Overview

Join SheCanEngineer as we celebrate International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) 2021 with this year's theme Engineering Heroes! In our evening event we will hear from industry leaders as we explore what makes an engineering hero and how we can nurture and encourage future female engineers!

Presenters

Dawn Bonfield MBE

Dawn Bonfield is Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at King's College London working with young people on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals as entrepreneurs. She has been Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering at Aston University since 2017, and is the Founder & Director of Towards Vision, a not-for-profit which works towards a vision of diversity and inclusion in engineering. She is Past President and former Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society (WES). Dawn is Deputy Chair of the Women in Engineering Committee of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations working on the application of engineering and technology to address gender inequality globally. She is founder of a social enterprise called ‘Magnificent Women’ which celebrates the history of women in engineering, and she was the founder of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) which takes place on 23 June annually. A materials engineer by profession - having studied Materials Science at Bath University - Dawn has worked at AERE Harwell, Citroen Research Centre (Paris), British Aerospace (Bristol), MBDA (Stevenage), and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (London).

Dawn received an MBE in 2016 for 'Services to the promotion of diversity in engineering', and in 2015 Dawn won a WISE Award and an Association Congress Award for the INWED campaign, and in 2016 she won the SEMTA award for Diversity in Engineering. In 2016 she was a finalist in the GEDC Airbus Global Diversity Award, and in 2017 she won the Women's Business Council STEM 'Starting Out' award. In 2019 she was named as number 2 in the Inclusive Boards Financial Times Top 100 Women in Engineering List.

Elizabeth Hillier, Principal Consultant, DNV

Elizabeth is a materials and corrosion engineer with 20 years experience in infrastructure projects across the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Elizabeth has supported clients worldwide with materials related issues and wider asset integrity topics to support sustainable operations from cradle to grave. She was part of the team who developed the Asset Integrity Tool Kit for the UK Oil and Gas market which has been embraced by many organisations locally and globally. Elizabeth's current role is in working with energy and infrastructure investors to support focussed acquisition or divestment of many types of businesses; offshore oil and gas production, chemical plants, gas distribution, smart metering, district heating, electrical distribution and multi-utility mile end connections to homes and businesses. She has a flexible approach and always enjoys the challenge of something new. She has been very fortunate to meet some inspiring individuals on her journey and would encourage others to seek opportunities in engineering as a result.

Yasmin Ali, Energy Innovation Project Manager at Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

Yasmin Ali is a chartered engineer and an energy innovation programme manager at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), supporting technical solutions to reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to joining the government, she worked in conventional power generation, oil and gas exploration and production, and district heating. Yasmin is passionate about the future of energy, and an avid promoter of engineering careers. She has featured on television and radio, regularly visits schools, presents at events, and writes for mainstream media about the achievements of engineers. In recognition of her work, she has been shortlisted for a number of industry awards, and in 2020 was named one of the Women’s Engineering Society top 50 women engineers in sustainability.

Intended audience

Whether you are a student or a professional, come along and gain valuable insight into engineering careers from our industry leaders.

Time

18:00—19:00 BST.

IChemE will not be storing or controlling any data linked to this event.