At the core of UCL's 50.50 Engineering Engagement Strategy is the aim to strengthen and diversify the engineering workforce, by encouraging young people from a wide range of backgrounds - especially young girls - to consider career pathways both ‘in’ and ‘from’ engineering. The initiative focuses on sustained, meaningful engagement, designing programmes that are based in engineering’s real social, ethical, environmental and humanitarian contexts. UCL wants young people to appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of engineering. The programme focuses on gender equality and inclusion, both for the course design and pupil participation, and promote diversity in every sense. Through the 50.50 Initiative, UCL has been able to create a step change in the representation of girls, women and ethnic minorities across all our STEM engagement programmes.
The 50.50 UCL Engineering Engagement Initiative focuses on six key priorities
- Promoting gender equality and inclusion
- Learning through experimental engineering
- Inspiring through relatable engineering role models
- Discovering STEM career pathways
- Prioritising early intervention
- Supporting teachers through professional development
The programme is linked to the UK government’s “Girls Education” and “Year of Engineering” programmes, as well as policies to get more girls into science and engineering careers and degrees.
As part of the initiative and partnership with EngineeringUK, Royal Academy of Engineering, Institute of Physics, Institute of Engineering & Technology and Institution of Mechanical Engineers, through the programme UCL co-developeds “Meet The Future You” (see background documents) based on real-life UCL engineers, with an emphasis on intersectionality and representation.
