Stories

^{WomEng’s Fellowship South Africa event took place this month}

The Group is investing US$315,000 over three years in programmes that aim to encourage young women to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and to pursue engineering careers in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

Katie Fergusson, Senior Vice-President, Social Impact, De Beers Group, said: “With a global shortage of engineers, and women representing only 11 per cent of the engineering workforce, attracting more young women into engineering is vital. In our fast-changing world, we need diversity of thought to find new solutions, so we are thrilled to be able to partner with WomEng and play a role in supporting the next generation of talented engineers who will play a critical role in shaping the future.”

The first programme of the partnership was WomEng’s Fellowship South Africa event, held early in July in Johannesburg, attended by 60 female engineering students in their pre- and post-graduate years from South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

^{Attendees at  WomEng’s Fellowship South Africa event}

The week-long event was designed to strengthen the students’ employability and leadership skills and cultivate innovative entrepreneurial thinking through the WomEng Innovation Challenge. Students were asked to develop an engineering business solution to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

WomEng Fellowship South Africa included an evening discussion addressed by Mpumi Zikalala, Managing Director of De Beers Group Managed Operations in South Africa and Canada, giving the students an opportunity to find out more about what it’s like to work for the world’s leading diamond company.

She told the students: “The world you are about to enter into requires passion, dedication and hard work, but you must always remember not to compromise who you are along this journey - always stick to your values.”

^{Attendees participate in group activities at the Johannesburg event.}

Next month, a series of half-day GirlEng #AskAnEngineer workshops will begin, run by engineers, students and the WomEng team. Each session will target 200 girls in schools around De Beers Group’s operations. The first is in Musina, South Africa, followed by sessions in Windhoek, Namibia, and Orapa and Jwaneng in Botswana.

These sessions are designed to create awareness of the importance of STEM subjects and to provide the students with practical tools and routes to access engineering and technology careers.

They will be followed by a regional GirlEng programme, where 60 students chosen from the earlier sessions are eligible for a sponsored two-day Innovation Boot Camp in Johannesburg in March 2020. Students will also be provided with support for university and scholarship applications, as well as exposure to mining environments.

During the two-day event, the students will be faced with an innovation challenge, simulating the engineering work environment as well as testing their problem-solving skills and teamwork in tackling complex challenges.

WomEng, founded in South Africa in 2006, has run programmes in 19 countries and reached more than 50,000 girls and women studying STEM subjects. It is currently partnering with UNESCO on its #1MillionGirlsinSTEM goal.

Naadiya Moosajee, Co-Founder of WomEng, said: “The role of women to uplift and design better futures is undeniable, which is why we have been on our mission to impact one million girls through STEM education. We are proud to work with companies like De Beers Group who share our same passion and vision to develop our future skilled women engineers in southern Africa.”

Lisa Von Benecke, a WomEng volunteer, and an electrical engineering student in South Africa, said WomEng played a major role in inspiring her, connecting her to supportive networks and motivating her to do more in her field.

“All girls need this kind of exposure as these fields are never marketed as being suitable for us,” she said.