The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has announced the five outstanding finalists for its Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards (YWE) 2025.

The IET shared this exciting news on Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration that, likeYWE, highlights the achievements of women in STEM.

“Engineering and technology continue to shape the world we live in, solving real-world challenges and improving lives every day. These awards celebrate the brilliant women who are driving that change and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps," said The IET Head of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Dr Laura Norton.

The award ceremony will take place in December at The IET's London headquarters in Savoy Place, an inspiring evening honouring these incredible women, networking, and recognising the future of engineering.

Let's meet the finalists!

Meet IET YWE finalist, Amy Dillon

Amy Dillon is a Civil Engineer and Director of The Think Design Engineer Foundation and The Big Bridge. She works as Principal Engineer at Design ID Consulting Limited.

“I absolutely love what I do, and I really enjoy that I get to be creative, and I get to do things that change the world," says Amy.

Amy is a bridge builder - quite literally! As a Civil Engineer managing multi million pound infrastructure projects, Amy has been integral to many critical infrastructure projects, including the Northern Spire bridge in her home town of Sunderland.

Amy is also the brains behind The Big Bridge, the STEM outreach initiative that brings a 13-metre-long buildable bridge to schools and community events across Northern Ireland and Ireland.

It has reached over 2,500 students to date, with a focus on introducing girls from less advantaged backgrounds to engineering via hands-on experiences.

Meet IET YWE finalist, Jennifer Barry

Jennifer Barry is a Payload Systems Lead Engineer at the UK Space Agency.

“I'm motivated by my background in astrophysics and my love of problem solving, which helps me turn novel and ambitious ideas into reality," explains Jennifer.

Jennifer represents the UK internationally on space sustainability. Jennifer has led UK delegations to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), and presented at the UN, and contributed to the ESA’s Zero Debris initiative.

Jennifer's work as the Payload Systems Lead at the UK Space Agency involves technical insight, assuring quality standards, leading research and development initiatives, and project management.

Jennifer has also found time to co-lead a team delivering over 530 hours of STEM outreach to students, earning her an invitation to the Youth in Aviation and Aerospace parliamentary reception at the House of Lords.

Meet IET YWE finalist, Rachel Hayden

Rachel Hayden is a Senior Engineer at WSP.

“I feel incredibly proud to be nominated for the Young Women Engineer of the Year award, let alone be named as one of the finalists. I feel really grateful to be recognised for my work, both at WSP, and as a STEM ambassador," comments Rachel. 

Rachel was introduced to the idea of becoming an engineer through a school pasta bridge competition and now manages infrastructure and assets that include not just bridges, but tunnels, culverts, pumping stations, and retaining structures.

In her role as a Senior Chartered Civil Engineer at WSP, Rachel project manages two multi-million pound projects, leading multidisciplinary teams of engineers, planners, commercial managers, and technical specialists, to ensure quality and safety.

As an international STEM ambassador, Rachel founded and led the Building the Future, Shaping our World competition, connecting students from India, Nepal, the UK, and Jersey to design sports venues for their communities.

Meet Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices finalist, Rachel Donaghey

Rachel Donaghey is a Service Introduction Manager at NATS.

“I'm driven by my passion for safety, inclusion, and making a meaningful impact," says Rachel.

Rachel is someone who drives strategic improvements. In the two roles she has held at NATS, she has redesigned workflows that streamlined the safety and assurance process by 50%, developed new guidance, enhanced collaboration, and supported consistency.

She works closely with project teams to ensure operational safety in a 24/7 environment, planning and overseeing new systems, equipment, and software in and out of service.

As someone with dyslexia, she is proud to have proved to herself and others that she is capable of excelling in a space she once felt excluded from.

Meet Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices, Nikkala Pokojski

Nikkala Pokojski is a Software Engineer at Kainos.

“I'm passionate, ambitious, and curious, driven to build technology that solves your problems and makes a difference," remarks Nikkala.

Nikkala is still an apprentice, but she has already designed a full system architecture for HM Passport Office.

Nikkala's commitment to real-world software solutions has led to rapid progression during her apprenticeship as a software engineer at Kainos.

Nikkala's work contributes to the entire software development lifecycle, including writing, testing, deploying, and maintaining code.

With a practical approach, Nikkala is taking responsibilities beyond her years, expanding her skillset, and is a debugging and problem-solving mentor to other apprentices and junior developers.

Exceptional hosts at the Awards ceremony

The IET is delighted to welcome two former Young Woman Engineer of the Year winners as hosts of the YWE 2026 Award ceremony:

•  Ama Frimpong (2022 winner) 
• Sophie Harker (2018 winner)

Showcasing dynamic younger engineers

The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards celebrate dynamic young women engineers who represents the very best of the profession. 

Th e winning engineer is passionate about making her mark and inspiring the next generation, showing them they too can engineer a better world. She's a high achiever, a problem solver and a team player. She should be an inspiration to her colleagues and, just as importantly, have the charisma and personality to inspire others to follow in her footsteps. 

Essential competencies include:

• Leadership experience - This could be leading a small team or group of individuals to achieve a goal through work, volunteering or at university.      
• Teamwork experience - Examples of being collaborative, encouraging people to work together and working with others to achieve successful outcomes.    
• Professional commitment - Evidence showing commitment to a medium-term project or role and a clear drive and ambition to continue developing and enhancing knowledge and skills.  

The award winner receives prize money of £2,500 and free IET membership for one year. The winner is invited to participate in high-profile events throughout the year, attended by influential people offering excellent networking opportunities and raising their profile within the engineering industry. 

Further awards celebrating women engineers

In addition to the Young Woman of the Year Award, The IET runs three further awards to celebrate women in engineering:

Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices is given to a young woman apprentice working in the UK, aged 18 to 35 who shows great promise and potential in the profession and is tipped to be one of tomorrow’s leaders in engineering. She has made a contribution within the workplace beyond the realms of her normal duties and demonstrated dynamism in her approach to the solution of engineering problems. A real team player, she will be seen as an 'all-rounder' who will act as an enthusiastic role model to encourage other young women to enter the profession of engineering through the apprenticeship route. The award winner receives prize money of £1,000 and free IET membership for one year.

Women's Engineering Society (WES) Prize is awarded to a young female engineer who is able to engage and inspire young people’s involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). She is also interested in the challenges women face in maintaining their career in engineering and wants to attract young people into engineering and may already have some experience of doing this. The award winner receives prize money of £1,000 and free IET membership for one year.

Gender Diversity Ambassador Award a person of any gender, working in the UK and of any age who has spent a large proportion of their career committed to addressing the gender imbalance within the engineering profession. The award celebrates a role model, but also showcase innovation and good practices when it comes to implementing tactics and policies to address the gender gap through attracting and retaining women in engineering. They should be an inspiration to their colleagues, and have made a significant contribution to the engineering gender diversity arena, and to the work of The IET in addressing the gender diversity gap.

Great role models inspiring future talent

The demand for engineers is high, and growing, yet we’re falling short of the number of qualified engineers needed. 

Many of the people The IET talk to say that they wished they had a role model to inspire them into engineering, and the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards does just that. 

The winners and finalists of these prestigious awards help us to inspire the next generation of engineers. 

As a registered charity, The IET relies on the generosity of its members and the engineering community to invest in the next generation through its education and awards programmes.

History of the IET YWE award

Launched in 1978, it was originally known as the Girl Technician of the Year, but was changed to the Young Woman Engineer of the Year in 1988.

The YWE award was originally sponsored by the Caroline Haslett Memorial Trust, which provided scholarships and other educational opportunities for women seeking or already pursuing careers in electronic, electrical or mechanical engineering. Dame Caroline Haslett (1895-1957) was the first Secretary of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) out of which grew the Electrical Association for Women (EAW) and Dame Caroline was appointed its Director and Secretary. Through the Association she encouraged the use of power in the home believing that electricity was the real emancipator of women. The Trust was formed in 1945 to commemorate the 21st anniversary of EAW and after Dame Caroline’s death it became a memorial to her. The Trust funds are now exhausted, but The IET continues to support the Young Woman of the Year Award.

Discover the prestigious IET awards

This is truly an exciting time for women in engineering and technology, thanks to The IET - one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with over 155,000 members in 150 countries. The IET is also the most multidisciplinary institution, reflecting the increasingly diverse nature of engineering in the 21st century. 

The IET works to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing members, engineers and technicians - and wants female talent to thrive so provides a range of exciting opportunities for women to reach their full potential via awards, scholarships, events and more. 

The IET celebrates women's achievements - and it wants you to be part of it. Stay up-to-date with The IET's brilliant programme of activity each year and seize the visibility and recognition you deserve in engineering and technology fields.