Empowering Girls in STEM Through Inspirational Speakers
20 March 2025 - Academic
The Women in STEM Speaker Series has been running since the last academic year. We started the initiative because we wanted to empower Wycombe Abbey girls interested in STEM by providing more opportunities to hear from female leaders in these fields. So far, we have welcomed a variety of speakers, including a postdoctoral researcher at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, an economics pupil at Harvard and a software engineer at Apple.
Our most recent speakers, Victoria and Leire, are researchers in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College. Victoria is a Research Project Manager and Research Fellow, and Leire is her Research Assistant. They spoke about their project called DIAMONDS, which aims to develop a molecular test for the rapid diagnosis of serious infectious and inflammatory diseases. It was very motivating for us to see concepts learned in our science lessons being put into use for a global initiative that can revolutionise the public health situation in developing countries.
Victoria and Leire also shared their educational and career journeys, each offering invaluable inspiration. Victoria’s path, from teaching science in Ghana to researching worm infections in Tanzanian school children and ultimately contributing to the DIAMONDS project, highlighted the global impact of scientific research. As for Leire, her transition from the European University of Madrid to Imperial College London provided valuable insight for those considering studying abroad and pursuing international careers in STEM. To conclude the talk, the two researchers discussed the working environment at Imperial as well as tips for sustaining one’s passion for STEM. We were especially inspired by their advice to always stay open to new opportunities, whether this is through travelling abroad or expanding personal networks.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to Head of Science, Mr Young for helping to make these talks possible. Currently, we are working on holding events featuring even more varied areas of STEM. If you know anyone who may like to be a speaker or are interested in being a speaker yourself, please contact the School.
Judy (LVI) and Kelly (UV)
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