Women engineers committed to mentoring girls into the profession, says APWEN chairperson

ABUJA – The Chairperson, Association of Professional Women Engineers in Nigeria (APWEN), FCT Chapter, Mrs Gladys Nwosah says the body is committed to mentoring young girls to study engineering.
Nwosa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja in an interview.
She said that APWEN had developed career-inspiring programmes to motivate secondary school girls in the FCT to study engineering courses in tertiary institutions.
She said that APWEN had commenced career talk in government secondary schools in Apo, Kuje and Kwalli, to educate female students on the prospects of becoming professional engineers.
“We have to catch them young in secondary schools through our career talk to the secondary schools. We have been to three schools this year.
“We go there to teach them what engineering is all about, how they can get into the profession and to become an engineer. We select different schools every year.
“We make Power Point presentations, distribute professional magazines to ginger them up and we give them gifts to stimulate their zeal and interest, “she said.
Nwosah said that APWEN had set up project teams to go round the schools to monitor the progress of those female students that indicated interest in pursuing engineering career.
She explained that the project teams were saddled with the responsibility of monitoring those students and ensure they were properly motivated to focus on the basics of engineering.
Nwosah, a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, said that APWEN was also into sponsorship of the FCT Science Princess pageant with the support of some government agencies.
She said that the co-sponsors of the FCT Science Princess pageant included the FCT Science and Technology Agency, FCT Education Secretariat and other education related agencies.
“A written test is organised for the contestants and whoever emerges the best three from all the schools are picked. We started this annual programme in 1993.
“They (candidates) are invited to the annual Children’s Day Celebration for an oral interview, after which prizes are awarded to those that excelled in the pageant,”Nwosah explained. (NAN)