Frequently Asked Questions

Not only do we want to see a world with more women coming in STEM careers, we want more women to stay in STEM. To achieve this, WREN is created by and for women because we understand the pitfalls women must face to advance in their career. By joining the network, we can support each other, whether it is by sharing our journeys , giving advice, celebrating our triumphs, or working together.

The WREN welcomes researchers in engineering areas at any stage of their careers.

No, the network is open to everyone who wishes to see gender equity in research engineering. While the network focuses on supporting women, a progressive and equitable change is only possible when everyone is involved. The inclusion of men in the network allows us to:

• Engage in open and honest conversations,
• Bring awareness of, and address, gender stereotypes
• Build more diverse collaboration networks, reflect balanced gender perspectives and create opportunities for gender equal research practices.

Anyone from anywhere can join our network. Even though WREN started as a bilateral collaboration we are growing globally; with members from different countries, institutions, industries, disciplines, and backgrounds.

There are two ways you can connect with someone:

1. Find an expert in our network here and send them a message using the form at the bottom of their profile.
2. If you have an idea for a collaboration or wish to view existing calls, submit a post on the Collaboration Board. Others can see the post and send a message directly to you or you can comment on existing posts to express interest. Further new features will be rolling out on our Collaboration Board in the future.
3. Attend WREN’s live events in person or virtually.

To reset your password, head to the Sign In page and click on “Forgot password”. Enter your email username and an email will be sent to change your password.

After you have created your new member account with us, we will endeavour to approve it within 2-3 days.

If you encounter any technical issues, drop us a message via the Contact Us page. We will get back to you within 2-3 days so you can get back to doing great things!

Information on your WREN profile is populated from your ORCID record provided to us when you signed up as a member. Make sure your ORCID record is up-to-date, and the visibility settings for the information you are sharing is set to Everyone. Make sure to add as much information on your ORCID record to make sure more opportunities are sent your way.

If you have specific skills or expertise that are not listed when you edit your profile, you can add them through your ORCID record. In addition to pulling information such as your education and qualifications, and employment to your WREN profile, we will also collect keywords you have listed in your ORCID record as your skills and expertise. Simply log into ORCID and add as keywords as you wish. Make sure to also set your visibility settings to Everyone to grant us permission so we can collect the information you want to appear on your WREN profile.

To change your profile photo, make sure you are first signed in to your WREN account.

1. Hover your mouse over My Profile in the top-bar menu.
2. Select Edit profile.
3. Select Edit Profile Image located under your name.
4. To add a new photo, go to the Upload files tab.
   
5. Once uploaded, it will appear in Media Library. Select the photo in the Media Library, ensuring it has a blue tick over it.
6. Click on the Select button, located on the bottom right of the window.
7. You now have a new profile photo!

To submit an opportunity for us to post on our Collaboration Board, send us the following information:

• Title of the opportunity
• Its category, such as grant, publication, project
• Short description of the opportunity
• Expertise you’re looking for
• Details of collaborators’ involvement
• Links to any additional information

You can contact the WREN committee and they will guide you. Simply send us a message on our Contact Us page and we will assist you as best we can.

If you:

• Know any open grants, scholarships, job positions
• Have tips for writing successful grant applications, or
• Are willing to share any of your past successful grant applications,

Share with us the resource, country (if applicable) and any links available.

Once you’ve submitted an opportunity, resource, or story to us, you will receive an email acknowledging that we have received it. We endeavour to approve and post it within 2-3 days. Once posted, we will update you via email.