THE National is focusing on some of Scotland’s inspirational women today to celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

It is a United Nations initiative which recognises the achievements of women in science, promotes gender equality and encourages more women and girls to get involved in science and research.

This day both celebrates the contributions women and girls make in the realm of science, and aims to inspire society to make science, including critically important fields such as technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) more welcoming and accessible to women and girls.

Equate Scotland, which makes a positive difference for women in science engineering, technology and the built environment, said International Day of Women and Girls in Science was important to Scotland in terms of encouraging more women and girls to study STEM subjects and to choose careers in its fields.

Its director, Talat Yaqoob, said: “Increasing the number of women in STEM is worth a further £170 million annually to the Scottish economy. We need girls and women to pursue their ambitions in STEM to ensure Scotland remains globally competitive.

“But there is an equality imperative attached to this.

The majority of jobs in the very near future will require STEM qualifications.”

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‘Push boundaries, work hard and be optimistic’

Dr Shareen Forbes, pictured above, is lead physician and diabetologist for the Islet Transplant Programme in Scotland, based at Edinburgh University. She is leading a Diabetes UK-funded study to improve the effectiveness of islet transplants.

Forbes is a strong advocate for women and girls in science. She offers the following advice to aspiring researchers and scientists: “Keep thinking about ways you can build your research.

“Work with others to share knowledge and skills, embrace new techniques and think about how they can benefit your work – it’s important to keep pushing boundaries.

“I also suggest identifying a mentor, who is not in your immediate research environment but whose advice you trust, to discuss your ambitions and seek advice on how to reach them. Most importantly, work hard, stick at it and be optimistic!”

Islet transplantation can be life-changing for people with type 1 diabetes by restoring awareness of hypoglycaemia, but the current process is not perfect. More research is required to improve the procedure, make it more effective and enable more people to undergo successful islet transplants.

Forbes said: “Around 20 per cent of people with type 1 diabetes have impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia. This means people don’t feel the symptoms of having dangerously low blood sugar or a ‘hypo’. If a hypo is not treated in time, it can be dangerous; resulting in convulsions, unconsciousness and in some cases, coma.

“Thanks to funding from Diabetes UK, we are making solid progress in our mission to improve the effectiveness of pancreatic islet transplants which can restore hypo awareness.”

Talking about how she started out on her career path, Forbes said: “As a student, I was keen to understand more about the mechanisms behind diabetes and felt inspired and enthused by my team at Imperial College London, including Professor Desmond Johnston and Professor Stephen Robinson. I was awarded a PhD fellowship (Novo Nordisk) and a Diabetes UK clinical intermediate fellowship at Imperial College London.

“During this time, I enjoyed the fact I could practice clinical medicine but was also at an interface where I realised my research could lead to new insights into diabetes and potentially change clinical management or even lead to new treatments in the field.

“This is what has driven me to where I am today.”

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Initiative helps bring STEM talent back into the workplace

LOUISE Rasmussen, knowledge management adviser for the energy giant SSE, is one of Scotland’s STEM returners, part of a project run by Equate Scotland – funded by the Scottish Government – which supports women to return to work in the STEM industries after a career break.

Rasmussen wants to inspire other women to take part in the returnship programme and go back to their careers after taking time off to have children or care for elderly parents. She said: “There are a number of advantages to participating in a returnship programme.

The National:

“They include receiving a wide range of support tailored to women returning to work, meeting other women who are also looking to return to work after a long absence, having the opportunity for paid work in a relevant STEM industry and developing existing skills and learning new ones.”

When Rasmussen signed up for the project she had been trying to unsuccessfully to find a job with part-time hours that did not require a long commute and was in her subject area of knowledge management.

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Woodmill High school in Dunfermline, Fife, has been working with Improving Gender Balance Scotland to empower students, teachers and parents to tackle stereotyping in subject and career choice.

Pupils have been part of Shell’s Girls in Energy project. Last session, seven girls from S4-S6 attended Fife College one afternoon a week to look at the work undertaken in the energy industries.

The National:

These girls are now role models for the next cohort and their story has led to 14 girls signing up for session 2016-17.

Sarah, an S5 pupil, said: “This has shown me engineering is not about getting your hands dirty but more about creative problem solving.” Millie, from S4, added: “I have had more confidence to offer answers without the intimidating boys.”