Qianyu Chen | University of Birmingham
Qianyu comes from a highly educated family background where her parents are both professors of mechanical engineering at universities.
Striving to grow up and learn more in life is always the encouragement and expectation from her parents. Little did Qianyu know that becoming a female researcher in the male-dominated engineering industry could be so challenging yet fulfilling.
After completing early education in her home country, Qianyu traveled to the UK at the age of 20, starting BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Leicester. In her second year of BEng, she was awarded a College Prize for the best second year undergraduate. In her final year, she was awarded The IET Prize, as well as The Institute of Measurement & Control East Midlands Section Prize for her distinguished performance in achieving the BEng degree with First Class. This is when her determination for success and excellence fruited.
After graduating in July 2016, Qianyu was armed with a scholarship (12,000 GBP) to support her one-year MSc degree course starting in September 2016. After completing the MSc degree in Signal Processing and Communications from the University of Edinburgh with distinction, Qianyu was offered a funded Ph.D. opportunity (19,700 GBP each year) at the University of Birmingham for her excellence and intelligence in engineering. During her 4-year research studies, Qianyu has developed a list of innovative methodologies in improving the performance of railway operations. She has successfully applied state-of-the-art neural network and machine learning techniques to achieve automatic fault diagnosis and prognosis in the field of railway asset management. She has published the results of her work widely, including making numerous presentations at conferences and industry meetings.
Currently, Qianyu works as a Research Fellow in the School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham, where she leads mind-blowing research with an amazing world-class team. She has helped to develop innovative ideas and encourage new collaborations with other researchers in the UK and overseas; liaised with industry stakeholder representatives to deliver research projects successfully. Qianyu has collaborated with teams from HS2 Ltd on developing simulation models for the improvement of understanding of the performance of expansion joints applied to high-speed rails.
A keen advocate of the ‘pay it forward’ culture, Qianyu volunteers as an e-mentor for the University of Leicester and produces video content to showcase the laboratory equipment in the engineering building and the University's overall cultures to encourage others to get involved. She has also been a motivational STEM ambassador and a member of ‘Code First Girls Community’, thriving to inspire and empower a variety of participants, particularly from underrepresented ethnicities, to pursue careers in sectors of engineering and science.
Qianyu’s ambition has always been to spread knowledge and energy to break stereotypes and to make engineering industries more diverse and inclusive. She is keen to act as a role model, demonstrating through her unique experience of being a female young researcher in engineering.
Eftychia Koursari | Amey
Eftychia works as a Senior Civil Engineer in Amey Consulting’s Structures Team, leading a team specialising in scour, whilst also undertaking part-time PhD Research at the University of Glasgow on the topic of scour, the primary cause of bridge failure worldwide and the main impact of climate change on infrastructure.
She is an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) with the Institution of Civil Engineers and currently possesses two Bachelor’s degrees in Engineering. Effie specialises in scour and prior to joining Amey’s Bridges Team in 2015, she was assisting in research carried out on river restoration at the University of Glasgow.
Effie is leading scour related projects undertaken by Amey and is helping develop innovative scour monitoring and prediction tools and methods. Through her work, Effie is helping advance current techniques, while also providing input to current standards being developed, moving the industry away from grey, hard engineering techniques.
Her work on the topic of scour has been published in several international conferences and journals, while she also undertakes the role of a reviewer for scientific journals. Her projects feature in the new Engineering manual on scour, and she has also been a member of Construction Industry Research and Information Association’s steering committee for the production of the new manual on scour (CIRIA SP171).
The Women’s Engineering Society named Effie as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering 2020 for her input on Sustainability, and she was also awarded the Women Leaders Association’s Rising Star in STEM. In December 2021, Effie was selected as one of the Young Women Engineers of the Year, winning the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year WES Prize. Furthermore, Effie was presented with Amey’s Centenary Excel a*ward.
Effie is member of the WES Climate Emergency Group, consisting of engineers from a variety of disciplines, working on influencing the delivery of sustainable solutions, Net Zero Carbon and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, as well as being a very strong advocate for women in Engineering and a very active STEM Ambassador. The group took part in COP26 and Effie also presented at the COP26 Global Youth Engineering Climate Conference.
Lizzie Barr | BAE Systems
After completing my A-levels at age 18, I started with BAE Systems in September 2017, and have since undertaken six 5-month placements across the lifecycle of the Eurofighter Typhoon, PHASA-35 and Tempest aircraft programs.
My career so far have included a secondment to Prismatic Ltd to work with a small team of subject matter experts in the solar High-Altitude Long-Endurance aircraft sphere, and working for the Director of International Capability and Assurance to compile the BAE Systems display for the 2020 Farnborough International Airshow. When this event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was re-tasked to help with the company objective to improve performance during remote working.
I now work in the Aircrew Training and Simulation Services department, in the Systems Engineering team. Since joining in September 2020, I have become the lead on verification activities for the newest Eurofighter Typhoon Synthetic Training devices. I am due to graduate from my Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in July 2022, and complete my apprenticeship to become a full-time aircraft systems engineer in September 2022.
Shannon Martin | Arup
Shannon is a Degree Apprentice working for Arup, and studies Civil and Environmental Engineering at UWE.
Since starting her career in the rail discipline in 2017, Shannon has exceeded expectations with all tasks given to her, and qualified as an Engineering Technician member of the ICE in 2019 after only two years in her role. She has made remarkable progress, has evolved significantly as both an individual and a designer, and has gained a breadth of engineering design knowledge through her work on various rail projects.
Shannon continues her role within the rail team working as both a competent technician and also developing her skill set as an engineer, currently working as a design engineer on part of the TransPennine Route Upgrade project. She has worked on award winning rail projects including Dawlish Coastal Scheme and Exeter Depot within her role as a technician. She consistently impresses others with her high standards of work, and she has quickly become a well-respected member of the team. Her dedication to producing high quality work and teaching others has led to her becoming a mentor to other apprentices within the workplace to help them to develop as well rounded technicians themselves.
A keen promoter of Apprenticeships, Shannon has held numerous volunteering roles since starting her career in engineering. Since 2017 Shannon has actively promoted STEM careers to schools as a STEM Ambassador, and in 2020 she was selected to sit on the inaugural Women's Engineering Society Apprentice Board, where she has been involved in projects that help tackle the stigma of female in engineering to young people. In September 2020, Shannon was also chosen as the ICE South West Apprentice of the Year as a result of her commitment to the industry. Additionally, in 2021, she was elected as the ICE South West Chair's Apprentice, and works actively with the regional committee to work towards improving diversity across the industry and tackle the nature emergency.
Shannon has displayed the characteristics of an excellent role model for women in her industry, and is keen to continue on the trajectory she is on and act as a role model throughout her career. She really appreciates the opportunities afforded to her throughout her role, and the opportunities that she has made for herself are a testament to her dedication to her passion for promoting apprenticeships in engineering and breaking the stigma for females in the industry.
Gemma Timmons | Oliver Wyman
Gemma is a Senior Consultant at Oliver Wyman, a global management consultancy firm.
She is deeply involved with making a positive, lasting impact on the community around her. Gemma is especially passionate about causes relating to mental health, workplace culture, and entrepreneurship and innovation. She holds a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.
At Oliver Wyman, Gemma works to deliver impact for global clients across a variety of sectors. Her work has included a group strategy project for a specialist bank, conducting end-to-end due diligences on firms, delivering a risk function improvement programme for an international insurance company, and supporting the development of a new green lending framework for a national bank.
As part of Oliver Wyman’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee, Gemma is organising an office-wide pilot of a new initiative to encourage acts of kindness, designed to improve well-being, connectivity, sense of purpose, and more. Gemma also represents Oliver Wyman on the Thriving from the Start Committee (part of the City Mental Health Alliance), which is working to create a culture of positive mental health in businesses for people in their early careers. As part of this role, she is co-organising and chairing an event on Mental Health and Loneliness for people in their early careers, tied to the 2022 National Mental Health Awareness Week.
Gemma is also committed to enhancing the culture and community at Oliver Wyman through her work as co-lead for Oliver Wyman’s UK & Ireland Social & Sports Committee
In recognition of her sustained work to making a positive, lasting impact at Oliver Wyman, Gemma was recognised as a UK & Ireland Firm Building Champion in 2022.
Passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation, Gemma is also the co-founder and non-executive director of OX1 Incubator, the University of Oxford’s first early-stage startup incubator. Now in its fourth year, OX1 Incubator has successfully supported over 20 startups and provided over £25 K equity-free support for more than 50 student founders.
From 2018 to 2021, Gemma was a co-founder and the Chief Business Development Officer for Idea Atlas: a digital platform for co-developing ideas, problem-solving, and transparent decision-making.
Claire Magudia | Aon
I work at Aon as UK Operations Lead for our Defined Contribution (DC) Pensions Consulting Team.
DC is a rapidly evolving area of the pensions market and a key growth area for our business. In addition to advising a portfolio of clients on all aspects of DC pensions governance and scheme design, I am responsible for ensuring the DC advisory team of over 50 colleagues is fully supported to deliver high levels of service to our clients and is well-positioned for growth.
I have a keen interest in diversity, equity and inclusion and in developing colleagues to help them reach their full potential. I have mentored many colleagues, both formally and informally. On my return to work following the birth of my first child in 2011, I identified a need for enhanced support for colleagues before, during and after maternity leave, to ensure their transition back to work is as smooth as possible. With a small group of colleagues, I established a mentoring programme for maternity leave returners, which began as a local initiative and has since been widely adopted across Aon; I now lead a UK-wide network, providing mentoring to colleagues who take maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
Catherine Doherty | TRG Screen
After graduating from Queen’s University in Belfast in 2018 in Business Management I started my career as Sales and Marketing Assistant at Axon Financial Systems and in 2019 became Marketing Executive at TRG Screen.
During my time at TRG Screen I have led key projects which involve the revision of the company’s Vision, Mission and Core Values, helping define TRG Screen as a company and ensure that we focus on what’s important - driving desired business outcomes. I co-founded and developed the TRG RISE (Reach, Inspire, Support, Empower) Women’s Network which connects women across the global regions and functions within TRG Screen. This creates a supportive environment that empowers my fellow female employees and promotes their personal growth & development. The network provides an opportunity for women to learn from each other in an informal setting, build meaningful relationships and improve the work culture with a focus on promoting gender inclusion within the financial services sector.
Adina Pintilie | Ridgeway Information
Adina is a Senior Researcher specializing in applying open sources to research tasks at Ridgeway Information, a research consultancy in London.
Her work centres around finding new tools and refining research techniques which have applications for the intersection of security and social issues. Adina has led the creation of Navigating Disinformation (https://unw.thinkific.com/) an online course for UN Women, aimed at empowering girls, women, and gender minorities in the face of disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech.
Most of her technical work, especially around automation, supports an independent UN agency. Her open source research has supported EU’s European Union Agency for Asylum, the National Police Chief’s Council, the UK Civil Service and several private sector clients. She has led digital literacy sessions for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine and the World Institute for Nuclear Security.
Adina is Ridgeway’s focal point for the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy network and leads Ridgeway’s work on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Adina is a mentor for Girl Security and En Voz Alta.
Previously, Adina worked in the European Commission’s polling services in Brussels and supported ESRC projects on social politics. Adina is a first-generation immigrant, the first in her family to compete post-graduate education, and she has self-funded both her degrees. She holds an MA in Applied Security and Strategy, where her thesis focused on strategies used by disparate groups at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. In her BSc in Politics and International Relations, she focused on big data and elections.
Candida Paiva | PwC
I was born to parents who did not study beyond the eighth grade.
While I applaud them for being persistent about seeing all their children obtain university degrees, there was no getting around the huge disadvantage that them not being ‘in the know’ posed. I watched my friend’s parents, guide and expose them to various courses and activities that were beyond my parents’ world. So, from a young age it was clear to me that if I wanted to succeed, it was going to be down to me. The decisions and the choices I've made were driven by a large extent by that.
Today, I am a Technology Risk Manager at PwC, however I started my career selling houseboats and then on to selling computers and peripherals at a computer showroom in India. Back then, not knowing much about computers, I was expected to meet aggressive sales targets with little upskilling provided. I reached out to my network of friends and spent many an evening learning what made up a computer to be able to talk the language. This became a common theme in my career - taking up opportunities and work that I was not used to and making a success out of it. A significant example of that is when I took up a role I knew nothing about (risk management) to oversee risks in a Technology department. While the task was daunting, I embraced the challenge, learned on the job and upskilled myself through courses on both IT and risk management to earn the respect of my IT colleagues and to bring credibility to the role.
I moved to the UK 15 years ago with my husband and our 5-month-old baby with no family support around us. While I embraced being a new mum and the experience of being an expat in a new country, I was also driven to be successful in my career. I picked up a job almost straight away at a well-known Bank and pushed myself to make my mark at work. I have battled with the joy of being a new mother and the drive to feel successful in a great career, dipping in and out of work till I found a way to make my peace with it all.
Growing up, I did not know of professional service firms or routes in. When I was introduced to the concept of consulting and working with various clients, I was intrigued and jumped at an opportunity to work with the leading professional services firm – PwC. At PwC I have worked across a range of financial services clients, helping them build and improve their risk frameworks. Working in professional services though is not for the faint hearted. That lifetime of training on taking on tasks I knew nothing about was about to pay off. There’s never been a week where I have not been pushed out of my comfort zone to deliver on engagements. This was all hard at the beginning till I realized that the key to success lay in the wealth of knowledge within the firm. Networking and knowing how to be resourceful, how to join the dots and how to confidently hold discussions with just enough knowledge across a range of subjects is all an art, but it’s an art that one can master through hard work and preparation. In fact, preparation is the magic ingredient. There’s been many a night where I have pushed aside my beloved Jane Austen’s to give way to reading what the latest article from the regulator is and how it would impact my client engagements. I have worked very hard to overcome that feeling of being out of my depth – feeling like an imposter even, to now feeling comfortable in my skin.
From selling houseboats and computers to confidently and successfully advising clients about their technology risks at PwC – I have come very far indeed and am grateful for where I am. I support PwC's Social Mobility initiatives so I can support those who come from humble beginnings like me. I have worked with schools enrolled in the programme to open avenues and options to students who otherwise would not know were there. That has been one of the most rewarding and satisfying initiatives I've been a part of.
Charlotte Bull | Royal Household and British Army
I am a fully qualified Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) having graduated with a first-class degree in mathematics from Durham University.
My post university career started at the Bank of England where I spent five years in a variety of roles within the Bank’s Resolution Directorate and Prudential Regulation Authority including a period as Private Secretary to the Executive Director of UK Deposit Takers Supervision. In these roles I helped to shape strategic policy and management reporting.
In Summer 2019, I decided to embark on a new challenge and joined McKinsey & Company. Here I was able to embrace many new and varied challenges, from working with various aspects of the Public Sector throughout the pandemic, to leading a group of construction experts to reimagine the future of the construction value chain, to implementing an agile delivery system within the defence sector, and considering some of the organisational and commercial implications of launching and scaling a cleantech accelerator.
I am currently an Engagement Manager at McKinsey but in early 2022 I was offered the opportunity to work at the Royal Household, as the Master's Chief of Staff. Here I support the Master in delivering the operational infrastructure for Royal Family; including hospitality, catering and housekeeping arrangements at all the Queen’s residences. Additionally, I support him in his responsibilities as the Senior Responsible Officer for the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme.
Alongside this, I am also a British Army Reservist; I enjoy the outdoors and keeping active; I am a keen runner and cyclist and love hosting dinner parties for friends when the time allows.