On 20 July 2024, Penelope Watson presented preliminary findings from the ENGclusion project at the recent biennial Network Gender and STEM conference at Heidelberg University, Germany. The conference attracted over 200 international delegates whose presentations were aimed at promoting equitable participation in all STEM fields. The ENGclusion findings added a compelling element to a multinational session specifically geared to addressing ‘Belonging and staying in Engineering’. Key among the ENGclusion findings was that belonging, satisfaction and perception of future careers in engineering were compromised for those preferring not to disclose aspects of their social identities (e.g., ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and impairment status), and this valuably informed the session adding to research from Canada, Germany, and Australia. Recommendations from the project to promote a more inclusive teaching environment echoed the ethos of providing ‘social vaccines’ to encourage diversity in engineering advocated by keynote speaker Nilanjana Buju Dasgupta of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.

The results presented were from the ENGclusion pilot study, which included data from 379 participants who answered an online questionnaire during their undergraduate studies in engineering at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. A manuscript is currently under review reporting these results.