Inspiring women to become leading engineers of the future is the aim of a new prize being awarded to University of Lancashire students.
For the next decade, female undergraduates studying engineering are being given a financial helping hand thanks to a generous donation by proud Prestonian Dame Sue Ion.
The Women in Engineering award of £500 and a certificate will be given to the female student with the highest academic score in their first year of study.
The first recipient of the prize is Sameerah Karolia, who is now in the second year of her BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering course.
The former Pleckgate High School and Blackburn College student said: “I am really proud to have been chosen as the first winner of this special prize. It’s great to be recognised for the work I’ve done so far.”
I am really proud to have been chosen as the first winner of this special prize. It’s great to be recognised for the work I’ve done so far– BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering student Sameerah Karolia
Sameerah, who undertook a Foundation degree prior to starting her mechanical engineering course, was inspired by a teacher to look at a career in engineering.
“I was studying the topic of materials in a physics class, and I found I was really good at it, and it was really interesting,” she said. “My teacher was impressed with my work and told me about the real-world application of this area. They convinced me to start looking into the subject and once I did my research, I realised this is what I wanted to do.”
The 20-year-old was initially interested in studying aerospace engineering but opted for mechanical engineering instead.
She commented: “I was looking at the aerospace course but decided it was too niche for me. I then discovered mechanical engineering and heard about all the branching out that can be done from that area and knew it was the one for me. There are so many career options open to me.”
Sameerah is currently looking at her options for a placement year in industry and she is also considering her further study options, with a focus on research into thermal fluids.
I am very passionate about attracting more women into engineering and feel it is so important that I do my bit to help the next generation– Dame Sue Ion, Honorary President of the UK National Skills Academy for Nuclear and the former Chair of the University of Lancashire Board
Dame Sue is the Honorary President of the UK National Skills Academy for Nuclear and is a member of the UK Nuclear Regulator's Independent Advisory Panel. Her career saw her spend more than three decades in the nuclear industry before she moved into an advisory role on general energy matters. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Engineering. The former Penwortham Girls’ High School pupil is also the former Chair of the University of Lancashire Board.
Dame Sue added: “I am very passionate about attracting more women into engineering and feel it is so important that I do my bit to help the next generation. It is such a fascinating area to work in, there are so many career options available to you and a career in engineering can take you all over the world.
“This University is passionate about giving everybody a chance to succeed, giving students real-world experiences and making sure graduates are equipped with the skills to enter the world of work. This donation is rewarding, and will reward for the next decade, those who have academic success and I hope we can use this to help attract more women into the subject.”
Sameera received her certificate from Dame Sue and Professor Georgina Harris, Dean of the School of Engineering and Computing.