Five young women engineers shortlisted for national awards final

These prestigious engineering industry awards celebrate women working in modern engineering – and aim to help change the perception that engineering is predominantly a career for men,  banishing the outdated engineering stereotypes of hard hats and dirty overalls.

Pictured below, the five finalists are (L-R) are Lauren Smith (22), Ama Frimpong (32), Constance Rudman (22), Eneni Bambara-Abban (29) and Veena Kumari (27). 

In more detail, the five professional young engineers are:

• Lauren Smith, a trainee medical engineer at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust. Smith is part of a team that ensures the proper function of medical devices within the healthcare setting and works to support the needs of clinical staff by repairing and managing the devices they rely on daily to diagnose, treat and monitor patients. She also gives talks about clinical engineering at a local college, speaking to the students there and encouraging them to think about STEM careers.
• Ama Frimpong, head of product development at 52 North Health. Frimpong manages the company’s engineering teams in the development of NeutroCheck, a low-cost, portable device that helps identify people living with cancer who are at risk of neutropenic sepsis - a life-threatening medical emergency occurring in immunosuppressed chemotherapy patients. She has made a lifelong commitment to volunteering as an ambassador, advocate and mentor to support and inspire more young people into STEM.
• Constance Rudman, a body engineering degree apprentice at Jaguar Land Rover. Rudman works in the interior lighting team, helping to create innovative lighting solutions, whilst also studying part-time for an applied engineering degree at Warwick University. Since beginning her apprenticeship, Rudman has worked extensively alongside the early careers and future talent teams to improve the experience of apprentices, as well as promoting apprenticeships and engineering more widely through work experiences and outreach as a STEM ambassador. 
• Eneni Bambara-Abban, a robotics engineer at the Techover, who is applying her robotic engineering experience to create custom and innovative technical projects for clients. Bambara-Abban is also the founder of two organisations: the Techover Foundation and Anime and Chill. The Techover Foundation is an international NGO that focuses on encouraging, educating and supporting individuals from underserved communities into technology. Anime and Chill is a safe and inclusive community of people interested in anime and/or gaming to come together and network irrespective of gender, sexual orientation or race.
• Veena Kumari, a group network and security engineer at Telent Technology Services where she supports the development of a corporate network infrastructure, helping to develop and implement the latest generational technology to drive enhancements and efficiency across the business, as well as keep employees, assets and customers safe and secure from cyber threats. Kumari thrives on helping others and is an active volunteer involved in several charitable activities.

As well as highlighting engineering talent, the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards also seek to find role models who can help address the UK science and engineering skills crisis by promoting engineering careers to more girls and women. Just 16.5 per cent of those working in engineering occupations are women (source: Engineering UK).

Ciara McGrath, the 2021 Young Woman Engineer of the Year, said: “Being the IET’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year has been an immense privilege. I have had the opportunity to inspire and excite potential future engineers – children who could someday be designing and building life-changing technologies. Engineers create the technologies that shape the world around us and I truly believe that we need a diverse community of engineers to ensure that the future we are building is the best it can be, for absolutely everyone.

“Thank you to the IET for giving me this opportunity to champion the incredible strides engineers are making today and inspire the next generation. It has been an honour. Now, as my year comes to an end, I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year brings for the 2022 Young Woman Engineer of the Year!”

Dr Laura Norton, head of equality, diversity and inclusion at the IET, said: “Engineers bring ideas to life, turn dreams into reality and make solutions to big challenges possible. Engineering is a fantastic career where you really can make a difference and even change the world, but the shortage of women in the industry is a huge problem.

“With a lack of understanding around what engineering is, perceived gender norms and not enough role models for the next generation, there are a lot of reasons as to why the UK struggles to attract women into engineering.

“Our Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards are all about shining a spotlight on the incredible engineering talent up and down the country and to find role models to get girls and the engineers of tomorrow excited and inspired about a career in engineering.

“I’d like to congratulate Ama, Constance, Eneni, Lauren and Veena for making the final five and demonstrating the tremendous talent of women working in our industry today.”

The winner will be announced at the IET’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards ceremony, to be held on Thursday 1 December 2022. Registration is now open for the awards.

This year’s YWE Awards are being sponsored by Alstom, Boeing, Capgemini Engineering, Collins Aerospace, Frazer-Nash Consultancy, GCHQ, Leonardo, MBDA, Ofcom, Rolls Royce, Royal Air Force, Royal Mail, RS Components Grass Roots, Teledyne and Thales.