国产探花

For International Women in Engineering Day, we invited a panel of female leaders in the built environment to share stories about their career journeys, how they currently contribute to social impact and sustainability, and how spaces and communities can be #enhancedbyengineering 鈥� this year鈥檚 theme.

The event took place in our London office and we heard from 国产探花’s partner and UK Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Prichard, partners, Dr Mei Ren and Christine Lowry, and our global experience lead, Goc O鈥機allaghan. They were joined by Selina Mason, strategic design lead at Lendlease, Julie Feest, CEO of the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), and Elaine Toogood, director of architecture and sustainable design at The Concrete Centre.

How engineering enhances the world around us 

Dr Sarah Prichard, partner and UK Chief Operating Officer at 国产探花, said 鈥淓ngineering shapes our shared destiny鈥�.  collaboration is key and, together, we can tackle pressing social issues such as congestion, pollution and the housing shortage.  

By designing infrastructure in innovative ways, we foster resilience, connectivity and wellbeing.  Spaces matter 鈥� they shape our interactions and define our sense of belonging. And, our communities thrive with diverse voices.鈥� 

Christine Lowry, partner and discipline leader 鈥� sustainability at 国产探花 is passionate about the regeneration of buildings, low carbon building design and renewable energy, and has worked on projects for the Science Museum Group, British Library, Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds City Museum and many more. What motivates Christine is not only the prospect of restoring the buildings themselves, but also the excitement of seeing how these spaces are then used by visitors, and the knock-on effect this has on the wider community.  

Selina Mason, strategic design lead at , led the post-Games transformation design for the former Olympic Park in advance of its opening to the public in the spring of 2014. She said 鈥淚t was incredible working on a project that was essentially a wilderness that transformed into the place we know today. It is a highlight of my career.鈥� 

Goc O鈥機allaghan, global experience lead at 国产探花, has particular expertise in user experience and the optimisation of extraordinary experiences for clients鈥� audiences. Goc outlined how designing for the end-user as part of the engineering process can optimise experiences for all visitors and users and their own specific engagement preferences.   

Julie Feest, CEO of said that AI is here to stay and that it will enhance careers of the future by removing some of the admin, allowing engineers to focus more on innovation and creativity to resolve some of the big issues the world faces today. She used the example of AI technologies being developed to extract, manage and interpret large streams of raw data that are transformed into predictive and prescriptive insights to address maintenance on wind farms, enabling efficiencies.  

Dr Mei Ren, partner at 国产探花, works in sustainability, city-wide planning and infrastructure, and was a visiting professor at the University of Manchester. Mei talked about some of the challenges that female engineers may face in their career path and highlighted the importance of building a supporting network to help achieve work-life balance.  

Elaine Toogood, director at , explained the key role that engineers have in the development of a more sustainable built environment, for example by helping avoid carbon emissions through efficient concrete structural design, or the reuse of existing structures.    

The male and female divide in the built environment is improving 

Dr Sarah Prichard said that the male/female divide is levelling out at 国产探花 with 34% of the engineering technical roles in the UK now being held by women, with women occupying 26% of the senior leadership roles.

Elaine Toogood talked about the shift in the industry. At the start of her career, women on-site received a lot of unwelcome attention and that has thankfully changed with more and more women in the profession. Elaine now provides guidance on the use of concrete in architecture to the UK design and construction community, along with a team of construction professionals who are mostly female, at present. 

Establishing a career in the built environment  

Julie Feest gave advice to our students and recent graduates on making that leap from their studies to the world of work. She said 鈥淏eing work-ready will help you secure that first work opportunity after graduating. Employers are looking for the softer, transferable skills as well as the technical ones. Demonstrating resilience and showing that you are a team-player is important 鈥� this doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to be in a work environment, it might be through a community project.鈥�  

Dr Mei Ren said one of the best parts of being an engineer is that you can see where you鈥檒l make a difference in the world. Engineers use their problem-solving skills to confront many of the world鈥檚 biggest concerns, be it dealing with flooding, designing a new school, and more efficient homes. Essentially, as an engineer, the possibilities are endless.  

Tips on career development from our panellists 

• Find your champion. This might be a work colleague, family member or mentor who can guide you through your career 
• Your career doesn鈥檛 have to be linear, twists and turns are normal  
• Everyone suffers from imposter syndrome but remember that it is healthy to push out of your comfort zone and grow 
• Follow your instincts and embrace new challenges 
• Don鈥檛 stay too long in a role that you are unhappy in, change provides opportunities to grow 
• Network with peers, not necessarily the people above you, as they will be the people who give you work in the future 
• Work in places and spaces that align with your values 
• If you don鈥檛 understand something, say so. Be prepared to listen and understand, talk to as many people in your industry as possible, and stay curious. 

Goc O鈥機allaghan said “An adjustment in our internal narrative can be very important in achieving success. Reject any concept of a linear journey, the dead ends provide opportunities to broaden your knowledge and skillsets. The skills you learn are transferable skills that you can take with you. We all suffer from imposter syndrome from time to time but imposter syndrome happens in our ‘stretch-zone’ which at times may feel uncomfortable but exciting at the same time and provides an opportunity to grow and learn.鈥� 

The overall conclusion was that collaboration should be our priority, whether it is between male and female colleagues or different professions within the built environment. Providing spaces that foster better collaboration for the people who occupy them, and enhance communities around them, is high on the agenda when it comes to career choices and development.