About Jia-Ying
Jia-Ying is the co-president of Robogals Perth, an international student body which aims to encourage tertiary studies in engineering and technology for young women. She recently co-represented Robogals in a panel presentation at the 2015 international Mining and Gender Forum held in Perth.
In the community, Jia-Ying has volunteered and participated in community events to raise funds for charitable organisations. She has been an active member of the sponsorship subcommittee of the WA Cancer Council’s annual Relay for Life event since 2013.
She is currently pursuing a Master of Professional Engineering in mechanical engineering. Upon completing her degree, Jia-Ying hopes to extend her practical engineering experience and seek innovative solutions to challenges in the industry.
A growth experience
My connection with UWA grows with my time spent here. The University’s vibrant campus life and multiculturalism have enriched my experience as a student and provided me with a myriad of opportunities to learn, grow and develop as an individual.
The excellent facilities and fine lecturers make studying at UWA a rewarding experience for me. The highly flexible course structure enables me to combine subjects that meet my career choice requirements while fulfilling my personal interests during my undergraduate years. In fact, the structure is so flexible that it allowed me to make a seamless transition, during my second year, from one chosen major that I excelled in at high school to one that I really enjoy and am passionate about.
Making a difference through Robogals
Robogals is an international student-run organisation that aims to engage, inspire and increase female participation in engineering, science and technology. As a Western Australian chapter, Robogals Perth works hard to achieve these goals by visiting schools across WA and running fun and educational engineering and robotics workshops.
Using programmable robots, our workshops engage students in learning the basic skills needed in engineering, robotics and programming, and raise awareness of engineering in a fun and interactive manner.
Statistically, female share of engineering bachelor degree completion has been about 15-16% in the last decade. As such, female engineers are under-represented in the workplace. As an organisation, Robogals aims to increase that percentage by reaching girls and young women at the school and tertiary levels.
The very first Robogals chapter was pioneered by Marita Cheng in the University of Melbourne five years ago. Robogals has since grown to operating in 26 university chapters in eight countries and has engaged over 16,000 girls around the world.
My aim, as a co-president of Robogals Perth, is to advance our strategic direction and continue to build on our success while exploring new initiatives to achieve long term growth of the organisation. Promoting greater representation in community events, collaborative partnerships with other student organisations, and broadening our partnership base with major corporations are just some examples of our initiatives to increase Robogals’ presence and, ultimately, to achieve its goals.
Looking to the future
As a future professional mechanical engineer, I hope to develop effective designs, solve practical engineering problems and improve efficiency and sustainability across diverse industries. Using my broad knowledge of design, construction and operational processes, I aim to influence and improve the world around me. I know that my postgrad studies in mechanical engineering at UWA will be the catalyst that transforms my dreams into reality.
UWA’s vibrant and diverse campus culture forms the bedrock of UWA’s student experience. Reflecting on my own experience, my involvement and role progression from a committee member to the current role of co-president with Robogals has been nothing short of a rewarding journey of personal development, growth and fulfilment.
The challenges, achievements and friendships I built along the way have fortified my confidence and enhanced my skills. Working collaboratively with the passionate team of Robogals is building skills I can readily transfer to my future career and community involvement.