GirlsGetSET Newsletter 4

N E W S L ET T ER

ISSUE 4

JULY 2012

Welcome to the Girls Day Special Edition!

Hello and welcome to this Girls Day spe cial edition of the GirlsGetSET Newsletter!

Lots has gone on since our last edition in March, we will be reporting back on GirlsGetSET events at Cardiff, Groby and the Cheltenham Science Festival!

We have an interview with our very own torch beare r Jo Davies, she’ll be telling us all about that and much more!

Find out more about the Year 10 project which has been running this year — What will the dragons think?

We also look forward to the big summer ahead with the Olympic Games and the new school year in Septembe r with the return of GirlsGetSET. There is also the usual competition, and an exciting announcement! Enjoy!

GE Engines Event in Cardiff In this issue:  A Day Out In Cardiff

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A Visit To Sensing In Groby

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Meet a Torch Bearer

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Cheltenham Science Festival

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The London 2012 Olympics!

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Launch Of Our New Website!

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Competition

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GirlsGetSET Next Year!

July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET

A Great Day Out In Cardiff Girls from 14 secondary schools across the Rhondda Cynon Taff area attended the first GirlsGetSET event hosted by GE Aviation Wales on the 6th & 7th March 2012. More than 150 girls, aged 13-15 along with teachers attended the event. The day was run by a team of volunteers from the company’s volunteering committee, the GirlsGetSET committee and the Women’s Network.

Across the two days, the students participated in a number of workshops which included using a catapult as a business simulation tool, teaching them the importance of business planning, drawing upon their mathematical and team building skills. Other activities included, designing and creating an aeroplane wing which encouraged the pupils to think about engineering, design and financial planning.

The students were also introduced to Adrian Button, the Managing Director of GE Wales, who talked about the business to the girls and underlined the importance of having a diverse workforce. The girls were also taken on a site tour where they saw how an aircraft engine gets overhauled and then visited the state-ofthe-art test cell where the engines are

A mentor on hand rigorously tested to match ‘on wing’ conditions.

The girls also participated in a Q&A session with volunteers from the Women’s Network which in clud ed man ag emen t, engin eers and apprentices. This proved to be very useful as the girls learnt about the many different pathways into a STEM career.

We all had a fantastic day and hope all involved did too. This is what Gerard McNamara, Deputy Hea d tea c h er at Ca rd in al Newman Comprehensive School had to say about the event “Programmes like GE’s GirlsGetSET initiative highlights to pupils who will shortly be making decisions on which subjects to study at GCSE level, the great career opportunities available to them in their local area that studying science and engineering can bring.”

“The pupils were really engaged in the workshops and we have had great feedback from all the girls who attended. The event has no doubt helped to change some of the perceptions the girls previously had of careers in science & engineering.”

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We hope to see you all again soon!

July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET Article by Annabel Swift and Jessica Woolley

Groovy Groby!

GE Sensing held their first GirlsGetSET! events at Groby on April 18th and 25th with girls braving the wind & the rain to travel from the Gloucestershire area. Over 60, year 9 girls visited the site with a view of learning about pressure sensors and engineering.

The day began with the girls having an insight to pressure sensors and their applications, followed by a plant tour where they could see the sensors being made. They also got the chance to see the very latest in pressure sensing technology.

The girls visited the silicon clean room where they viewed computer chips under a high resolution microscope gaining an appreciation for the delicacy of working with these tiny devices; the heart of the pressure sensor. Into production, the girls saw a mixture of different sensor and instrument types being put together, viewing processes such as soldering, assembly & calibration.

The girls were split up into teams and were challenged to build the tallest tower that could

What a tower! support an egg, testing their ability to define structures, stability, force and how to work in teams.

The highest structure built was 240cm high which was too tall for team ‘I don’t know’ to balance their egg on top! It was great fun watching and the competitive spirit was evident as they tried time and time again to balance that egg!

The winners over the 2 days was team ‘TFB’ whose tower stood at 218cm and supported a force of 10g.

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Well done to all the teams involved and we look forward to seeing more GirlsGetSET! At Groby soon!

July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET Article by Denise El-Rishmawy

Interview - Jo Davies Jo Davies Team Coach Dowty Propellers A-Levels Graphic Design, Maths, Art, General Studies How did you decide on your chosen career path?

I left sc hool after completing my A-levels wanting to be a graphic designer! Seeing that there weren't many opportunities in this line of work, I decided to join a company that offered a solid training program. Over time I wanted to learn more about how the 'Supply Chain’ works. I joined Dowty Propellers as a Trainee Expeditor and worked my way up to Buyer.

Who were your role models when you were at school?

I really respected my dad who was UK Business Banking Manager for Lloyds TSB but my real idol was Carl Fogarty – the f our times World Superbike Champion. His perseverance and determination intrigued me and, well, I’ve always been a biker at heart!

When you were at school, what were your ambitions for the future?

I wanted to be a graphic designer as I love art. I saw myself designing adverts for large companies but I always knew I wanted to be in management and help other people develop their skills.

What skills do you feel are the most important for a successful career in a technology-based business?

Jo joined Dowty Propellers in 2007 as the first ‘teaming’ coach after working in Sales and Logistics at Cadbury.

In her interview, Jo tells us how she has come to work at Dowty, the challenges she has met along the way and who inspires her to continue achieving.

the guys on the floor up to the managers, a say in what the team does and how it operates. For example, working together to arrange holidays and time off so that it has as little impact as possible on the team's productivity. My main focus is on the start of the manufacturing process. I am also the Women's Network B usiness Representative which keeps me busy.

What has been your proudest moment in your career to date?

Being recognised for my hard work and being nominated to represent the company by carrying the Olympic Torch in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics.

Who inspires you now?

My dad still inspires me. Following a severe stroke three years ago, he has proved that strength and inner belief are key in life, and that you don’t give up, you just adapt and overcome!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today – so true when tomorrow always bec omes busier than expected!

The first thing I learnt in this business was how important it is to be able to communic ate well and at all levels; it’s essential to be able to ask the right questions to the right people.

What has been your biggest challenge so far in your career?

Taking on my c urrent role at a time when GE was making a lot of changes to how our site ran. It was a steep learning curve going f rom working mainly in an office to working on the f actory floor with no previous experience in this area.

Can you give us a summary of your role at GE? I coach others using a new approach to team-working called 'Teaming'. This gives everyone in the team, f rom

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Jo carrying the Olympic flame July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET Article by Jessica Woolley and Patrick Armstrong

Year 10 Project The year 10 projects have been running since January, the girls were first tasked with designing a transportation method for use in and around the Olympic park. They were asked to provide a presentation, posters and a model of their proposed solution. Considerations included safety, re-use, accessibility, cost, energy source, regulation and environment.

Over the months the teams have grasped the physical needs of the system and a range of innovative solutions addressing transport capacity and congestion have been offered.

A theme that ran through the systems were the use of existing waterways leading to the Olympic Park. One group offered a boat that had a number of design features such as solar panels, information screens and enhanced access which met the initial project brief very well.

An exciting alternative solution was based on a cable car system. A number of different circuits linked together to form the Olympic rings! All

the models were created to a very high standard and the judges were most impressed with the confidence and fluency of the girls’ presentation.

The second project centred on a media distribution system for the Olympic Park. The brief was kept quite broad to encourage the girls to use their imagination and provide a truly innovative solution.

The focus was also shifted towards an overall systems view. Rather than designing a new app, or a great interactive screen, the girls were encouraged to think about how the media capture, transmission and con sumpti on delivered as a whole system as well as thinking about the pricing and availability of their system.

All the teams have to do now is face the dragons, where they will have to combine their innovative ideas with confident presentation skills to produce a successful and memorable pitch, in order to get the Dragons to part with their cash!

The winners will be revealed at the prize giving ceremony on the 6th July 2012!!!

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Good luck inventors!

July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET Article by Edward McCaul and Annalie se Thomas

Cheltenham Science Festival - Thursday 14th June This year at the Cheltenham Science Festival we were joined by Gloucester Academy and The Cotswold School. Their students competed to design and build an innovative solution representing a communications system in an aircraft, using limited materials and in a very compressed timescale.

The ‘Area 42’ marquee became an aircraft hangar, with the outline of 2 aircraft marked on the floor. Each aircraft was divided into zones, housing the power system; engine; avionics bay and flight deck. Each school was divided into 3 teams of 5-6 girls, with each team responsible for sending a message (represented by a marble) between 2 zones in their aircraft, i.e. from power system to avionics bay.

Each team had a set of requirements, including height limits within each zone plus a unique challenge, whether it was the distance, a vertical drop or limiting the speed to complete in the required sequence.

The materials available to produce the communication channel were limited to bamboo canes, paper, string and sellotape. The girls considered

Attention to detail is needed various options to carry the marble and support the structure, guided by their mentors to design a solution. It was then hands-on to build their solution within an hour and very quickly the marquee was filled with bamboo tripods, paper tubes and channels supported by string. Plenty of trial and error was evident, with the customer clarifying requirements and reviewing compliance as the build progressed.

To close the challenge, each school set their marbles off to demonstrate they had met the requirements. The customer and mentors assessed each group and presented an award for the best design to one of The Cotswold School’s teams for their innovative solution to the vertical drop and an award for teamwork to another of The Cotswold School’s teams for not only working well in their group, but liaising with the other groups in their aircraft to initiate sharing supports and thus minimise materials.

The girls had a challenging but exciting day that was full of innovative and practical solutions.

Well done girls!

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July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET Article by Gavin Phillips

GE @ The London 2012 Olympics The symbol of the Olympic Games, the Olympic torch, starts its epic 8000 mile journey from the Temple of Hera in Olympia Greece, and is carried by 8000 Olympic Torchbearers from across the world that best embody the Olympic spirit – including GirlsGetSET’s very own Kimberley Kirkham and Jo Davies – before ending its journey by lighting the Olympic Cauldron in the Olympic Stadium in London. In total, Photo around caption 20 GE employees had the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch, but that is only just the beginning of GE’s involvement with the London 2012 games!

GE is a Worldwide Olympic Partner and provides many products and services to ensure a successful Olympic Games such as power, lighting, medical equipment, water treatment, transportation and security. Here are some of the things GE are doing: GE Lighting has supplied around 14,000 lights in the functional areas of the magnificent Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London, along with the lighting for the athletes warming up track so you can see your favourite athletes warming up before their big events!

The Olympic Village will house around 23,000 Olympic athletes and officials, and GE is supplying the essentials so they can prepare for the games in comfort! GE Water & Processing are donating storm water run off monitor units, whilst GE Power Controls are supplying power distribution equipment to keep the electricity flowing.

Sadly during the Games, athletes may pick up knocks and muscle strains whilst competing, meaning they may need to pay a visit to the Polyclinic medical centre situated in the Olympic Village. GE Healthcare has donated Page 1

GE Sponsor the British Triathlon team! state-of-the-art medical scanning equipment such as CT, MRI, Ultrasound and X-Ray technology such that even the smallest injury can be diagnosed. Even better, the Polyclinic and its GE equipment will remain after the Games to help better medically support the greater London community.

The Olympic Games needs power. A lot of power. The Energy Centre will provide power, heating and cooling systems across all the Olympic facilities. GE Jenbacher is supplying CHP (Combined Heat and Power) engines to help power the games in a more energy efficient manner. GE Water & Processing also have installed water dosing systems.

GE is also donating equipment to several other facilities such as the Velodrome power distribution technology. The Aquatics Center Uninterruptable Power Supplies. The Basketball, Handball and Hockey Arenas Floodlighting!

GE will also be supplying several volunteers to assist with the running of the games. All in all, GE is trying to help make the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games a Games to remember!

July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET Article by Dan Gordon and Annaliese Thomas

Crossword Competition Down: 1 - Physics, Biology and C hemistry are ty pes of this 2 - A chronologic al list of actions 3 - The development of tiny c hips 5 - Practical A pplic ation of knowledge 8 - Flying Rotary Vehicle 9 - In the 21 century this is all around us 12 - A sc heme or method of doing Across 4 - The moving parts of a mac hine 6 - This can lift you up!

7 - An itemised estimate of expected inc ome and expenses 10 - Your Customer may give you one of these to c omplete a task 11 - A stamp of endorsement on reliability 12 - The thrust behind your flight 14 - High grade or superiority

Send your answers to girls.getset@ge.com to be in with the chance of winning a prize!

Make sure you include your name, school and year group.

Prizes will be given out at the start of the next academic year.

Onto Next Year...

This year we have seen the GirlsGetSET scheme grow to include more schools, more girls in more areas of the UK. Throughout the year we’ve built data networks for aircraft, designed wings, and made towers to support an egg!!!

Next year is set to be bigger and better!

Keep up to date with what’s going on via the website, Facebook and Twitter. A big thanks from us at GirlsGetSET for making the events successful and enjoyable for all involved!

Subtitle GirlsGetSET On The Web GirlsGetSET is now online! Check out all the latest news, events and pict ures at www.GirlsGetSET.icountGE.co.uk Get Clicking and have FUN!

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July 2012 | Issue 4 | GirlsGetSET Articles by Liam McGinley, Ben Daffurn and Kimberley Kirkham