Let’s breakdown barriers for black and minority ethnic women in Engineering

Let’s breakdown barriers for black and minority ethnic women in Engineering

Leading female black and minority ethnic Engineering professionals and students will speak at the LSBU 100 – Women in Engineering event on 13 October
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13 October 2020

London South Bank University (LSBU) will host a major event to inspire the next generation of black and minority ethnic women to see Engineering as a career path, on Ada Lovelace Day, 13 October.

Leading female black and minority ethnic Engineering professionals and students will speak at the LSBU 100 – Women in Engineering event on 13 October including:

  • Dr Ina Colombo is a former LSBU student who is now Deputy Director, International Institute of Refrigeration (Paris) and has worked on Engineering projects at Heathrow Airport and House of Commons.
  • Dr Eiman Aleem is LSBU Associate Professor of Biomedical Science, and winner of major awards including NIH Fellows Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research.
  • Dr Yamuna Kaluarachchi is LSBU Director of Postgraduate Research & Ethics, Built Environment & Architecture.Yamuna has won major Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council awards and specialises in climate change research.
  • Dr Zahra Echresh Zadeh is a LSBU Engineering postgraduate and has worked in LSBU School of Engineering and School of Applied Sciences since 2015.

LSBU was one of the first universities in England to teach women Engineering in 1920. To celebrate the centenary year, LSBU is organising 10 months of events, LSBU 100 – Women in Engineering, to discuss how to increase opportunities for women to study and build careers in Engineering.

The event on 13 October is one of eight LSBU Black History Month meetings.

Dr Claire M Benson, Senior Lecturer, LSBU School of Engineering, and curator of LSBU 100 – Women in Engineering said,

“Over 800 black and minority ethnic female students have studied Engineering at LSBU since 2014 and black and minority ethnic women are leading LSBU’s Engineering teaching and research work.

“At our second LSBU 100 Women in Engineering event, leading black and minority ethnic female engineers will discuss how we can do more to break down barriers that female students face.”

“Celebrating LSBU’s 100-year history as one of the first universities to teach women Engineering is giving us valuable insights about how we can open up opportunities for the next generation of black and minority ethnic women engineers.”

  1. Number of black and minority ethnic female students at LSBU:
    • 854 black and minority ethnic female students studied Engineering at LSBU between 2014/15 to 2018/19.
    • In addition, 883 black and minority ethnic female students studied at LSBU’s School of Built Environment and Architecture between 2014/15 to 2018/19 and many took part in courses covering areas of engineering including, construction, architecture and planning.
  2. LSBU is ranked 5th in the UK for Electronic & Electrical Engineering and 6th for Chemical Engineering in the Guardian University Guide 2021. It’s another example of the personalised and practical education that gives LSBU graduates the skills they need to embark on successful engineering careers.
  3. The 13 October event is being run in collaboration with the LSBU Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and Allies Network and LSBU Gender Equality group.