On Wednesday 19th November, the Careers and Employability Service, in collaboration with the Womxn in STEM Society, took 27 students to the Women in STEM: Celebrating Creativity and Innovation event, at Somerset House. The networking event was organised and hosted by Kelly Shungu, a Kent alumnus, who is now a hardware engineer and podcast creator of Women In STEM Podcast – Podcast – Apple Podcasts. The event brought together inspiring industry leaders, technical innovators and STEM advocates for an evening of insight, networking and mentorship.
Students heard from Stefania Chaplin, founder of DevStefOps, who spoke about bridging communication and leadership within technical teams. The panel discussion featured Dr Sabrya Carim, TEDx speaker and cell biology researcher, Ilayda Bakare, a self-taught coder and app founder, and Emily Wood, a software engineering leader and Code First Girls Advocate.
The event also included mini-workshops focusing on skills and sector insights, including elevator pitches, CV clinics and insight into the drone industry. Students also had the opportunity to network with the speakers, building their professional connections.
This provided a valuable opportunity to meet inspiring professionals, who have built successful careers in stem, and inspire the students future careers.