By Mrs Gilbert, Alumnae Officer

Last Tuesday evening, we were delighted to host a superb panel of alumnae at NHEHS for our Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) networking event. The panel included Vanessa Viney (NHEHS 1992), UK and US Innovation Manager at Airbus Defence and Space, Charu Desodt (NHEHS 1994), Computer Programmer and Video Game Production Director for independent game studio INTERIOR/NIGHT, Sophia Djili (NHEHS 2008), Senior Project Engineer at De La Rue, Jessica Booth (NHEHS 2000), Director of Data Analytics at KPMG and Divya Shah (NHEHS 1998), Research Lead in Sites and Systems at Wellcome. 

The audience was made up of girls in Years 11-13, NHEHS alumnae and parents working in STEM roles. The panel spoke brilliantly on a range of topics including their career journeys, the current trends in STEM and the future of STEM roles, successes they have experienced and personal challenges they have faced, the importance of resilience and not giving up following knock backs or disappointments and their top tips for working in a STEM field.

It was invaluable for the girls to hear the excellent advice and experience of such a fantastic alumnae panel who work in a really diverse range of careers and it was wonderful that the girls were so forthcoming with their questions. The panel shared golden nuggets of advice – networking is key, experience breeds confidence, be willing to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in and, finally… to go for it!

There was a real buzz in the room when the opportunity to network arose at the end of the evening – for the girls and adults in the room alike – and the event was a huge success. We’re already looking forward to the next one!