Brownies and Guides in Singapore have been taking part in experiments aimed at developing an interest in engineering thanks to employees from BAE Systems.
Sophie Dent, Beth Howarth-Henry and Lauren Eastburn are engineers at BAE Systems Submarines, based in Barrow, and make up the G-Eng (Guides in Engineering) team. The trio travelled to Singapore to launch their project internationally after huge success in the UK through their work with Girlguiding North West England.
Sophie said: “The badge we launched in the UK (Clever Cogs) has now been completed by over 20,500 girls and young women. Launching the project internationally was our logical next step and our biggest challenge yet.”
During a two-day session the engineers worked with Girl Guides Singapore to launch a new engineering badge called She Solves. This includes a wide variety of engineering and cyber security activities which will be offered to 8,500 members of Girl Guides Singapore to complete.
From learning the basics of binary and deciphering codes to building a parachute for an egg and creating slime, the team was supported by Natalie Black, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia-Pacific, who spoke about the importance of ensuring that young women consider careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths.)
The launch event provided the G-Eng team with a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with another part of BAE Systems – Applied Intelligence – as well as the UK Department of International Trade in Singapore.
Ms Black took part in some activities alongside the girls and young women in attendance, before judging the egg parachute competition and presenting a trophy to the winning team.
Beth said: “Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive – all the attendees were asked ‘What is cyber security?’ at the start and the end of the day. Before the event, the phrase ‘I don’t know’ dominated the responses but at the end nearly all were able to explain that cyber security engineering involved protecting both personal data and company data, as well as having a basic understanding of coding languages and braille.”
Lauren said: “The launch event was also supported by a number of volunteers from BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, and a self-funded organisation called Girls in Tech Singapore. The volunteers were able to provide a unique perspective on what it means to work in cyber security, and really emphasise the engineering theme behind each activity.”
