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Ways to Support Female Engineering Entrepreneurs

As you most likely know, there is a major gender gap in leadership roles in the workforce. In 2017, only 15.6% of Canadian businesses were owned by women, while 63.5% were owned by men and 20.9% were owned equally by men and women. Research shows that in communities where female-owned businesses thrive, the country’s GDP grows and the global economy benefits. In places where women’s entrepreneurship is restricted or limited, the opposite happens. Individuals, communities, countries and the global economy miss out on unrealized economic gains when women are underrepresented. Here are ways to help lessen the gap and support women engineers and entrepreneurs.

1 – Buy from women-owned businesses

The easiest way to show your support for women entrepreneurs is to help keep their sales booming. All you have to do is search which businesses in your region are women-owned, keep them handy in a list, and remember to prioritize them the next time you go shopping or are looking for a particular service. Chances are, some of your favourite businesses are led by women. Some examples of female-owned tech and software companies are Canva (Melanie Perkins), Cloud9Insight (Carlene Jackson), Rumarocket.com (Kathleen Yu), LaunchDarkly (Edith Harbaugh), Task Rabbit (Leah Solivan), and Re:3D (Samantha Snabes).

2 – Promote these businesses on social media

Every business needs new customers coming in regularly and a good way to get in contact with potential buyers and make new connections is through social media. Everyone has their own audience on social media that the business may not have access to, so posting the products you buy and tagging the female entrepreneurs that you support will help increase interest in their businesses. There are even existing hashtags like #NWSBM (National Women’s Small Business Month) and #BuyWomenOwned that have lots of followers which can help you get your posts noticed by an even bigger audience. Fun Fact: Both Facebook and Youtube have women in their executive positions, with Sheryl Sandberg as the COO of Facebook and Susan Wojcicki as the CEO of Youtube.

3 – Invest in women-owned companies

You’ve probably noticed that a lot of businesses are suffering due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of financial support. Similarly, a lot of businesses are having trouble getting off the ground because of these economic issues, so making an investment can help give women the means to keep their business thriving. Even making a small donation and telling a few friends can amount to a big impact on these small businesses.

Links

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_03115.html

Supporting Women Entrepreneurs Is Just Good Business

https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/top-women-in-tech-entrepreneurs-in-2018–cms-30686

https://www.women-in-technology.com/wintec-blog/7-female-tech-entrepreneurs

Rising Careers in Engineering

by wemadeit

What is the first thing that you think of when you hear the word ‘engineering’? Circuits? Computer softwares? Spaceships? Engineering is such a diverse field of study, you may not know what career to choose. It is important to understand all the different possibilities available to engineering students and which ones will hold the most critical roles in the near future. Here are some of the fastest-growing areas in engineering to help you out.

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineers, or bioengineers, connect engineering principles and design concepts with medicine and biology. As many new medical devices and technologies get introduced to the world of healthcare every day, more and more bioengineers are needed to keep up with the demand. Employment in biomedical engineering saw a 72% growth rate through 2018.

Software Engineering

Software engineering is one of the fastest rising professions in the world! This is because the number of people switching to digital platforms and technologies to do everyday tasks is growing more than ever, especially due to the coronavirus pandemic. Software engineers use computer programming to create software products, internet services, network control systems, and more. The employment of software developers is projected to have the fastest growth of all professions, 22 percent from 2019 to 2029.

Civil Engineering

Civil engineering focuses on designing and constructing roads, bridges, electrical and water systems, dams and tunnels, and many other public projects and systems. Infrastructure development is going through big changes as new renewable energy sources and modern technologies emerge. Civil engineers are using solar and wind power to pave the way for a more eco-friendly world. The employment of civil engineers is projected to grow 2 percent from 2019 to 2029.

Electrical Engineering

Electrical engineers are involved with design and application of electrical devices and equipment as well as the study of electricity and electromagnetism. They manufacture motors, vehicle parts, navigation systems, solar arrays, semiconductors, and many other consumer devices which will continue to be in high demand in the coming years, with an expected growth rate of 9%

Environmental Engineering

Environmental engineers are in charge of all things sustainability. They handle water supply quality, air quality, contamination, and more. An environmental engineer today would likely focus on the water system sustainability issues that have recently emerged in many municipalities. The employment of environmental engineers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2019 to 2029.

Engineering a Better World: Goal 3 Good Health and Wellbeing

by wemadeit

Have you ever thought about how 3D printing could be the answer to helping more people get organ transplants? Engineers across the globe are thinking about things just like this that contribute to the SDGs. The SDGs, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals, are 17 goals laid out by the United Nations that aim to make the Earth a better and more sustainable place to live. Goal #3, Good Health and Wellbeing, looks to promote and ensure healthy wellbeing for all.

Here are 3 innovative and unique ways some engineers are improving health and wellbeing across the globe:

Virtual Rehab

The uses of virtual reality (VR) are truly endless, and engineers like Dr. ir. Isabel Van De Keere are applying just that to healthcare. She created Immersive Rehab, a type of neurorehabilitation (a process of healing or helping with nervous system-related injuries, like multiple sclerosis and strokes) that combines treatment with VR. Through the use of a VR headset, patients are able to enter a virtual world to perform rehab exercises, interacting with virtual objects. She created this after going through neurorehabilitation herself, following a workplace accident, and finding the exercises tedious with slow recovery. Immersive Rehab is not only fun but aims to improve recovery for patients and reduce lengthy referral times.

Phone App to Prevent Maternal Mortality

*https://twitter.com/theGiftedMom/status/1019489078578958336*

In Cameroon, as of 2017, for every 100,000 live births, there were 529 maternal deaths related to pregnancy. The high maternal and infant mortality rates in the country led engineer Alain Nteff to develop GiftedMom, an app that delivers medical information to mothers before and after their baby is born! Users will first message how long they’ve been pregnant. Every week after, they’ll receive texts that provide information on topics like breastfeeding, vaccines, and booking doctor appointments, which builds public awareness around pregnancy. Users can also submit their questions, to which they’ll get a response from doctors. This is extremely helpful for women living in rural and isolated areas!

3D Printing a Human Heart

https://nypost.com/2019/04/15/scientists-create-entire-human-heart-with-3-d-printer-for-the-first-time/

3D printing is a super cool process that allows you to turn a digital file into a real object — but have you ever imagined this could be used for human organs? At Tel Aviv University, researchers were able to successfully print a human heart. While people have printed the structure of hearts before, this is the first time it has been done using human cells and biological materials. This is a major breakthrough! Around 5,000 heart transplants occur around the world every year, but it is believed up to 50,000 people are in need of them. With such an unmet demand for a life-changing surgery, being able to print hearts to transplant would save countless lives. The technology has a long way to go, as the hearts are currently small and need training to perform like human hearts, but this breakthrough is huge!

Health and wellbeing is something that every single person across the globe is impacted by. Using engineering to come up with solutions to complex problems like these, is a powerful tool that can and will change lives!

Sources:

https://observers.france24.com/en/20160517-engineer-app-cameroon-maternal-death-rate-infant

https://www.voanews.com/africa/cameroon-continues-suffer-staggering-mother-child-birth-mortality-rate

https://www.indexmundi.com/cameroon/maternal_mortality_rate.html

Immersive Rehab

https://time.com/5710295/top-health-innovations/

https://www.biospace.com/article/tel-aviv-university-researchers-3d-print-a-human-heart/#:~:text=Researchers%20at%20Tel%20Aviv%20University,in%20the%20journal%20Advanced%20Science.

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/heart-transplantation-beyond-the-basics#:~:text=More%20than%205000%20cardiac%20transplants,should%20receive%20a%20heart%20transplant.

Top 7 Interesting Research Topics In Engineering

by wemadeit

Research is very important to an engineer! If you’re ever bored and looking to improve your innovation and problem-solving skills, or even just want to learn something new, here are some super cool research topics in engineering for you to look into!

7 – Aerodynamics

In recent decades, the research in aerodynamics has progressed into a new era. Aerodynamics is the study of the flow field around objects of various shapes. Some technologies that depend on aerodynamics are cars, bicycle racing helmets, wind turbines, golf balls, and many more. Did you know that about 1/3 of your taste buds are numbed while flying. Maybe that meal was not that bland after all?

6 – Nuclear Power

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release energy to generate heat, which is then used to produce electricity in a nuclear power plant. Nuclear is the world’s second-largest source of low-carbon power (29% of the total in 2018). In addition to research, nuclear reactors are being used for the production of medical and industrial isotopes, as well as for training. Fun fact; because nuclear fuel is so dense, all of the used nuclear fuel produced by the U.S. nuclear energy industry over the last 60 years could fit on a football field at a depth of less than 10 yards.

5 – Hybrid Vehicles and Electric Vehicles

Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are generally greener because they consume less fuel and emit less CO2 than petrol or diesel-engine vehicles. A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more types of power, such as diesel, batteries, gasoline, etc. Electric vehicles (EVs) will hit 10% of global passenger vehicle sales in 2025. Much of the world is planning to phase out gasoline-powered cars in the coming years, with Norway planning to do so by 2025, India by 2030, and France and the UK by 2040!

4 – Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the science of building things on the scale of atoms. To put it into perspective, a nanometer is one-billionth of a metre. The diameter of a single human hair is over 80,000 nanometres! Researchers today are using nanotechnology to investigate and monitor cellular and molecular function and to alter systems that are deregulated in disease. It is also being used in developing countries to help treat disease and prevent health issues. Did you know we have actually been using nanotech for centuries? The colours in medieval stained glass windows result from nanocrystals created in the heating and cooling of glass!

3 – Liquid Crystals

Liquid crystals or LCs are a state of matter that has properties of both conventional liquids and solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. Research in LCs today is best known for application in flat panel displays, but LCs have plenty of unique properties with lots of potential for fundamental science and innovative applications. Liquid crystals are all around us; in computers, clocks, even soapy water!

2 – 3D Printing

In the coming decade, 3D printing will become a leading production tool. One of the most popular uses of 3D printing in 2021 is rapid prototyping, which is using a 3D printer to create a scale model of a product or piece. Some of the coolest things people have 3D printed include organs, boats, houses, and even food! The only limit is your creativity! Fun fact: a lot of the props used in movies such as IronMan, Jurassic Park, and the Avengers are 3D-printed!

1 – Artificial Intelligence (AI)

As you may know, artificial intelligence (intelligence demonstrated by machines) is getting more advanced every day. Machines in 2021 have become proficient at features such as natural language generation, speech recognition, decision management, and much more. Research says that as AI learns things faster and faster, it may one day become smarter than humans! Did you know that in some parts of the world, robots can have citizenship? Saudi Arabia has given citizenship to the social humanoid robot named Sophia!

Sources:

https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00271-6

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.pocket-lint.com/gadgets/news/131685-best-3d-prints-the-crazy-and-coolest-things-people-have-printed.amphtml

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1567173912001113

https://www.azonano.com/amp/article.aspx?ArticleID=1134

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793126/

https://www.science.gov/topicpages/h/hybrid+vehicle+research.html

The future of cars is electric – but how soon is this future?

Introducing Advances in Aerodynamics

What is artificial intelligence engineering?

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