We would like to draw your attention to "120 Years of Women Engineers: Symposium on the occasion of 20 years of Marina van Damme Scholarship".

This symposium will take place on Thursday 9 November 2023 from 10:00h to 17:45h, in the Vrijhof in Enschede on the campus of the University of Twente. Much to our thanks, this symposium is facilitated by the University of Twente.

The Marina van Damme Fair

The Marina van Damme Scholarship is awarded annually to promising alumni of the University of Twente, Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and Wageningen University & Research. The scholarship amounts to € 9000 and is made possible by Marina van Damme. In 1953, Marina van Damme graduated from Delft University of Technology as a chemical engineer and in 1965 she obtained her PhD as the first doctor in technical sciences at the then Technische Hogeschool Twente. She then had an impressive career as a director at AKZO. She was also a council member of the WRR and a member of the advisory board of TNO and ABN AMRO BANK, among others. Now she is giving other female graduates the opportunity to take the next step in their careers through her fellowship.

The Symposium

Led by Rosanne Hertzberger, chairman of the day, during the day we will look back at the early days of the female engineer, reflect on what the fair has brought the former winners over the past 20 years and look ahead to what the future holds for the female engineer.

At the start of the day, women engineers with a special place in history will be highlighted. In the Marina van Damme orchard, 'Orchard in Honor of Female Engineers', three new apple trees have been planted in their honour. These are: Marie Bes, first female engineer in the Netherlands (Delft 1904), Frida Eversmann, first female agricultural chemical engineer (Wageningen 1919). Klaske Koopmans will take us through their life stories. The third tree will be dedicated to Louise O. Fresco, first female chair of the Board of Governors of Wageningen University & Research (2014-2022) and first female chair of the 4TU.Federation (2019- 2022) for whom Vinod Subramaniam, chair of the University of Twente's Board of Governors, will deliver a laudatio.

In the afternoon, a number of former winners will share their experiences from home and abroad. Speaking here include: Moreblessings Shoko - Geomatics Engineer and one of the first female drone pilots in Africa; Wendy Borneman - GP with an informatics background and president of the Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap (NHG), the scientific association of general practitioners and among other things creator of the popular website Thuisarts.nl; Bianca Derkzen - Programme Manager at the renovation of the Binnenhof, previously working on prestigious projects such as the Krasnapolsky and the EMA building. In addition to these three speakers, four other former winners will be speaking. We are very honoured that three of the speakers are coming to the Netherlands from abroad especially for us.

We will conclude the programme with a look to the future. During a panel discussion led by Rosanne Hertzberger, we will discuss the role of the female engineer in the major societal transitions we are facing.

During a closing drink, there will be an opportunity to chat with each other. The Marina van Dam network website has been updated and you will find information about the symposium and the speakers there.

Sign up

You can register for the symposium via the online registration form*. Once you have registered, we will send you the final programme before the summer. The number of places is limited, so we advise you not to wait too long.

We look forward to seeing you on 9 November in Enschede.

Kind regards,

Jetty van Ginkel

On behalf of the Marina van Damme Network *

https://www.utwente.nl/nl/ufonds/Forms/Marina%20van%20Damme%20Symposium

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