Every year the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) hosts the prestigious Young Woman Engineer (YWE) of the Year awards to celebrate the remarkable achievements of young women in the engineering profession.
Open to female early career professionals (18-35) the awards seek out the very best and brightest. Now in its 40th year, this inspirational set of awards shines a spotlight on the young women that are breaking barriers and changing perceptions of what it's like to work as a female in the engineering sector.
The awards are broken down into three main categories:
Applications are encouraged from young women from every walk of the engineering sector.
Portrait of an Engineer
Do you think you know what an engineer looks like? That’s the question being raised by the IET as part of this year’s #PortraitOfAnEngineer campaign. To dispel the engrained ideas of what a typical engineer ‘looks like’, the IET is showcasing engineering in a completely different light, by dramatically highlighting the diverse career opportunities available in the industry through stunning and unexpected imagery.
The photographs feature winners and finalists from the 2017 IET YWE awards, including:
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Dr Ozak Esu, Electrical Engineer - The Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award Winner
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Larissa Suzuki, Chief Technology Officer - The WES Prize Winner
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Jamie D'Ath, Mechanical Engineering Apprentice - The Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices Winner
Join impressive young women engineers like Sophie
Sophie Caffrey has always loved understanding things; looking at something and knowing how it works. Before her engineering education, Sophie had preconceptions of what it was like to be an engineer. Now, she works as a chartered engineer in Applied Research for Leonardo in the UK and makes big contributions to their projects. Sophie says that “going to work in such a beautiful building every day, makes me feel like a spy.”
Sophie comments that young girls often dismiss a career in engineering by the age of 14, “because they think they won’t be good at it.”
“But you don't need to be an A-star student,” says Sophie. “Engineering is about solving problems, and finding new ways of doing things.”
Each year you can enter the prestigious IET Young Woman Engineer of Year Award - so always watch out for entry deadlines.
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