{"id":3221,"date":"2020-11-12T11:19:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T11:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/?p=3221"},"modified":"2023-06-21T09:21:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T08:21:11","slug":"this-is-engineering-inspiring-a-diverse-next-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/2020\/11\/12\/this-is-engineering-inspiring-a-diverse-next-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"This is engineering: Inspiring a diverse next generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Engineering is everywhere. It shapes the world around us, and comes in many forms – it’s big and small, loud and quiet, fast and slow.<\/span><\/p>\n

And all different types of people can do it. There remains, however, a diversity shortfall in engineering, and it is an ongoing challenge to change perceptions about what an engineer ‘looks like’.<\/span><\/p>\n

One way is to inspire a truly diverse next generation of engineers…<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

This is Engineering Day<\/h2>\n

In the UK we face an annual shortfall of 59,000 engineers. As a profession only 12% of engineers are women, and just 9% are BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic).<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week marked <\/span>This is Engineering Day<\/span><\/a>, a campaign that aims to challenge perceptions of what engineering is and what engineers do. It attempts to do so by highlighting their stories; in particular, what inspired them to become an engineer.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a target audience of 13 to 18-year-olds, the campaign showcased the diversity of the profession through a series of short, eye-catching videos. Young engineers were encouraged to talk about their exciting and varied career paths – following their dreams by doing the things they love.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Phoebe Young, a PhD student in Management of Projects who completed her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at Manchester, shared her story for the campaign. Her PhD looks at delivering government projects – specifically transformation projects – and how the government delivers change across different organisations.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Phoebe, it was watching the infrastructure go up for the London Olympics in 2012 that lit her passion for engineering:<\/span><\/p>\n