Five incredibly talented young women engineers have been announced as this year’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year (YWE) finalists.

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engineering – and aim to help change the perception that engineering is predominantly a career for men by banishing outdated engineering stereotypes of hard hats and dirty overalls.

Find out who will become the IET's YWE winner on December 9 at the award ceremony at IET London: Savoy Place.

Meet IET YWE finalist Alexia Williams

Alexia Williams is a Through Life Technical Lead for Rolls-Royce Plc. 

Alexia works to improve assets throughout their life, utilising data and information collected to make informed decisions to extend the products operation life and reduce maintenance periods. 

She joined Rolls-Royce in 2018 as an Engineering Degree Apprentice doing a BEng in Aerospace Engineering at the University of the West of England. 

As a STEM ambassador, Alexia has contributed over 200 hours during the last year promoting STEM to the younger generation through Air Shows, Careers Fairs, Conferences and in schools. 

She is passionate about encouraging more women into engineering especially via an apprenticeship. 

Meet IET YWE finalist Erin Lowe

Erin Lowe is Apprentice Electrical Engineer at Yamazaki Mazak UK. 

Erin is in the third year or her electrical apprenticeship which is specialised on the CV5-500 production line. 

She has also delivered customer and public educational tours of the European Manufacturing plant, attended numerous career and trade fairs, given countless outreach presentations, and provided regular support to our cadetship programme. 

Erin is involved in various STEM initiatives, including being the head judge at the final of the Primary STEM Challenge hosted at Mazak, where the goal was to inspire young minds into a career in engineering. 

Meet IET YWE finalist Marisa Kurimbokus

Marisa Kurimbokus is a Chartered Engineer with a career spanning over a decade in product design and systems engineering within the automotive and power electronics industries including Jaguar Land Rover, Triumph Motorcycles and Lyra Electronics. 

In her work she has lead a multi-disciplinary engineering design team, and been responsible for all engineering activities including delivery of projects, R&D, design, testing and prototyping. 

Marisa keenly supports engineers at all levels and STEM is a huge passion for her, fuelled by her lack of guidance and inspirational role models when she was a student. 

She has been listed in the Top 50 Women in Engineering: Inventors and Innovators in 2022 for her work in net-zero and green technology.

Meet IET YWE finalist Natalie Parker

Natalie Parker is a Technical Specialist/Manager for Operational Technology Group at Sellafield Ltd. 

She provides technical advice to front line engineering teams and project support. 

She is a line manager to 9 and supports the different facility facing teams to enable an offsite location to allow engineers to share problems, innovate ideas and learn from experience. 

Natalie is co-lead of the Sellafield’s Women in Technology group which helps achieve gender balance at all levels within the department. 

She also developed a primary school workshop called ‘Get Wired…Get Coding’ to introduce students in Year 5 and 6 to electrical circuits and programming through fun interactive activities and show how the STEM skills can be utilised in careers.

Meet IET YWE finalist Salma Al

Arefi Salma Al Arefi is a Lecturer in Engineering Education at the University of Leeds. 

Salma holds a PhD in Computing and Electronic Systems, and is an award-winning Lecturer in Engineering Education and Academic Lead for Inclusivity and Student Success at School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at University of Leeds. 

She teaches and supports learning of the next generation of engineers focusing mainly on the field of renewable energy systems. 

In 2020, Salma was elected by Women’s Engineering Society (WES) as a Fellow in recognition of sustained encouragement in assisting the society (nationally and internationally) to break boundaries for women in STEM. 

Her of contribution and added value to the women in science was specially commended by the 2020 Water Women at Leeds Award.

2024 awards host is Anne-Marie Imafidon

Computer scientist, mathematician and social entrepreneur Anne-Marie Imafidon works to inspire women to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths. 

She hosted the Evening Standard’s Women Tech Charge podcast, and comments on technology, the changing nature of work, and the challenges both present to business and society. 

Anne-Marie founded and continues to lead, Stemettes, a social enterprise dedicated to bringing girls and young women to STEM subjects. 

Stemettes has helped tens of thousands of schoolgirls go on to higher levels of study in STEM.

Book your tickets today!

Join us in celebrating brilliant women who are passionate about STEM, showcasing their engineering excellence and truly engineering a better world.