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Building a future generation of women in STEM with the Singapore Committee for UN Women

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Trish Sunga Trish Sunga Australasia Press Office,Sydney
15 August 2019

Arup has celebrated the fifth year of our partnership with the Singapore Committee for UN Women with a recent Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) event at our Singapore office. This partnership reinforces our continuing efforts towards a culture of greater gender diversity and inclusion.

Georgette Tan, President, Singapore Committee for UN Women said the Committee is delighted that the partnership with Arup has been going well. 

“Over the last five years, the Girls2Pioneers programme has influenced and encouraged many young women to pursue a career in STEM industries. We have focused on STEM as we see this as crucial to building the pipeline for young women to enter and build successful careers in STEM industries,” Ms Tan said.

Our Singapore office has hosted four STEM events for young people this year, most recently introducing Primary 5 students from CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace to Arup’s business and the everyday lives of our designers, planners, engineers and consultants. 

 

Students heard about our expertise and projects, had a tour of the office and participated in an interactive bridge building activity, giving them a hands-on experience of some of our work. 

Organised by Arup’s local Diversity & Inclusion Committee, these programmes are part of the Girls2Pioneers initiative aimed at inspiring the next generation of creative problem solvers and empowering more young women to join the STEM fields.

“

The STEM journey with the Singapore Committee for UN Women has been an inspiring one which Arup will continue to support. Being a part of the positive change to achieve greater gender balance in the future workplace motivates me to continue working with more students. ”

Ayca Ozcanlar Ayca Ozcanlar Diversity & Inclusion Representative, Singapore

Ayca Ozcanlar, an Associate from Arup’s Façade Engineering team and Diversity & Inclusion Representative, has been working with the organisation to lead multiple projects in Singapore.

Girls2Pioneers events have seen Arup and the Singapore Committee for UN Women closely collaborating with our clients from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority and multinational construction and property firm, Lendlease. The events included visits to construction sites at Paya Lebar Quarter and a Thomson-East Coast Line station as well as field trips to our clients’ offices. 

For the past four years, we have also organised two-week long STEM work attachment programmes for students from Tanjong Katong Girls School, so they can experience working life at Arup. 

We have also given keynote speeches such as Women in Tech by the Singapore University of Technology and Design, in partnership with Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority. 

Since 2014, Arup has hosted and had an impact on more than 500 students through the Girls2Pioneers initiative in Singapore. Our valued partnership with the organisation aligns with our support for greater gender equity in the workplace and nurturing more women in the built environment industry. 

 
Female school students sitting around tables and being presented to about Women in Engineering Female school students sitting around tables and being presented to about Women in Engineering