25 Jan Gladys Magagula represents SANSA at the 3rd Annual Women in Engineering Conference

Gladys Magagula, Mission Control Specialist at SANSA’s Space Operations directorate; was invited to be a guest speaker at the 3rd Annual Women in Engineering Conference. The event took place from the 28-30 November 2012 at Gold Reef City with almost 300 delegates attending the three-day conference with women representing the various sectors in the engineering industry.

Gladys gave insights into SANSA, its directorates and the role of women in the South African and African Space industry.

The conference was chaired by Lana Fountain Flakes from the Society of Women Engineers in the USA, who happens to be a former NASA employee. Topics of the conference were very interesting. They covered different perspectives from the relating of engineering sectors to project overviews in Zimbabwe and Botswana, to learning about the ethics and laws in engineering in order to create a platform for women to excel in engineering.

An exciting initiative called Engenius Heroes was presented by Liesel Kirsten of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). This programme seeks to engage with learners and students through a variety of platforms such as exhibitions and school visits. The aim of Engenius Heroes is to deliver a consistent message of what engineers do and the engineering fields that exist. ECSA has committed to provide free training to organisations that wish to partner with the council and will provide these organisations with engineering kits which can be used as training tools in each unique engineering workplace.