Casey Hopkins, Technocamps alumnus and Swansea University Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, presenting at Swansea Arena.
An ITWales event organised by Technocamps to celebrate women in STEM was held on International Women’s Day at Swansea Arena.
The annual event, which this year was on the theme of 20 years of Technocamps and sponsored by Admiral, aimed to provide an insight into the diverse range of career opportunities for women in STEM, offered a platform for sharing experiences and featured a range of inspiring female speakers who work in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths industries. The evening showcased the work being done across Wales to encourage the next generation of scientists, with guests traveling from all over the country to attend.
Technocamps is a digital outreach programme with a hub in every university in Wales and its headquarters at Swansea University. Its core aim is to increase young people’s engagement with STEM subjects by providing free workshops for both primary and secondary school students, as well as their teachers, to support the delivery of the Computer Science curriculum. In addition, Technocamps provides clubs and seminars exclusively to girls through the GiST Cymru programme.
Technocamps Director, Professor Faron Moller said: “We first organised this event in 2000 to highlight the very low number of girls who study computing, and the enormous gender gap in computing industries. By now, we engage with 6,000 young people each year, half being girls, shattering stereotypes and positively impacting their outlook on the subject. We are delighted to celebrate our own achievements, as well as those of our partners, on International Women’s Day.”
This year’s International Women’s Day event drew an audience of over 250 including CEOs, students and representatives from organisations seeking become more diverse. The celebration provided knowledge and experiences from motivational women currently working in STEM industries.
The event was hosted by Swansea legend Kev Johns MBE, and key speakers included astronomer Dr Jen Millard, Women in Cyber Wales’s Clare Johnson and Technocamps alumnus and senior lecturer in Computer Science at Swansea University, Casey Hopkins.
In her presentation at the event, Casey, who initially had wanted to be a French teacher before studying Computer Science and undertaking a teaching module at Technocamps, reflected on the positive impact that Technocamps had on her career and said: “I’d like to thank the whole Technocamps team for supporting my entire career journey and always encouraging me to apply for that job, do well in that course and achieve more”.