Humans of Warwick - Dr Kerry Baker
Dr Kerry Baker
Associate Director, Warwick Institute of Engagement
“I loved engineering, I just wasn't a good engineer!"
“I wanted to do a practical design degree when I left school, so I signed up for Product Design and Manufacture BEng. With no knowledge that the Eng meant engineering!
When I did maths and physics at school, I did well at GSCE but found A Levels harder, so imagine my worry when the first year of my degree was all maths and physics, no design at all. I started to question what I’d done. But when the design aspects kicked in during year two, and I understood the benefits of being a female on a course that was 88% male, I realised this was one the best experiences of my life.
My next task was to get a job. Not wanting to leave university I was offered a role by one of my lecturers, starting a project to get more people into engineering. Never wanting to rest easy, I decided to do my PhD at the same time. During my degree I had been really frustrated because we were always being told that no women did engineering, yet here was me and my female friends all doing it! So, I focused the PhD on why women DO study engineering and what we can learn from them – seeking the positive rather than the negative.
Doing all this made me see I had a flair for communicating and explaining things, finding different ways to get a message across. I tried a few different things, developed an eclectic mix of skills and started doing school outreach activities, which then led me to start dabbling with public engagement projects. Cutting a long story short, that’s how I ended up at the Warwick Institute of Engagement, just over three years ago.
I’m really passionate about STEM subjects but the ability to showcase every subject and demonstrate how they cross and work together is awesome. And we do it in a fabulous way, the team are so willing to try anything new that will inspire our communities, people of all ages and backgrounds. I think that shows when we support others and in the feedback we get. Public engagement is great for everyone, our communities but also our students and staff. A conversation with a member of the public during one of our events may change how someone approaches their research or encourages them to explore another direction, that can only be a good thing.
I absolutely love my job, and I love what the team do and even more so how we do it, I hope that comes across when anyone talks to me. I am so proud of everyone involved and I could talk to you for hours about all the fun and impactful things we do, but I suppose one of the best ways to find out more is to get in touch with us and see how we can support you to engage with other communities.”