THE Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), an arm of  Nigeria Society of Engineers, has begun on a rigorous process of launching the girl-child into engineering profession, with the introduction of ‘Introduce A Girl To Engineering’ programme.

Aimed at encouraging more female participation in the profession, the inaugural event held at the Lagos City Hall on Tuesday. It attracted 22 different schools across the state, who came to draw from the wealth of experience of women engineers.

It was also meant to mentor the schoolgirls to passionately follow their chosen career and assist them in the study of engineering.

All the schools participated in different activities to develop them on the practical aspect of engineering.

The first practical activity was the construction of a bridge, where each school was given opportunity to prepare its budget, determine the necessary measurement and weight needed in the construction work. Another activity was the Disposal Diaper Dissection.

National President of APWEN, Engr. Olayinka Abdul, disclosed that the programme is part of its career talks, which is geared at tutoring them about engineering as a career.

She added that at the end of every talk, they always have a sort of Mentor-Mentee to monitor the progress of each of the students.

“APWEN was 30 last year and part of what we did was to assess ourselves to see what we have done and what we need to do, which was part of what we are doing. What we are doing is to introduce the girl-child to engineering and this would be an annual event. It would also be replicated in all our chapters, in the states,” she said.

She flayed people’s aversion for engineering, adding that it is not as difficult as people see it, hence the urgency of catching the girl-child at a tender age.

To her, engineering complements in-born talents of an individual; it makes people happy, energetic and fulfilled.

She continued, “engineering teaches teamwork, it is a beautiful career, and that would makes one meticulous and an embodiment of life.”

The older crop of women engineers who have contributed immensely to the profession include Mayen Adetiba, Nkechi Isigwe, Ebele Okeke, Joy Nwaoko, and they all have shown through their achievements that engineering is a fulfilling course, down to earth and an all – encompassing course, she said.

The younger generation, the likes of Patricia Iheanacho, Valerie Ifueko, Ini Usoro, Olayinka Abdul and Felicia Agubata, among others, has also begun to toe that line.

A former National President of APWEN, Ifueko believes engineering is in every human daily endeavour.

“From pen to paper, the cool air to the sun that shines, what you see is engineering. Technology is nothing but engineering. Engineering solves the problem of disease and pain. Engineers are problem solvers. Engineers love to see life becoming better. Anything that brings about breakthrough is engineering. History has shown that Engineers are one of the most creative and most adventurous people on earth. No wonder that the world is today better because of engineering,” she remarked.

She noted that for APWEN, therefore, the best legacy is to leave foot prints in the sands and lives of the young, hence, to “catch them young” because the young are the future, the pride of the nation, with the belief that if the older generation of Nigerians would do more of this Nigeria will be a strong force to reckon with in the comity of nations.

“This is the real motivation for the women engineers, who believe that there is urgent need to empower Nigerian women especially young girls both economically and intellectually. This cannot be over emphasised bearing in mind the fact that women are specially endowed by God to be multi tasked in nature.

“A woman has been so designed to be able to do so many things at the same time. Without sounding biased, giving a woman a job is like giving five people a job. Hence, it is very important for women to support other women. We need to encourage ourselves. Women should work hard for all they get. Hard work still pays even in Nigeria. If people would use their brains, remain steadfast; they will achieve a lot more.”