WISE-Ottawa April 2002 Newsletter

1. WISE-Ottawa Event: Wine & Cheese 2. ICWES12 Conference 3. Carleton U. Student Branch 4. University of Ottawa Student Branch 5. Highlights of WISE-Ottawa's new website ________________________________________________________________ 1. Volunteer Teaching in Tanzania: A Firsthand Perspective Wine and Cheese Evening WISE-Ottawa Event Speaker: Gwynydd Smart, B.Eng. (Biological Engineering, University of Guelph) As a volunteer with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), Gwynydd Smart has spent the past two years using her engineering degree in a highly non-conventional way: teaching A-level physics in Tanzania, Bukoba. Come hear about her extraordinary, rewarding and challenging experiences working and living in an entirely different culture. Topics to be covered include: - Gender issues in Tanzanian schools - Health and welfare of Tanzanian students - Teaching challenges - How to become involved with VSO Location: Minto CASE Building, Room 2014, Carleton University (Corner of Campus Drive and Library Road) Date: Tuesday, April 9 Time: 6:00 (networking), 6:15-6:45 (presentation), ending around 7:15 --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. ICWES12 Conference -- Funding for WISE Members The International Conference for Women Engineers and Scientists (ICWES12) will be held in Ottawa from Sat, July 27 to Wed, July 31, 2002 (www.icwes12.org). The WISE Ottawa Executive sees this as a unique opportunity for our members and student members to get involved in such an interesting conference for women. Based on this, we have decided to offer some funding to support women who would like to attend this conference. The conference fees (for early registration before April 15) are \$550 for regular participants and \$200 for students. These fees allow the participants full access to the 5-day conference and includes all banquets and lunches. A daily rate of \$225 is available for those who wish to get a taste of what the conference is all about. WISE Ottawa will offer \$100 each in funding for up to 10 members interested in attending. The money will be reimbursed at the conference. Women receiving support must have paid their membership fees for 2001-02 or 2002-03. The funding will be allotted on a first-come first-serve basis. Preference will be given to students and those presenting papers at the conference, but others are also encouraged to apply. We encourage people look into getting funding from their employer. This is an important conference. It offers an opportunity to learn more about women's issues, and also information about different scientific and engineering fields. Students should approach their student association and department for additional support. If you are interested in receiving funding, please contact the WISE Ottawa Treasurer, Penka Matanska at matanska@physics.carleton.ca. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Carleton U WISE Branch Update The school year is quickly coming to an end and that means so are the activities of the Carleton U WISE Branch. CU WISE has accomplished quite a lot this year in terms of "building" for the coming years. The focus was placed on big events and programs that were mostly academic and career related that might become annual events for the group. One of these events was held in the fall of 2001. The event, called "Grad School Discussion Night", had a huge turnout, about 20-25 people - the biggest for CU WISE in a while! Students of both sexes and from all academic programs came to discuss the ins and outs of applying to grad school. Also this year the group attempted to re-introduce a high school student/university student mentorship program in science and engineering fields. This program was only developed during the winter term though, and as a result, the timing was poor in terms of actually running the program (bad time for students). However, the great news is that we have the support of our departments and the program will be ready to go in September 2002 under the direction of CU WISE! Other endeavours for the year included a pub night and developing a pamphlet for undergraduate admission packages advertising WISE at Carleton University. Upcoming Event: Annual General Meeting and Elections Monday March 25th 5:30 - 6:30 pm Location at Carleton: TBA ----------------------------------------------------------- 4. University of Ottawa WISE student branch The University of Ottawa WISE student branch was started in 1997. However, a year ago the chapter went dormant due to a small group of participants and no new members. During the last year, WISE organized various activities such as star gazing, skating on the canal, volleyball/ultimate games, wine and cheese, movie nights, BBQs, etc. They provided workshops and guest speakers who were of interest to our members and supported our goals. They also organized industry tours that provided an excellent opportunity to network and explore career paths. In January 2002, a couple of students decided to get together and revive the student branch. Our first event this year was an Information Session, which was very successful because sixteen female students came to find out what we were all about. Our year ahead is full of lots in plans and with a great group of ladies to work these will hopefully be achieved for the school year of 2002-2003. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Highlights of New Features on WISE Ottawa?s New Website - Links We have listed some websites related to women in science and engineering, and some links to professional organizations, however, this list is not exhaustive! Please send recommendations for related links to our web coordinator and we will include them on our list. - Mentorship Program This year we are working toward developing a mentorship program for WISE members to link our professional members with our student members. Right now we are outlining the guidelines for this program. If you would like to get involved in the development of the mentoring program, or if you would like to participate as a mentor or mentee, please contact our outreach coordinator. - Careers This webpage will be dedicated to profiling exciting careers in science and engineering to promote the variety of opportunities available after completing a degree. We are looking for input from you for this item, so please send us information to highlight your career! - Book Reviews We intend to highlight interesting books that deal with issues of concern to women. If you have read a book that you would like to submit, please contact our web coordinator with your summary.

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