Valuing diversity: Development of a student support forum for females

Research into student retention and persistence emphasises the importance of social integration: students who form strong peer-group friendships are more likely to graduate. However this can be difficult when you are in a minority, for example a female student on a male-dominated programme. Less than 30% of students within the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Creative Industries at Napier University, Edinburgh are female; in the Schools of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment this drops to 15%. In order to provide a more supportive environment in which to encourage women to study and remain in computing, engineering and built environment, the Faculty set out to establish a student support forum for females. This paper describes the work undertaken by the project team of staff and students. Following initial research, two key strands were identified to support the development of a community for female students; an online presence through which students could communicate and access information, and face to face meetings where students could come together, meet females from industry, developing networking skills and discuss topic of common interest. Advice for others wishing to develop a similar resource will be given, along with recommendations for future enhancements.