1. The Society of Women Engineers
Welcome to a training session to help you submit nominations for the Society of Women Engineers Professional Awards.
I am Katie Amelio, the FY16 Awards and Recognition Committee Chair, I will be leading you through tonight’s presentation.
We also have Lester McNair on the line, Lester is the SWE Awards program manager.
This slide presentation is also available on the SWE website.
Professional and Collegiate Awards Training

2. Professional and Collegiate Awards Training Agenda
General Information
New Award
How To Complete a Nomination
Responsibilities of a Nominator
Notification & Feedback
Tips for Applying
FAQs
Questions
Here’s this evening’s agenda.

3. General Information

4. General Information COLLEGIATE PROFESSIONAL Collegiate Member
Professional and Collegiate Awards
COLLEGIATE
Collegiate Member
Outstanding Faculty Advisor
Outstanding SWE
Counselor
PROFESSIONAL
Achievement
Advocating Women In
Engineering
Distinguished Eng. Educator
Distinguished Service
Emerging Leader
Entrepreneur
Fellow
Global Leadership
Global Team Leadership
Prism
Resnik Challenger Medal
Rodney D. Chipp Memorial
Spark
Suzanne Jenniches Upward
Mobility
SWE Distinguished New Eng
Work Life Integration
These are the currently available professional and collegiate awards.
The awards noted in yellow require the nominee to be a SWE Member.
Information on the award criteria and application links can all be found on the SWE website – link is shown on this slide.
Our newest award is the Global Team Leadership award.
SWE Membership Required

5. General Information Introduced one new award: Global Team Leadership
Professional and Collegiate Award
Changes from 2015
Introduced one new award: Global Team Leadership
Award Application Tool with unique links for each award submission
General Cleanup of Awards Package for clarity and consistency
Photograph no longer requested with initial submission
Global team leadership award is new for this year – more information will be shared shortly.
The award application tool (SmarterSelect) is the same tool used last year. This year each award will have a unique link.
New for this year we are not collecting photographs of applicants; after awardees are selected SWE HQ will request a high-resolution photograph.

6. General Information Outstanding SWE Counselor
Professional and Collegiate Award
Changes from 2015
Outstanding SWE Counselor
The nominator must be a SWE Professional or Collegiate Member in good standing and belong to the section the Faculty Advisor currently advises.
Outstanding SWE Faculty Advisor
The nominator must be a SWE Collegiate Member in good standing or a Faculty Advisor and belong to the section the SWE Counselor currently advises.

7. New Award

8. New Award Global Team Leadership
Honors a global team that has made outstanding technical contributions.
Team including women in technical leadership roles, geographically diverse, and with a global presence.
Team with a positive business impact from successful project(s).
Award Criteria: 20% Global Technical and /or Management Achievements, 20% Team Dynamics, 20% Business Impact, and 40% Ability to Work through Global Team Challenges.
Maximum of three (3) awards may be presented annually.

9. How to Complete a Nomination

10. How to Complete a Nomination
Process
Use the ‘Award Guide’ to select the award that best suits the candidate
Verify the candidate meets the ‘Qualification’ requirements
Collect all items listed in the ‘Nomination Checklist’ for the award selected
Submit the application online by March 31. Packages must be received by 11:59 PM, Central Time. No exceptions will be made for late packages.
NEW FOR 2016: Fill out the ‘Application’ online each award will have a unique link:

11. How to Complete a Nomination
Award Application Tool

12. How to Complete a Nomination
Award Application Tool

13. Award Application Tool
Unique link for each award
Preview the application
Start a new application
Revisit Existing Application
Nominate More Candidates
notifications such as incomplete package reminders
Create a user name & password. If you created one last year it is useable again.
ID # for each individual nomination – please note that so you can updated/modify or change for that specific individual; Please note the app id (8 digit number) when initially filling out your application, that way you can go back to the correct application for editing and updating.
-if you are submitting multiple individuals please be sure not to confuse or mix up their nominations – this can lead to confusion and potentially disqualification if the judges cannot easily find the required submission materials

14. Award Application Tool
Preview of Submission Information
Selecting the preview button will allow you to see what information will be requested before you start a nomination package.

15. How to Complete a Nomination
Reminders
All packages are to be submitted electronically in a Microsoft Word or PDF format
Individuals are allowed to receive only ONE award per year.
Incomplete nomination packages or nomination packages that do not meet the award requirements will be disqualified.
Several of our awards have requirements for years of experience. It is the responsibility of the nominator to calculate this information prior to submitting a nomination, and ensuring that your candidate meets the requirement for the award.
Packages must be submitted online through the application tool.
All letters of recommendation require some form of authentication from the author.

16. Responsibilities of a Nominator

17. How to Complete a Nomination
Responsibilities of a Nominator
Submit a complete application by March 31st 11:59 PM CST.
Accurately complete the nomination form.
Submit all required artifacts.
Inform the nominee of the result of their nomination.

18. Notifications and Feedback

19. Notifications and Feedback
Responsibilities of a Nominator
Recipients will be presented at the WE Annual Conference for women engineers in the fall.
Notifications will be made to nominators starting July 1.
If notification is not received by July 15, nominators are asked to contact the Awards Program Manager at
All notifications will be completed by July 31.
Nominators must confirm that the phone number and address provided on the nomination form is current and correct for both the nominee and nominator or we will not be able to reach you.
Starting 2017, feedback will not be provided on award submissions.

20. Tips for Applying

21. Tips for Applying
Plan Ahead - Many of the nomination packages take time/effort to put together
Read the requirements
Incomplete nomination packages or nomination packages that do not meet the requirements will be disqualified
Judges come from a variety of backgrounds, review MANY packages, and ONLY score candidates by the material presented
Clearly demonstrate that you meet the requirements
Give Measureable information to demonstrate to the judges the impact the candidate has made relative to the selection criteria wherever possible
Don’t assume they know things – what your programs are, positions you’ve held
Include applicable information but be concise; don’t add additional language just to meet the word limit.
If you have questions ask them
Talk to people that have applied
the awards chair

22. Frequently Asked Questions

23. Frequently Asked Questions
Work Experience
Does Co-op time count towards number of year’s experience?
Co-op time will not be used to count towards years of experience.
How do advanced degrees count towards experience?
Years of experience are counted as full-time work experience as of December 31. Periods of unemployment or part-time employment are not counted toward years of experience. Each advanced technical degree obtained while not working full-time counts as an additional year of experience toward this calculation.
An MBA does not count for an additional year of experience

24. Frequently Asked Questions
Work Experience
Do the following count toward years of experience?
Does the time I worked as an intern or co-op? My service record counts it.
What if I worked part-time and I got paid by my company while I went to school? Can I count my part-time work for 2 years as 1 year since I worked 20hrs/week for those 2 years?
No, experience for SWE Awards is counted as full-time, post-graduate work only. We do not count part time work, internships or co-op experience. Periods of unemployment are also not counted.

25. Frequently Asked Questions
Work Experience – Example Calculations
Scenario 1
Bachelors Degree
Interned for 2 semesters for company (company service time counts as 6 months)
Worked 4 years full time
Went back to school for Technical PhD full time / worked part time for 4 years
Worked 3 years full time afterwards
Technical Masters Degree obtained counts as 1 year
Technical PhD only counts as 1 year
Total = 9 years of work experience
Scenario 2
Bachelors Degree
Worked 4 years full time
Went school part time for Masters in Engineering and worked full time for 3 years
Went to school part time for Masters in Business Administration and worked full time for 2 years
Stay-at-home mom for 1 year
Worked for 3 years after degrees
Total = 12 years of work experience

26. Frequently Asked Questions
Letters of Support
Is it necessary to obtain new Letters of Support each year if we are resubmitting a candidate?
If the nomination is more than one year old, we recommend securing up-to-date letters of support, as we would like the information to be as current as possible. We understand that many of the same supporters may be asked to submit new letters, however, this gives the nominator a good opportunity to solicit additional and/or new sponsors for letters of support. If the nomination was submitted in the previous awards cycle, the existing letters of support may be resubmitted, if they are no more than one year old.

27. Frequently Asked Questions
Letters of Support
Why Signed Letters? What do you mean by Signed Letters of Recommendation?
All required letters need to be signed
We need to ensure the letter of recommendation comes from the person who is sending in their support for a candidate. Here are the acceptable forms of a “signed” letter.
PDF/Word Document/Scanned .jpg with Recommender’s Signature
PDF or .jpg of chain to nominator showing electronic letter came from recommender(s)
Nominator will certify and maintain documentation should SWE request

28. Frequently Asked Questions
Letters of Support
Is There More Credit Given for More Recommendations?
No, we are looking for quality vs. quantity for the letters. However, do provide the required number of recommendations and from the outlined criteria for the award.
For example some awards require the person’s local SWE Section to provide a letter, while others require one from a Team Member.
More recommendations than the allotted also gets a candidate removed from the competition

29. Frequently Asked Questions
Nominator/Nominee Roles
Does the Nominator have to be a SWE member?
In some instances yes, for example for the Outstanding Collegiate Member Award the Nominator must be a SWE Collegiate Member, Collegiate Section Faculty Advisor, or a SWE Member in good standing. - Refer to the Collegiate Award Training presentation
Can I Nominate myself?
No, we prefer that you find someone to be your nominator to be another point of contact. You can ask your local SWE organization (Section, Member-At-Large Organization, Region) or someone at your company to nominate you.

30. Frequently Asked Questions
SWE Membership Requirements
If an individual is employed by a corporation that is a member, but that individual is not a member themselves, are they eligible for the SWE membership required awards?
No, the individual is not considered a member. We verify that by checking their membership number. Corporate Members of SWE are allotted a certain number of memberships that they can be assign to their employees. If the candidate was not given one of those corporate memberships, she will need to sign up as a SWE member prior to submitting her application.

31. Frequently Asked Questions
Nominee Requirements
Does the candidate have to have an engineering degree?
Review the awards packet for each award’s specific qualifications
Here are answers to a few awards seeking more clarification
Emerging Leader – No, as long as she has been working/actively engaged in an engineering or technology profession
Collegiate Member Awards – No, as long as she qualifies for SWE membership and is a member, she can be nominated
Do we accept submissions from International candidates? Do they have to work in the U.S to be considered?
We will accept submissions from International candidates as long as they meet the requirements stated within the award criteria.

32. Frequently Asked Questions
Rodney D. Chip
For the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award, is it better to submit an individual or as a department/organization/company?
Either meet the award requirements but Individual Candidates for the Award have been traditionally stronger than submissions for departments/organizations/companies.

33. Frequently Asked Questions
SWE Resume
What is a SWE Resume?
A SWE Resume is a resume of all the activities, projects, leadership positions your candidate may have done in SWE on the local, regional, and society levels.
The separate SWE resume is to provide the judges with more information that the normal resume may not contain as not everyone can fit all their SWE participation on their job resume. (Also helps to reduce formal statement word count on SWE activities down and talk more about other criteria for those awards which require a SWE resume)
SWE Resume not required for ALL of the awards, please see the criteria for each award.
Recommended for those awards that require SWE involvement such as the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award.
Do not include if the criteria does not require it

34. Frequently Asked Questions
Any recommendations for Universities, government agencies, small engineering firms, etc. in making submissions / nominations?
Work with your local SWE section officers, members who work for your company. They may understand the organization better than the company designee to pull award packets together to find suitable candidates
, click on Local Sections and navigate down to find a local section’s website or click on the Region and the Region to help provide you with a contact.
Compare potential candidates to bios found of previous recipients
Work with your potential candidate as you may need her/his help gathering the right information
Companies who may have had a previous recipient – compare the format, content of the previous package and cross-check to the award’s current criteria.

35. Questions

36. Questions The Training Presentation & Replay is available SWE Website:
Awards -> Individual Awards
By ing:
SWE Awards & Recognition Committee Chair
SWE Awards Program Manager

37. Supporting Materials

38. Application Tool - Screenshots
1. Emerging leader experience – this is only applicable to the Emerging Leader Award

39. Application Tool - Screenshots
2. Years of Experience – Please read this carefully when completing the nomination; inaccurate reporting of years of experience may lead to disqualification.

40. Application Tool - Screenshots
3. Nominee information – This must be completed accurately; Smarter Select will highlight incorrectly completed boxes of information.

41. Application Tool - Screenshots
4. Nominator Information

42. Application Tool - Screenshots
5. Attachment checklist

43. Application Tool - Screenshots
5. Attachment checklist
To update a file, click replace file.

44. Application Tool - Screenshots
6. Confirmation – To complete a submission, this step must be performed. You will receive a confirmation .

45. Application Tool - Screenshots
Screen shot of returning to a unique award link. Please note the app id (8 digit number) when initially filling out your application, that way you can go back to the correct application for editing and updating.