Swansea University student shortlisted for Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award

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A student from Swansea University’s College of Engineering is one of six female engineers to have been shortlisted for The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2017.

Ellie Wilson, a part-time BEng Electrical and Electronics student from Pembrokeshire is currently employed as an Instrumentation and Control Technician at SemLogistics, an Upper Tier COMAH oil storage facility in Pembrokeshire, where she is responsible for installing and maintaining all instrumentation and control systems on site.

Ellie WilsonEllie (pictured) said: "I am extremely proud to be a Young Women Engineer of the year finalist. The promotional work around this is so very inspirational to children and young women and is it is important to challenge stereotypes and myths around engineering being a totally male dominated profession. Women have so much to offer and it is imperative we promote STEM subjects at an early stage in schools amongst young girls and promote engineering as an exciting career path with so many opportunities".

These prestigious engineering industry awards, which celebrate their 40th anniversary this year, recognise and showcase outstanding young women working in modern engineering – and aim to help change the perception that engineering is predominantly a career for men by banishing out-dated engineering stereotypes of hard hats and greasy pipes.

As well as highlighting female engineering talent, the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards seek to find female role models who can help address the UK science and engineering skills crisis by promoting engineering careers to more girls and women. Women currently represent only 9 per cent of the engineering workforce in the UK (source: 2016 IET Skills Survey), the lowest percentage in Europe.

Jo Foster, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the IET, said: “Women are still significantly underrepresented in engineering and these Awards help to highlight some of the amazing talent in the UK. The calibre this year was as strong as ever and it’s going to be a tough final decision to make.

“One of the difficulties in attracting women into engineering is the perception of engineering as a career. It’s often thought of as masculine, dirty and unglamorous. The reality is very different. Engineering is an exciting and highly paid career. It’s diverse, creative and offers the opportunity to do something life – or even – world changing". 

The winner will be announced at the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards ceremony on 7 December at IET London: Savoy Place.