TWIST: Toward Women in Science & Technology

TWISTING SCIENCE
EVENTS CELEBRATING WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)

A WiSER Charter for the 21st Century Workplace

‘A WiSER Charter for the 21st Century Workplace’ will take place in the Science Gallery on International Women’s day, 8th March.  This workshop will bring together women with Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths backgrounds from a wide range of employment experiences to create a blue-print for the 21st Century workplace that is diverse, accessible, worthwhile and sustainable for women.

By listening to the experienced voices of today’s women; universities, the government and other employers can act to ensure that careers related to science, technology, engineering and maths are a worthwhile and attractive choice for today and tomorrow’s young women.

This event is open to all women with a background in science, technology, engineering or maths, regardless of their current role or employment status.
Come along and join in what is sure to be a creative and lively event.
 
To reserve your place contact wiser@tcd.ie 
When: Thursday 8th March- International Women’s Day
Time: 2-5pm with a reception to follow
Location: Science Gallery

HAVE YOU BEEN IN A MEETING RECENTLY WHERE ONE COLLEAGUE IS MISSING AND YOU HAVE NOTICED HOW THEIR CREATIVITY AND INPUT IS SORELY MISSED? NOW, IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO ON A REGULAR BASIS.
This is a problem that the fields of science, engineering and technology are facing as women are significantly under-represented in these areas. Ensuring women are represented in the fields of science, engineering and technology not only provides a more inclusive, fuller representation of the entire population that science impacts but also ensures a wealth of diverse and creative ideas which are vital to innovation.

TWISTING SCIENCE: WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
Towards Women in Science and Technology (TWiST) is an FP7 funded project which aims to raise awareness of the wideranging roles played by women in science, engineering and technology. It will also highlight the importance of gender within science research.

As part of this project, the Centre for Women in Science and Engineering Research (WiSER) and Science Gallery, at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), are hosting TWiSTing Science – three days of events celebrating women in science and technology. These events will also take place in science centres and museums across Europe including Denmark, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden.

TWiSTing Science took place in the Science Gallery from 27.10.2010 - 30.10.2010. The events were open to the public and included top researchers presenting their work at the XX Lab and talking about their passions at the XX Factor. Visitors were invited to take part in the Implicit Association test to find out what their biases are when it comes to questions about gender.

FIND OUT MORE: Click here to download the full programme of events for TWiSTing Science (PDF, 92 kB)

WHAT HAPPENED?
You can read more about the events that took place during TWiSTing Science below. To see some of the highlights from the events, watch the following video:

XX Lab
Thurs 28th – Fri 29th October, 12.00 – 18.00, & Sat 30th October, 12.00 – 15.00
Whether you wanted to cycle around Google Street View or make a working solar cell using fruit juice, XX Lab invited visitors to participate in interactive scientific experiments and research projects, all while exploring the role of women in science, engineering and technology.

XX Factor
Wed 27th October, 18.00 – 19.00
A series of short talks by creative and passionate scientists who spoke for 5 minutes about a key object, person or place that has inspired them. Full details are provided in the attached programme.

XX Talk
Thurs 28th October, 18.30 – 19.30
“In Conversation with Damini Kumar: Creativity and Innovation in Science and Technology”
Multi-award winning designer Damini Kumar, Director of Design & Creativity, NUI Maynooth, is the European Ambassador for Creativity & Innovation.

Implicit Association Tests (IAT)
Wed 27th – Sat 30th October
Do you know what you really think?
The IAT measures implicit or automatic attitudes. It’s well known that people don’t always ‘speak their minds’, and it is suspected that people don’t always ‘know their minds’. Understanding these divergences is important to creating any kind of sustainable change in people’s mindset regarding gender and science.