WiSE India INWES Regional Conference 2012

What is common between Marie Curie, Kalpana Chawla and Grace Murray Hopper?

Well…while Kalpana Chawla was the astronaut from India with two space flights to her credit, Marie Curie was the two times Nobel Laureate best known for her contribution to radioactivity, and Grace Murray Hooper is the inventor of the programming language COBOL. These, as the many others like them, are women at the frontiers of science and technology who have transformed the world around us with their inventions and insights.

Women have long busted the myth about not being equipped enough to work alongside and at par with men. And now even science and technology, the ultimate triumph of human civilization, has ceased to be the monopoly of men.  Not only a few but millions of women are working today as scientists, engineers, educators, tech innovators and more, heralding in a new era of human advancement.

Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) aims to bring together women in all these fields and provide a platform for dissemination and sharing of knowledge, mentoring, professional development and networking opportunities to facilitate the success of women in the science and engineering related fields. WiSE also aims to create career opportunities for women by increasing awareness, providing support, enhancing capacity building and by influencing policies for promoting women in these fields.

To further its cause of building better prospects for women in science and engineering through their active participation and involvement, WiSE India recently announced the organizing of the Regional Conference of the International Network of Women Engineers & Scientists (INWES). It promises to be an enriching two-day event which will provide opportunities for people in the industry and the fields of science and technology to discuss innovative engineering, science and technological practices and projects and to network with colleagues in business, academia and government.

In a country where working women are yet to claim their rightful place and science and technology can go a long way in addressing the issue plaguing the people, participation of more and more women in the fields of Science and technology provides a brilliant way forward towards a better future. With this International conference, WiSE promises to do just that by providing speakers to familiarize the women with the vast pool of opportunities available before them in these fields and also by making available forums and resources to discuss ideas and issues affecting women in scientific careers and invites an audience from a diverse range of engineering, science and technology professions, practitioners, academia, industry and students.

So here’s to a better future with women scientists and engineers leading from the front – to WiSE India and to the conference.

Be there to see the future being built in front of your eyes!