GLASGOW GUIDES SHOW THEY ARE ‘CLEVER COGS’ IN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE

On Saturday 25 November, more than 100 Guides from across Glasgow came together for a day of hands-on engineering fun with BAE Systems and City of Glasgow College.

One hundred and thirty girls from across the city took part in an action-packed day of engineering fun, which saw them tackle a number of engineering challenges from constructing spaghetti towers out of spaghetti and balloons to launching their own rockets.

The girls had the chance to explore their skills and find out more about the many career opportunities science, technology, maths and science (STEM) subjects have to offer.

The day was inspired by the Clever Cogs Challenge, an award-winning resource produced by BAE Systems and Girlguiding North West England in 2016 to encourage more girls to discover engineering and explore STEM opportunities.

Rachel from the 295^th City of Glasgow Guides was delighted with the activities throughout the day. She said: “I really enjoyed the day; my favourite activity was the ‘People like me’ careers activity. It opened my eyes to different opportunities and showed me what I can be in the future. I would definitely consider a career in engineering now and today taught me that girls can do what people usually think only boys can do! It was good meeting Guides from other units across Glasgow too. I’d love to come back and do it again!”

Jill Elborn, County Commissioner for Girlguiding Glasgow, added: “Giving girls a space where they can try new things, learn new skills, grow in confidence is at the heart of all we do in Girlguiding so we were delighted to partner with BAE to offer an action-packed day of hands-on science, technology, engineering and maths challenges.

“We know too many girls continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields and are missing out on STEM activity due to outdated perceptions – in fact recent research from Girlguiding’s Girls’ Attitudes Survey found that just 37% of girls would consider a job in technology – so we hope opportunities like this will help more girls discover STEM in a fun environment and spark a life-long interest.”

Douglas Morrison, STEM and Innovation Lead at City of Glasgow College, said: “BAE Systems in partnership with City of Glasgow College were delighted to host this event to encourage girls to participate in engineering activities. The College has demonstrated a commitment to widening women’s participation in the STEM labour market and we recognise this works best when done in partnership with organisations like BAE Systems and Girlguiding Glasgow. We hope the day has inspired the girls to discover all that STEM subjects have to offer and even pursue a career in engineering.”

This is the first time BAE Systems have worked with the Girl Guides and Caroline Clucas, Head of Early Careers & Skills Naval Ships, is thrilled with the new partnership: “I am delighted that we have the opportunity to work with Girlguiding Glasgow and City of Glasgow College on this event. The business is committed to encouraging more girls into engineering and our STEM Ambassadors will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with the Guides, hopefully inspiring the next generation of engineers.”

Girlguiding Glasgow has more than 3,000 members across the city and is part of Girlguiding Scotland, the leading charity for girls and young women in the country, offering girls age a 5 to 25 their own space to try new things, learn new skills and make new friends.