A huge congratulations to our STEM Outreach and Events Coordinator and Lead Technician, Sue Harris ( pictured below with her award ), who was named as a winner in the prestigious Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) awards on Thursday. Sue was thrilled to get the award, saying: “To get to the final three was fantastic. But when they called my name I was shocked as I had convinced myself I wasn’t going to win. I am really proud that all of the work I have done over the last three to four years has had some recognition – it is important to me to get as many young girls into STEM as possible. “I am so happy that what we are doing to educate and open girls’ eyes to what is out there is working.”
Sue won the WISE Technician Award and has been hugely instrumental in Benenden seeing an increase from 8 per cent of students applying to study STEM subjects at university when she joined in 2006 to over 30 per cent now. Sue has initiated and run a plethora of research programmes for students at Benenden, working with universities and industry to get students involved in STEM-based projects from as early as the Lower Fifth. She has also organised several events providing female students from both Benenden and schools across Kent with the opportunity to meet successful female role models from a diverse range of STEM fields. On top of all that she runs a monthly Women in Science lecture programme and several STEM-based clubs. WISE’s annual awards recognise inspiring individuals and organisations who are actively working to promote those who are working to achieve gender balance in STEM in the UK. There has been a target set of 1 million women in STEM by 2020, so they aim to highlight the hard work and successes of those who are achieving in their sector and show commitment to equality within STEM.