Helping Women Discover Engineering

Jenna Wiens wanted to help people—she assumed she’d be a doctor. As a high school student with a 98 per cent average, a career in medicine was within her reach. But a week at Carleton University’s Go Eng Girl program changed everything.

“I went from having no idea what engineering was to enrolling in Carleton’s electrical engineering program,” says Wiens, who graduated from one of the largest engineering faculties in Canada at the top of her class.

Now a graduate student at MIT, Wiens was well prepared for advanced research. A hands-on education and an NSERC undergraduate research award at Carleton allowed her to develop wireless sensor networks for the innovative smart apartment in the Élisabeth Bruyère Health Centre. “I use technology in medicine to help diagnose and cure patients.”

“Female high school students often fail to see engineering as a potential academic path. They are surprised how creative and people-focused engineering is,” says Winnie Ye, a Canada Research Chair specializing in silicon photonics for biomedical, telecommunication and renewable energy applications.

As a mentor in Carleton’s Women in Science and Engineering chapter, and a graduate of the university, Professor Ye helps foster interest in engineering and innovation among young women. She wants more students like Wiens to experience Carleton’s unique engineering programs and supportive learning environment.

“Carleton is a leader in engineering teaching and research,” she says. “I want other women to know how accessible engineering is—and that it can help them to change the world.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more info, and to learn more about amazing grad stories, check out Ingenious: http://carleton.ca/engineering-design/ingenious/great-grads/