What is WE Local?

The very first WE Local conference was held in Amsterdam in May of 2015 and went on to take place annually in different cities across the continent. Conferences are organized by The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), which gathers individuals at various stages of their collegiate and professional paths. These conferences provide a platform for engineers, technologists, partners and students to engage in professional growth sessions, gain inspiration from influential speakers, network, and leverage other valuable opportunities.  In 2016 the WE Local conferences expanded to India, one year later to the United States, each year since then, there have been 3-5 WE Locals held across the globe.

WE Local Barcelona

The conference was a huge success with 425+ attendees, 35 breakout sessions, 15 poster competition participants, and 15 onsite exhibitors! With all that being said, Brno SWE Affiliate just had to be there! It was an amazing opportunity to meet numerous inspiring people and hear many excellent speeches including our representative Anastasia Polach’s presentation (the winner of SHE Award 2022) with her topic: „New Bacterial Species: The Gift That Keeps Giving“.

We are also incredibly proud of Ksenia Kulak, our SHE Award finalist, for claiming the first-place position in the poster session competition! The topic of her thesis was: “A new approach towards cancer treatment: finding the most effective and safe way of destroying tumors by heat”. In conclusion, events like WE Local hold great significance in nurturing the development of young STEM talents, exemplified by individuals like Ksenia.

It demonstrates how such conferences inspire the next generation of professionals and encourage them to pursue their careers in STEM fields.

Not to miss out on the beauty of host city, our team ended the day with a walking tour in the historic Gothic Quarter. We are looking forward to the next edition!

Why should you participate in SHE STEM Award?

If nothing else, it will change your perspective! Thanks to the partnership with companies, you will look at your thesis through business lenses. That’s because all finalists receive professional mentorship from partner companies’ employees You will learn about the importance of networking and start building or expanding your professional network. It means that you can land your dream internship, or a job respectively. You will also have the access to SWE resources such as training materials, mentoring programs, events and much more.

On top of it, if you manage to win the esteemed SHE STEM Award, you will gain confidence in presenting, an invaluable skill for your future career both in research and industry. You will have the opportunity to present your thesis alongside top-notch professional presentations and workshops at the European WE Local conference. Whoa and did we stress the networking enough?! That means meeting those professionals and peers in person and expanding your network globally! And it’s not just about working, right – you get to see the city and experience local culture, which is eye opening and cannot be done online!

So what are you waiting for? Don’t miss out on your chance to be a part of the 2024 WE Locals!