As part of my Youth STEMM Award experience I was able to attend the Women of the Future Conference which took place at the John Innes Centre. There were many different stands you could visit and find out information about careers in STEMM from employers in different sectors. Everyone was really friendly and willing to answer any questions. Most stands had leaflets to take away with further information about what they do.
The speakers were really engaging and passionate about their professions, and it was really interesting to see how they got to where they are today. I even got to meet one of the speakers, Maddie Moate, after the presentation. I was really inspired by her enthusiasm, and could really relate to how she finds science fun and exciting. As well as this we got to hear from Claire West, who is a Bio-informatician, and Sian Hill, a structural engineer. Both speakers were interesting and showed me really how much variety there is for careers in STEMM.
The Keynote speaker, Helen Czerski shared her passion for Physics and Oceanography in an engaging and thought provoking way, and I realised how entertaining and encouraging it would be to work in an area where you can discover new things that are happening in the very world around us. The Q&A with Helen afterwards showed me that no matter what happens keep doing what you love and prove others wrong, even if you come across prejudice for being a woman. Even the presentation on Heroines of Science taught me how much times have changed, and that if I want a career in STEMM then I should go for it.
Anyone who is offered the opportunity to go to these kind of conferences should go for it, you can learn so much and it really broadens your outlook on careers in STEMM and encourages you to really work to achieve what you want. The Women of the Future Conference was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Madeline is a year 10 Fakenham Academy student who is currently working towards the Bronze Award. She is most interested in the Science STEMM sector and is keen to learn more about Natural Science.
