Encouraging girls to study 'civil engineering with style'

Sessions included building gingerbread houses and testing them

A day aiming to "inspire, encourage and empower" female civil engineering students has been held in Bristol.

Dr Adrienn Tomor, from the University of the West of England (UWE), set up Engineering With Style to get girls to consider it as a "real career option".

"As female engineers we bring a fresh way of thinking and creativity into the profession," she said.

The Institution of Civil Engineers said just 20.8% of civil engineering undergraduates nationally were female.

The day also included a session on creating a professional image

Dr Tomor said: "We do not only bring a great wealth of technical expertise and novel ideas but also style into the profession.

"We develop new ideas and solutions for a whole range of applications, for example building larger and larger bridges, reducing the impact on the environment, minimising the effects of flooding, building tunnels, skyscrapers, developing new smart materials."

Anel Seidakhmetova said civil engineers "had the best of both worlds"

Third-year student Anel Seidakhmetova, 21, said when people find out she is studying civil engineering they are "always surprised" and "it's really challenging their beliefs that only guys can do that".

"Initially, because Kazakhstan is a relatively new country, all the buildings that were constructed there had the most weird and beautiful shapes - and they inspired me to choose something like architecture.

"But as I've learned, architects spend more time inside the office and on the contrary as a civil engineer, you have the best of both worlds because you are designing the building and afterwards going on the site and seeing it being built."

Lauren-Xante Claassen said "seeing my work come to life, something that I could physically touch and build was a big motivating factor for me"

Lauren-Xante Claassen, 28, said: "I believe it's changing for females in engineering and in society. We're gaining confidence as women to tackle industries we never thought had a place for us.

"We're starting to realise as women, we bring our own set of skills and unique experience to create an unexpected impact."

Nineteen-year-old Sara Alnoaimi has moved from Bahrain to study civil and environmental engineering at UWE in Bristol

Sara Alnoaimi said: "No-one can walk or work anywhere without having a civil engineer involved.

"I think it's a challenging career for a woman - it requires a lot of patience, a lot of hard work.

"I'm thinking more of the future and if I know anything about the future, I think it's going to be the time where we should give back to our planet."

Trish Johnson has been a civil engineer for just over 30 years and said "the role of engineer is a job worth pursuing"

Trish Johnson is bridgemaster for Clifton Suspension Bridge and previously managed the two Severn bridges.

She said: "Engineering is all about problem solving and that can be done as well, if not better, by women.

"I think the industry is understanding that it should be open to everyone - there shouldn't be barriers to women.

"The whole issue about sustainability, floods and the environment - we need to look at it globally and engineers will be key to addressing these issues."