Female engineering students train in career development
Female engineering students from eight universities in the country have attended a career development workshop to help prepare them for the future of work.
Participants were from the University of Ghana, Regional Maritime University, Central University, Academic City College, Accra Technical University and University of Mines and Technology attended the programme physical presence, while others joined via online from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and Ashesi University.
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The programme was organised last Thursday by Women-in-Engineering (WinE), and the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
WinE Ghana is a network of Ghanaian women engineering practitioners and student members within the GhIE.
Breaking barriers
In her opening remarks, the President of WinE, Dr Enyonam Kpekpena, thanked UNESCO for the support in bringing the career development programme into fruition.
She said the event was the first of a series of activities planned this year to empower females involved in the study and practice of engineering to break barriers and climb higher in their academic and professional pursuits as they contributed to solving societal problems.
Career path
Welcome the participants, the Executive Director of the GhIE, Mr David Nyante, admonished the students to take keen interest in their progress in life.
“As female engineering students, your career goals are not just about your occupation, but also about your progress in life, ” he said.
He noted that programmes of that nature helped students to develop their capacities to move forward along their career path.
Mr Nyante appealed to UNESCO to assist WinE to extend the programme to all GhIE branches in the country.
Mentoring
In a virtual presentation, the President of GhIE, Rev. Prof. Charles Adams, advised young female engineers to take mentorship very seriously since it prepared them very well to face life and the profession they had chosen.
He assured the female engineering students that the institution was there to support them with quality engineering professionals to continue mentoring them.
Bridging gap
Delivering her goodwill message to the participants, the President of the Federation of African Engineering Organisation (FAEO), Mrs Carlien Bou-Chedid, said the federation recognised the need for a strong, diverse and inclusive engineering workforce in Africa to help in the continent’s development.
The Representative of UNESCO to Ghana, Mr Abdourahamane Diallo, expressed delight that his outfit was able to support WinE to organise the programme, and urged the female engineering students to take advantage to bridge the gender gap in the engineering profession.