Honourable Mention for the Victorian WIE in the 2006 WIE Group of the Year Competition
In March 2007, the Victorian Section’s Women in Engineering Affinity Group were pleased to be honoured by a visit to Australia by IEEE’s Women in Engineering 2007 Chair, Professor Karen Panetta.
Having only formed in November 2005 and as the first IEEE Women in Engineering affinity group in Australia, it was an unexpected surprise to be presented with an Honourable Mention by Dr Panetta in the IEEE WIE’s annual review of the best Women in Engineering Affinity Groups in the world.
Dr Irena Atov, the founder and chair of the Victorian WIE, said that she was truly honoured by not just the Honourable Mention but the commitment shown by Dr Panetta in travelling half way around the world to present it in person. This was a great acknowledgement of what the Victorian WIE group was able to achieve locally since its formation. In 2006, the Victorian WIE organised and ran a comprehensive calendar of events with local and international speakers. Attendees were treated to subjects ranging from the life and times of James Clerk Maxwell to career development opportunities for women.
The Honorable Mention was presented at a reception and talk in Melbourne attended by over 120 IEEE members, students and engineers. The talk was given by an eminent person and excellent speaker, Ms Mary Petryszyn, the Vice President of Joint Battlespace Integration at Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems in Colorado, USA. Ms Petryszyn spoke about the versatility, creativity and scope offered by a career in engineering and key factors for good leadership in in her presentation, “Leadership and career growth in an engineering/technical environment.” Her insights stimulated lively debate from the audience. Questions covered such topical issues as how engineering can be used to provide a sustainable future for our environment, to the mutual concerns at the lack of interest among school children in using maths and sciences in their ongoing education.
In 2007, WIE will continue to run educational and informative events with an additional focus on promoting engineering to high school students and young women. To find out more, visit our website at: http://www.ieeevic.org/chapters/wie/index.htm
IEEE Women in Engineering Victorian Affinity Group
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