theme “Pioneering Innovation in Engineering”. The event began with talks from three female engineers. First up was Marianne Ellis, a Professor of BioProcess & Tissue Engineering at the University of Bath. She spoke about the importance of networking and her experiences as a founding director and CTO for Cellesce Ltd, and co-founder & CTO of Cellular Agriculture Ltd. The next talk was from Saadia Ansari, a Senior Consultant at 3ADAPT (a Bath-based sustainability consultancy). Her talk highlighted how important having a diverse workforce is for continued innovation and her experiences within a consultancy. The final speaker was Floriane Fidegnon-Edoh, who is Head of Industry, Technology & Innovation at Policy Connect (a cross-party think tank). She spoke about the impactful work her own WES society managed to achieve at University, as well as how she uses her engineering skills within her role at Policy Connect.
These inspiring talks were then followed by a panel discussion with the speakers, as well as an additional panellist: Geli Lee, an undergraduate in her final year of her degree apprenticeship with Dyson. The audience were able to ask any questions they had, such as techniques to help with innovative thinking and advice for people new to networking.
The final segment of the event gave the attendees and speakers a chance to network and make new professional contacts. The excellent turnout for the event (over 40 students and industry contacts) and the addition of nibbles and wine resulted in a great atmosphere that continued long past the scheduled end time as people connected and discussed their experiences. Overall, it was a very successful event, thank you to our amazing speakers and to the members of WES Bath for engaging in the event.
Emma Priestley (Outreach Manager, WES Bath)
Respond