Celebrating Ashley's Brilliant Career

To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day 2020, we asked our President, Ashley McCarthy-Griffiths, to tell us about her brilliant career so far, and why her work with the Power of Engineering is so important.

What made you want to become an engineer?

My dad. I enjoyed Maths, Science and English but was always an A- or B+ student. I didn't really know what an engineer was or did, but didn't think I was smart enough to be an engineer. My approach to figuring out what university course I wanted to do in Year 11 was to go through the careers guide book and cross off the careers I didn't think I would be interested in. My Dad suggested that, before I ruled out engineering, I should come to his office and talk to different types of engineers to understand more about what they do. Talking to different engineers at my dad's work made me realise there are a lot of different types of engineers. I also learned about  the role engineers play in society, and in making a difference to the community. 

Can you give us a canned history of your career highlights so far? 

I did a mechanical engineering internship at a design consultancy and learned that I do not enjoy technical mechanical engineering design work! I also worked as a technology strategy and optimisation consultant at Deloitte. Some of my highlights there were project managing the implementation of a data platform and developing an open data strategy for an energy retailer. My current role is as a business analyst at BHP, where I work with a variety of teams across our coal sites and Minerals Australia operations to identify and understand their current challenges and explore how we can leverage technology to deliver value by improving safety and productivity. I’ve done lots of exciting work exploring high-tech mining equipment such as drones, facial recognition, robotics and automation.

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Gender equality and Romy Mayer

By Nadine Armstrong

Supercar engineer Romy Mayer is smashing the status quo on International Women's Day.

Red Bull’s Mayer this week addressed a group of 150 high-school girls at the Queensland University of Technology’s Power of Engineering series. The initiative is designed to give girls interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) some hands-on experience as well as air time with career advocates such as Mayer.

It’s an initiative close to the race engineer’s heart — she remembers thinking the male-dominated world of engineering sounded daunting when she was of high school age.

Yilmaz applauds Mayer: “Romy’s work highlights just how important STEM will be for those working in the automotive industry now and into the future.

“As the saying goes, ‘You can’t be, what you can’t see’ and Romy provides a face for women working in automotive. Automotive, and motorsport more specifically, has traditionally been very male dominated, with women often relegated to the role of grid girls. It’s great to see women contributing in sophisticated roles — at the very top of the motor sport world.”

Read the full article here.

Powering a new experience for Wollongong Students

By Agron Latifi

Professional female engineers were in Wollongong on Monday to recruit more females to the engineering game.

The not for profit Power of Engineering crew were particularly keen to inform young females as well as regional and Indigenous high school students, that engineering was a profession within their grasp.

So for the first Power of Engineering event in the city, students took workshops and toured some of Wollongong’s best known industry work sites.

Read the full article here.

Program encourages young women to consider a career in engineering

Charles Sturt University highlighted the Power of Engineering for young women interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as a future career.

Located in the award-winning Engineering building and run by CSU Engineering, The Power of Engineering welcomed 250 female students from Years 8 to 10 in high schools across the central west.

Lecturer in engineering, Dr Andrea Goncher, said the participants saw the opportunities that a career in engineering or science can offer over the two-day program.

"Last year's event was a runaway success, and we are looking forward to inspiring the next generation of women engineers for our region, Australia and the world," Dr Goncher said.

Read the full article here.

Lithgow students unlock the power of engineering

By Phoebe Moloney

Year 9 and 10 students from around the Central West made an excursion to Lithgow on Monday, July 31, to learn exactly what the field of engineering is. 

Students from Lithgow, Portland Central, Gulgong, Mudgee and Oberon high schools toured hubs of engineering ingenuity around town including EnergyAustralia’s Mt Piper power station, the Mines Rescue training facility and the Lithgow Valley Springs bottle factory.

The day of excursions and workshops was organised by not-for-profit group Power of Engineering, led by professional female engineers. 

Read the full article here.

Engineering A Difference

By Rachel McFadden

Female engineers are few and far between but this is something a trio of female civil engineers turned social entrepreneurs are hoping to change.

There have been more than a few occasions where Felicity Furey felt she didn’t quite fit in.

As an undergrad engineering student she was one of 11 female students in a course of 120 and in her work as a civil engineer there were several occasions where she was the only female in a meeting.

Read the full article here.

High flying Renee breaks down barriers to help others succeed in engineering industry

By Rebecca Franks

JOINING the air force cadets was a major turning point for Randwick’s Renee Wootton who discovered a passion for “pulling apart planes” and went onto study aerospace engineering.

The 23-year-old now works at Qantas in Mascot and travels to schools across NSW to encourage students ‒ particularly women ‒ to study STEM subjects and consider a future in engineering.

As a proud Tharawal woman, Ms Wootton also volunteers with disadvantaged Aboriginal young people through an after school program run by The Settlement in Redfern and has been nominated for a NSW/ACT Young Achiever Award as a result.

Read the full article here.

Changing the World with Engineering

LITHGOW High School hosted an event last week that aimed to build interest for females to enter into a engineering-related career.

Power of Engineering ran the event to change the likely perception held by high school students that engineering is a job destined for males, and not females.

EA’s Wallerawang power station risk management officer Merryn Goldie said there was definitely some budding engineers in the room with the girls performing well during the exercises .

“It is a great career that is always changing. 

“We would like to encourage other women to take up engineering sciences and get a job like us,” Ms Goldie said.

Year 10 student Kallie Poppett said she was thinking a being a mechanical engineer.

“Engineering gives you lots of options and has good job prospects.”

Read the full article here.

Power of Engineering, powering future generations

BY JAY BATTEN

With the global demand for engineering and science graduates booming, diverse and engaging careers are being offered in a huge range of industries. If only there was enough people to fill them. We spoke to Jillian Kenny, Co-Founder of Power of Engineering, a not-for-profit organisation determined to increase participation – and particularly females – in engineering careers.

What are engineers?

Engineers use physics, science and mathematics to solve real world problems that make the world and the lives of those who live in it a better place. Everything from water sanitation in developing communities, to prosthetics for people who have lost limbs require maths and science.

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Power of Engineering in BOSS!

Our co-founder Felicity Furey has been announced as one of six BOSS Young Executives of 2016!

Applicants went through a rigorous judging process that culminated in a simulated “day in the life of a CEO” exercise. They were given information 48 hours beforehand and on the day required to develop a strategic plan for a visiting global manager as well as deliver a podcast to staff. Over the course of the day emails and requests were piled on the contestants to test their prioritising, decision-making and leadership skills,

The judges noted that the group members’ flair for business was critical in propelling them to the top.

You can read the BOSS article here.