We went big at #MonsterConfidence London – with over 250 attendees from across the capital. The day was as busy as it was fun from the start, with schools queuing up at the registration desk. School groups from East, West, North, South and…Cologne! You could feel the excitement from the very first student that arrived. Harris Academy Bermondsey wrote about the day on their blog.
Just arrived at @HereEast for the @Stemettes #monsterconfidence. It's buzzing with enthusiastic young women considering a career in STEM pic.twitter.com/MFdC0fVzDR
— Ella Schofield 🌸 (@EllaNancyFay) October 19, 2017
Hosted at Plexal – which is part of Here East at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford – the surroundings were both impressive and familiar. TeamStemette has been based there since July.
At #monsterconfidence with my year 11 students. Great venue and set up! pic.twitter.com/k1b0QTMKHQ
— Sumiyya Iqbal (@sumiyya_iqbal) October 19, 2017
The day began with the morning keynote: the incredible Sarah Wood, OBE. Sarah is co-founder of Unruly – which is now a multi-million dollar company, and she is a champion for workplace diversity. A wonderful role model, she was fantastic at bringing out the monster in everyone at the event.
Next up the attendees headed out to their four morning #MonsterConfidence sessions. #MonsterConfidence is all about being ready and rehearsed, so skilling up was a core part of the day. Sessions on CVs, Interviews and Presentations were delivered by Monster, alongside an Exhibition, Speed Mentoring sessions and Panel sessions.
We had a formidable group of volunteers at this event, and we’re so thankful for them spending quality time with the attendees. From Imagineers to petroleum engineers, mathematicians to physicists and many more from all corners of STEM. A repeated thank you to every one of them.
Our Design Director Sarah Howard spoke about women in design and construction at Stemettes Monster Confidence event #STEM #MonsterConfidence pic.twitter.com/7Vl0BxtFWO
— Unibail-Rodamco-WestfieldUK (@URW_UK) October 19, 2017
They conducted mock interviews, answered questions on panels and also gave lightning talks throughout the day. Sempre Analytics gave a talk on Data Science; PwC on their apprenticeship routes; and Westfield on constructing a new shopping centre – to name a few.
It may have been the cute cuddly mini Monsters, the ready supply of hot food or the excellent playlist but there was a real buzz at the event. This translated into social media being on fire – we trended in London! The photo booth & gif booths were popular, likely because we collected purple wigs. But the vibe highlight was a special addition – a claw machine full of mini monsters.
Might think you're asking a silly question but you'd feel more silly not asking and missing an opportunity#MonsterConfidence pic.twitter.com/oeIVhTJ0Wu
— Sobelema Atemie (@SobelemaA) October 19, 2017
The afternoon kicked off with a keynote from Jaz Rabadia MBE. Jaz was phenomenal and inspiring, reminding us that “there is only one of you in the entire world!”. So if not you, then who? Each of us is unique, and so are our contributions to the world. And #MonsterConfidence is about making sure that your monster is out in full force showing the world what you can do. She’s written it up on her blog here.
Be bold, ask that question and apply for that position: @clairecockerton wraps up a brilliant #MonsterConfidence event at Plexal today pic.twitter.com/CAUSlLP17m
— Plexal (@Plexalcity) October 19, 2017
After another two sets of sessions, the day had to unfortunately come to an end. During our plenary session, Claire Cockerton, CEO of Plexal spoke about the ‘confidence muscle’ that the attendees now had to make sure to exercise. To close, the soapbox challenge had girls running to the stage to share what they had taken from the day. When the day started, there was one Monster walking around. By the end of the day, there were about 250 Monsters in the room.
Next: #MonsterConfidence Dublin. Photos are now up on our Flickr and a video will be up on our YouTube shortly.
Thank you to our hosts Plexal, Prize Partners Westfield & PwC, and Media Partners Sempre Analytics. Also thanks to Tour Prize Partners Veolia and Candy Kittens for being our Sweets Partner. Of course, big thanks to Monster for being the star of the show. For more details about the tour, visit monsterconfidence.co.uk
