Jess' #STEMSchoolTalks have become extremely popular in the UK, but what are they about, and what inspired them?

"I started my STEM School Talks a few years ago, long before becoming Miss England! I was studying for my degree in aerospace engineering, and having took note of the lack of females in my classes, I looked back at my own life and wondered why I hadn't picked engineering sooner - it was because I didn't know what it was.

When I was younger I assumed that engineering meant woodwork and metalwork, dressed in overalls all day, and I wasn't interested. It was only years down the line that I learned what it was and where it could lead, as well as how academically challenging the subject is, so I made it my mission to tackle the problem from the ground up and educate our schoolchildren about all of the exciting things they can become when they grow up!

My talks change depending on age group, but for the most part, I'll talk about my journey to aerospace engineering, the things I studied during my degree, the skills engineers have, the industries that like engineers and exciting engineering topics which concern sustainability. 

Across the world, engineering companies have incentives to recruit more females into the workforce, yet stats show that in mechanical and aerospace engineering, hardly a difference has been made - with a recent study discovering that only 14% of the global population of aerospace engineers are female.

I try my best to link the subject to things the children already like to do - like arts and crafts, science and maths, and diminish stereotypes around the subject which I used to believe when I was younger. I like to show young girls that femininity and engineering aren't mutually exclusive, and empower them whilst I'm doing it.

I've lost count of the amount of children I've spoken to - just in June last year I visited 6 schools which tallied up to a few thousand children. I really do love my #STEMSchoolTalks".