The unconference (a conference without a fixed agenda) is being organised on 6-7 November at NMITE’s Skylon Park by Dr Sarah Peers, President of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES) Europe. INWES works globally to increase the participation and leadership of women in STEM. This mission aligns closely with NMITE’s commitment to widening access to university and diversifying who becomes an engineer.
The upcoming INWES “unconference” – a participant-led event without a fixed agenda — embodies that shared spirit of doing things differently. With speakers from the UK, Ukraine, France and Cameroon to get ideas flowing and some suggested roundtable discussion topics, the real purpose of the unconference is to have delegates share their opinions.
Co-organisers of the event are Sylvia Kegel (Germany), INWES Treasurer and Chair of European Regional Network of INWES; and Belen Garcia de Pablos (Spain), INWES Vice-President of Industry & Enterprise. Hosted in the innovative educational setting of NMITE, which is an institutional member of INWES, this event features invited speakers:
· Itxaso Ariza, CTO of Tokamak Energy, UK
· Professor Oleksandra Yeremenko, Kharkiv National University of Telecommunications, Ukraine
· Sara Edwards, SCULPT Solutions, UK
· Yasmin Ali, of RWE and NMITE Board Member
· Senior members from the INWES Europe network including:
o Monique Moutaud, long time INWES representative at UNESCO, Paris,
o Reine Essobmadje, founder of Evolving Consulting in Cameroon and France and co-founder of the NGO Digital Coalition.
The real purpose of the unconference is to have delegates share their views and their proposals for ways forward for INWES and INWES-Europe.
Dr Sarah Peers is an Associate Professor and Head of Academic Skills at NMITE who leads on the Academic Skills & Knowhow Centre (ASK). “The unconference very much suits the NMITE attitude of challenging the status quo and doing things differently. That NMITE is whole heartedly supporting this event is indicative of NMITE’s commitment to diversity in engineering and technology. The unconference structure will help surface the key issues and involve supporters and members of INWES in helping shape future agendas for diversity and leadership in science and engineering across Europe.”
The voice of younger generations is key: NMITE students are supporting the organisation of the event and have already proposed topics for roundtables including encouraging diversity and engagement from underrepresented groups, for example, LGBTQIA+, and challenging attitudes of leadership. Other proposed roundtables include: the power of STEAM (STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics – and the Arts) and overcoming geographical barriers for collaboration. The roundtables will be followed by workshops including one focussed on the INWES programme Herstories of women in STEM.
Dr Peers continues “We’d love to have all voices heard, locally here in this region, but wider across the country and in Europe. If you’re a student of engineering or science, an academic, an ally, or someone with ideas to share from another academic or business sector, join us. And if you can’t attend in person, you can still put forward a topic for discussion and attend online.”
Eventbrite page for registering for the event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inwes-europe-x-nmite-unconference-2025-tickets-1712327390319
Alternatively, visit the INWES Event webpage to follow the link from there: https://www.inwes.org/inwes-europe-x-nmite-unconference/