Princess Royal shown WISE opportunities at Thales

WISE, of which The Princess Royal is a patron, was founded 30 years ago and has a mission to improve gender balance in the UK’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce.

The Colloquium provided an opportunity for female Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics students from across the UK to meet employers such as Thales, learn about graduate programmes and hear from women who have used their engineering qualifications to forge exciting careers.

Also representing Thales was Brittany Perkins, a Software Engineer with GTS UK and Katie Laidler, an IT Engineer with CHQ.

Lilian, who joined Thales in 2013 after graduating from Durham University with a Masters in Physics, says:  "Events like the WISE Colloquium are a brilliant opportunity to showcase Thales as an employer."

"I was aware of Thales and became interested in the Graduate Development Programme after attending a careers fair. Once I joined, I was immediately struck by the hands-on nature of the work which was just what I wanted."

"For me, engineering was the natural path to follow because I wanted something that would be of practical use after my years at university - I wanted to be able to use the knowledge gained during my studies.”

Commenting on meeting The Princess Royal, Lilian adds: “She was very interested in the event and I felt quite privileged to attend. I was able to talk to her about the opportunities Thales offers to women, particularly the breadth of jobs we can offer across all of the defence, aerospace, transport and security industries."

"For me, these types of events are fantastic. Talking with other female engineers was a brilliant opportunity to network and find out their stories. It really did drive home the message that in order to encourage others to follow, you have to go out there and let them know about the great jobs that are available for women in engineering and science."