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UC’s mission to inspire women to become engineers

on 31 Mar 2025

As engineering aspires to address more than just the technical aspects of technology and to have a wider impact on society as a whole, the engineering profession has sought to become more inclusive, including addressing the perception that it is a career less suited to women.

One way to make engineering more welcoming to women who aspire to a science, technology, engineering, or mathematical (STEM) career is to connect them early-on with a community of their peers, mentors, and professional women engineers. To support this, the University of Canterbury (UC) created Women in Engineering Canterbury (WiE CAN), an initiative which involves a fun engineering camp event aimed at year 13 students.

Since 2018, WiE CAN has inspired more young women to study engineering by fostering confidence, connections, and a sense of belonging in the field.

WiE CAN Camp 2025

In January 2025, WiE CAN invited 60 students to spend five days on UC’s campus and complete interactive workshops covering all eight disciplines of engineering, such as mechatronics and electrical engineering.

The camp also includes fun social activities such as Amazing Race, entrepreneurship and humanitarian challenges, movie and pizza nights, a Christchurch city tour, and a final farewell party.

Along with the opportunity to try real engineering in real labs, the students also get to explore university accommodation, support services, and scholarships available to help decide on their future study.

The students themselves report back on the “amazing opportunity and experience” the camp provides each year due to the hands-on learning and interaction they have with their fellow aspiring engineers.

“I would recommend it to anyone and guarantee it would help them have some appreciation for how exciting, innovative, versatile, and important engineering can be,” one student said.

Women leading women into STEM

WiE CAN also highlights the importance of hearing from and connecting with other women engineers.

The camp is supported by UC’s Residential Assistants (RAs), who are final-year undergrads or postgraduate engineering students at the University. These RAs help guide the engineering workshops and camp activities, and act as mentors to the year 13 students with authentic intel and advice on what it’s like to be a woman studying engineering.

Their first-hand experiences are incredibly valuable to the WiE CAN students, who often say the RAs are their primary inspiration for deciding to study engineering at university.

“It has made me want to do engineering at Canterbury and even potentially if able to be an RA in the future,” one student said.

Once at UC, students can also access clubs on campus which support diversity in STEM study, with notable examples such as Women in Technology Society (WiTSoc) and Women in Engineering (WiE). These clubs often hold events to help connect current students to industry and to promote engineering study to high schools, such as EngineeringHER.

UC’s Engineering Faculty also holds the annual online and in-person STEMinism event for year 11̵-13 students to hear presentations from women working in the engineering industry.

These women-led initiatives create a relatable community where students feel comfortable asking questions and seeking advice from trustworthy sources, helping to break barriers and negative stereotypes that often surrounds this male-dominated field.

“The ability to develop solutions to complex problems is the core skill set of all engineering graduates from UC and the best solution will come from teams that are able to see the same problem from different viewpoints and approach it from different directions. Diversity in our programme is therefore fundamental to the strength of our engineering disciplines here at UC and women in engineering are making a tremendous positive impact to the faculty and the industry,” -Executive Dean of Engineering at UC.

WiE CAN’s success has grown student enrolments

From 2022-2025 enrolment numbers for women in undergraduate engineering degrees have increased from 22.8% to 24.6% at UC (445 students). Slowly but surely, young women are feeling more open and welcome to the possibilities of an engineering career.

However, there is still more work to be done to lessen the gender divide and make the industry truly inclusive.

By offering these opportunities, UC and Tait continues to create an empowering environment, ensuring that young women feel supported and confident in their decision to pursue engineering.

"Tait is proud to partner with UC Engineering to host the WiE CAN Residential Programme, united by a shared commitment to building an equitable future in engineering for women. By giving female students early exposure to university activities, real-world challenges and connecting them with female mentors, we help spark ambition and expand their sense of what’s possible. Together, we're empowering the next generation of young women to see themselves as future engineers and to take those first steps with purpose."- Tait Communications.

Content provided by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

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