On Tuesday 9th October, Engine Shed is celebrating Ada Lovelace Day through a series of events hosted on site including a ‘Women in STEM’ panel debate, a primary school walking tour and networking events to inspire young women and girls in to pursuing a career in tech.
The events celebrate the original coder, Ada Lovelace, a 19th Century mathematician widely credited as the first computer programmer, and best known for her work with Charles Babbage to develop the ‘Analytical Engine’ computer. She is cited as being the one who recognised that a machine had applications beyond pure calculation and published the first ever algorithm.
Engine Shed’s Ada Lovelace Day starts with, a class of Year 5 students from Backwell Junior School in North Somerset experiencing a STEM walking tour of Unit DX and Ultrahaptics, followed by a Code Club session run by University of Bristol with support from DigiLocal that will teach them to build a poem about Ada Lovelace in Scratch.
From 4-6pm, Engine Shed and SETsquared Bristol will bring together a panel of women in STEM to discuss their careers in tech ranging from developing to entrepreneurialism. Chaired by Marina Traversari, Programme Manager at Oracle Start Up Cloud Accelerator, and introduced by Engine Shed’s Operations Director, Karen Drake, and SETsquared Bristol Centre Director, Monika Radclyffe, the panel will showcase women from Bristol’s tech scene including, Diane Douglas, CEO and Founder of Vigiles Group, Laura Lafave, CTO of OnCorps, and Zara Nanu, CEO and Founder of Gapsquare. The event will be filmed, and all in attendance, including children, are invited to attend and to participate on Twitter using @EngineShed_BB using #ALD.
Lorraine Fairbanks, Partnerships and Marketing Manager at Engine Shed, said:
“We wanted to use the opportunity of Ada Lovelace Day to celebrate the amazing women working in tech in the region. Engine Shed is committed to creating long term, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth, and we’re pleased to demonstrate to young women and those early on in their career that tech and entrepreneurship are exciting and accessible career paths. With the STEM tour for primary school pupils earlier on in the day and the Startup Drinks for students afterwards, it’s going to be a day focused on supporting a diverse workforce for the future.”
In the evening, UWE and the University of Bristol will host their monthly start-up drinks in the business lounge. The informal networking event is aimed at those interested in start-ups and entrepreneurship, and is an opportunity to meet other professionals, students, and entrepreneurs around Bristol.
For those looking to develop careers in STEM or hire new recruits, apprenticeship and training providers, including boomsatsuma, DevelopMe_, and QA Training, will be at Engine Shed from 4-6pm to meet with young people thinking about their future careers, employers, and early-stage developers seeking advice. For more information, and to book your place at the Ada Lovelace day panel event, please register your place here. If you would like to attend the start-up drinks from 6-8pm please register separately here.