On a sunny Thursday morning during half term a group of female high school and university students headed out to the Fisher and Paykel Healthcare offices in East Tamaki. We’d all come to find out more about this iconic Kiwi company founded in 1934 and their pioneering work create medical apparatus for healthcare.

We kicked the session off with some ice breaker games so everyone felt comfortable and familiar with each other. The team at Fisher and Paykel Healthcare then introduced themselves and gave an overview of the company, its challenges and achievements. This lead seamlessly into the group activity whereby the students worked in teams to come up with a solution to attached a breathing ventilator to a premature baby. They created prototypes using and a box of equipment provided and a toy baby! At the end of the challenge the students then presented their idea and creations to the group.

After a quick lunch and networking session with some of the female engineers at Fisher and Paykel Healthcare we then kicked off the afternoon session with a panel discussion. This was an insightful and inspiring session with a group of female engineers who came from different backgrounds and teams within the company. It was a great illustration of the variety of engineering roles and disciplines Fisher and Paykel Healthcare products used.

By the end of our visit all our students were excited and inspired to pursue their dreams as engineers! Big thank you to Mandy McAlwee and the team at Fisher and Paykel Healthcare for having us.

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