Professional Development - February/March 2011

18th Annual Professional Development Spring Seminar: Forging



Please join us for the 18th Annual Professional Development Spring Seminar sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers. The Spring Seminar provides an excellent opportunity for professional and personal growth. The seminar will consist of 4 sessions featuring an array of topics. With multiple speakers per session, each attendee can personalize his or her own experience.

Date: Saturday, March 12, 2011

Time: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Location: Honeywell Learning Center

1985 Douglas Drive North

Golden Valley, MN 55422

Cost: $55 for members, $80 for non-members, $30 for unemployed members / college students

Questions: Email Jacalyn or Katrina at pd@swe-mn.org

Breakfast and lunch are included in the cost of registration

For more information on the event, including the day's agenda, please check out www.swe-mn.org/springseminar2011.html
For event registration and payment, please click here

WIN Presentation Recap

On Thursday, February 10th, the Women In Nuclear (WIN) group at PaR Nuclear hosted SWE-MN for an
educational evening about nuclear power. After an enlightening presentation by Sara Mancell from WIN,
SWE-MN members were showed around PaR Nuclear’s manufacturing area, where the purpose of each piece of equipment was explained. We learned valuable information about how nuclear power is produced, today’s energy market, and the industry’s many safeguards. SWE-MN would like to thank Sara Mancell and WIN for a fantastic event!

Upcoming PD Committee Meeting

The PD Committee will be having a committee planning meeting to discuss final details for the Spring Seminar. We would love to have you join us at the meeting!

When: February 23, 2011

Location: Panera at

6064 Shingle Creek Parkway

Brooklyn Center, MN 55430

The PD committee is still looking for more members to discuss ideas and help out with events. If you have any questions or suggestions, or would like to join the Professional Development Committee, please contact Katrina Sanders or Jacalyn St. Dennis at pd@swe-mn.org.

FY11 Professional Development Schedule

The tentative schedule for Professional Development Events is as follows. More details to come!

February 23rd – PD Committee Meeting at Panera
March 12th – SWE-MN Spring Seminar at the Honeywell Learning Center
April – Mayo Tour & Speaker in Rochester
May – Microsoft event at Mall of America, TBD

Professional Development - January/February 2011

Women In Nuclear & SWE joint event:

The SWE Professional Development Committee will be having a joint event with the Women In Nuclear (WIN) group on February 10, 2011. Join us for a presentation as well as a shop tour. More details to follow in weekly emails. Dinner will be provided.

18th Annual Professional Development Spring Seminar: Forging New Paths Today and Mapping Tomorrow

Please join us for the 18th Annual Professional Development Spring Seminar sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers. The Spring Seminar provides an excellent opportunity for professional and personal growth. The seminar will consist of 4 sessions featuring an array of topics. With multiple speakers per session, each attendee can personalize his or her own experience.



Breakfast and lunch are included in the cost of registration.

Registration: Will be open soon (check the SWE-MN website around mid-January).


Upcoming PD Committee Meeting

On January 13, 2011, the PD Committee will be having a committee planning meeting to discuss final details for the Spring Seminar. It will be at Panera at 6064 Shingle Creek Pkwy, Brooklyn Center, MN. We would love to have you join us at the meeting! The PD committee is still looking for more members to discuss ideas and help out with events. If you have any questions or suggestions, or would like to join the Professional Development Committee, please contact Katrina Sanders or Jacalyn St. Dennis at mailto:pd@swe-mn.org


FY11 Professional Development Schedule

The tentative schedule for Professional Development Events is as follows. More details to come!

January 13th – SWE PD committee meeting at Panera in Brooklyn Center
February 10th – SWE PD event with Women In Nuclear
March 12th – SWE-MN Spring Seminar at Honeywell Learning Center

Professional Development Recap and Future Events - November 2010

Creating Connections in 2011 and Why It's Critical
Presented by Dale Carnegie

Dinner and beverages provided by SWE. Please come a couple minutes early to eat dinner and find a seat. The speaker will begin at 6pm.

SWE-MN Members are being offered this event a week before it is opened up to the other engineering societies. If interested please use this priority deadline to your advantage and RSVP early, as there are only 40 seats available.

Description: The current condition of the industry causes many of us to over-focus on short term challenges, making it more difficult to see opportunities for connections- both personal and professional. It is vital that our ATTITUDE and behaviors maximize the potential that exists today and position us for future personal and professional growth. Regardless if you are a business leader, manager or in transition, this session will provide specific and applicable concepts to enhance our ability to:

1. Focus on the areas that will maximize our ATTITUDE and our personal results
2. Learn a tool to sustain and manage internal & external relationships (and why they are so critical!)
3. Create strategic and realistic goals that help keep us accountable!

Professional Development Committee Meeting

 

PD Committee Meeting - Come and join PD to help plan future events especially for our signature event- the Professional Development Spring Seminar! Attendees can order dinner at 6pm and the meeting will start shortly after.   

Jacalyn or Katrina at pd@swe-mn.org with any questions

Professional Development Recap and Future Events - September 2011

FY11 Professional Development Schedule

This Month!

The tentative schedule for Professional Development Events is as follows. More details to come!

* October – Tour/Speaker event in Rochester, MN
* November – Dale Carnegie speaker event
* January – Winter Open House
* February – Waste Management Tour
* March – SWE-MN Spring Seminar
* April – Speaker or Tour - TBD
* May – Picnic with other Societies

If you have any questions or suggestions, or would like to join the Professional Development committee, please contact Katrina Sanders or Jacalyn St. Dennis at pd@swe-mn.org

SWE-MN Open House - Recap

On August 30, 2010, the annual SWE-MN Open House was held at Boston Scientific in Maple Grove. The primary purpose was to inform new and old SWE-MN members and friends, as well as prospective members about the exciting events and volunteer opportunities that are coming up during the next year.

The event started with a bingo game to encourage interaction between attendees. Bingo players mingled with each other to find people described by the bingo squares and the winners (people with the most squares filled) received fabulous prizes. The bingo game was followed by a delicious dinner sponsored by Boston Scientific. After dinner, the SWE-MN President, Angela Neidermire, gave a presentation that included an overview of SWE-MN and she introduced the FY11 Executive Council.

The new format from last year was expanded a bit. Each committee in SWE-MN had a booth where they displayed photos, brochures, etc from previous year’s events. There were also information sheets available at each booth for members and newcomers to take home explaining the typical things each committee is involved in during the year. This allowed members to move around the room and ask questions while learning about some of the SWE-MN committees to see if they have an interest in being part of a committee.

The evening ended with tasty dessert, also provided by Boston Scientific, and a few giveaways from SWE-MN. The event had about 40 attendees and PD is hoping to maintain a strong attendance for upcoming events!

SWE-MN would like to thank Boston Scientific for hosting and sponsoring the event and would also like to thank everyone who attended the Open House. We hope that everyone had fun and will continue to attend future events!

Professional Development - SWE Open House! - August 2010

SWE-MN September Open House

On Monday, August 30, 2010, Boston Scientific in Maple Grove will be hosting the kick-off event for the new fiscal year – the Annual SWE-MN Open House! The Open House is an event to inform new and old SWE-MN members and friends about the exciting events and volunteer opportunities for the upcoming year.

The event will include dinner provided by Boston Scientific, information about some of SWE Minnesota’s plans for FY11 and booths for the different committees in SWE-MN. The committee booths will allow new, old, and perspective members to learn about the things each of the SWE-MN committees does and see if one of them is a good fit.

The best part of the event is that it is free! Please join us for the SWE-MN kick-off event to network with other women in Engineering and learn about how you can be a part of a wonderful group.

Event Details:

Date: Monday, August 30th
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Boston Scientific, Maple Grove
Cost: Free!! Dinner is provided by Boston Scientific.
RSVP: Please email pd@swe-mn.org by Monday, August 23rd
(If you need a vegetarian or gluten-free meal, please include that in your RSVP.)
Questions: Contact Jacalyn or Katrina at pd@swe-mn.org

Professional Development Comittee News - April 2010

Coming Up!

Positioning Yourself and Your Company for Revenue Growth

click on box to see more Information

Join us for our upcoming PD event. The current condition of the industry causes many of us to over-focus on short term challenges, making it more difficult to see opportunities. It is vital that our attitude and behaviors maximize the potential that exists today and position us for future growth.

This session will provide specific and applicable concepts to enhance our ability to:

1. Focus on the areas that will maximize our attitude and our business development results.

2. Recommit to current and future goals that will best position ourselves and our firm.

3. Learn a networking tool that will enable us to have better connections.

Dinner will be provided.

click on box to e-mail PD!

17th Annual Professional Development Spring Seminar Recap:
The 17th Annual Spring Professional Development Seminar was held at the University of St.
Thomas on Saturday, March 13, 2010. This year’s theme was Sustaining Ourselves and Our Skills and the Seminar consisted of sessions covering a variety of professional development topics.
Approximately 65 people attended the event.

The day started with Breakfast and a Keynote presentation by Kaye Smith, University of St.
Thomas Engineering Professor. Her presentation on Work Life Balance – Redefining Success set the tone for an exciting day. A pair of hour-long sessions followed the keynote presentation. Each session featured four topics for the attendees to choose from. The morning session covered
technical topics such as Six Sigma, Engineering Ethics, and Intellectual Property and Patent Law. Intermixed with the technical sessions were a variety of sessions on such topics as Balancing the Demands of Work and Life, a discussion on Diversity of Engineering Functions in Industry, Tooting Your Own Horn, Effective Personal Communications, and a deeper look at the Athena Factor Study.

After the first two sessions, lunch was served for the attendees and speakers, providing time for networking. At the end of lunch, a brief SWE-MN business meeting was held.
The two sessions following lunch were as interesting as the morning sessions. The afternoon
sessions included a presentation about understanding cardiovascular disease, an overview of the fundamental skills of Systems Engineering, an investigation into the 35W Bridge collapse, and a collegiate look at women in engineering and professionalism. The last session of the day featured a unique look at incorporating yoga and mediation into the workday in addition to three
professional sessions delving into the topics of transitioning to management, gauging the maturity of organizational change, and deciding between the workforce and/or grad studies.

After the final session, names were drawn for door prizes and attendees provided feedback on the Spring Seminar by filling out evaluation forms. We hope that those that attended the Seminar learned something new, while having fun at the same time. We especially would like to thank the University of St. Thomas for hosting the event, as well as SWE-MN sponsors for supporting
SWE-MN Professional Development. We also give a HUGE thanks to the volunteers that helped us on the day of the event!

We hope that you will attend the 18th Annual Spring Professional Development Seminar next year! Thank you to all those that attended! Available presentations can be found on the SWE-MN PD site at http://www.swe-mn.org/springseminar2010.html.

Jacalyn and Diana

Email us at pd@swe-mn.org