On 3rd March, 2023, the Women In Building Services Engineering Group (WBSE) of the Building Services Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE-BSD) co-organized a wine tasting workshop at the Regal Kowloon Hotel in Hong Kong, with ASHRAE-HK Chapter and CIBSE-HK Region. The workshop aimed to promote membership and provide support to women engineers by offering them various activities and workshops.
The workshop was attended by full house with 60 no. of VIP guests and participants. The evening started with opening speeches from the Chairman of HKIE-BSD, ASHRAE-HK Chapter, and CIBSE-HK Region, followed by a wine tasting session led by the tutor – Mr. Thomas Chan. Guests were served with different types of wine from appetizer to desserts, and Thomas provided explanations of each wine's flavors.
The event also featured three successful women engineers in the industry - Ir Alice Chow (HKIE-BSD representative), Ir Rr Eagle Mo (ASHRAE-HK Chapter representative), and Ir Jovian Cheung (CIBSE-HK Region representative), who shared their work and experiences on how to promote and boost the development of the engineering industry. Table discussions were also arranged, allowing participants to discuss and shared with the VIP guests and office bearers of the three Societies on topics related to work-life balance, project challenges & management and how to attract more female new blood to join the industry.
The event was a successful one, with positive feedback received, no matter on food, venue and wine quality. This is the first event with a breakthrough that the female participation rate is over 70 percentage. The wine tasting session was an excellent experience for all attendees, and the VIP sharing sessions and table discussions provided valuable opportunities for participants to interact and learn from one another. They can also grasp the golden chance to exchange, networking and mingle with different youngsters while enjoying different wines.
To conclude, all the participants had a wonderful evening and look forward to the next WBSE event in the future.
By Miss Vicky Chan and Ir Sally Leung
