Barbara Welch FREng, who was among the first cohort of undergraduates to be awarded an Academy Engineering Leaders Scholarship (ELS) and is now a member of the programme’s steering committee, shares some reflections about the programme as it celebrates its 30th anniversary, including the impact it had on her career and the changes faced by engineering leaders.
An important part of what the Academy does is to recognise and celebrate the exceptional achievements of engineering researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, business and industry leaders, through its awards, medals and prizes and, of course, through election to the Fellowship.
What the Academy also does, very well and in many different ways, is support individuals with the potential to achieve great things in the future. One of these ways is the Engineering Leaders Scholarships (ELS) programme. This programme is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and I was delighted to be invited to speak at the recent annual networking and training weekend for the latest cohort of students to be awarded scholarships.
The ELS programme supports undergraduate students studying engineering and related disciplines in UK higher education institutions who demonstrate not only a passion for engineering but also the potential to become leaders and innovators in engineering and role models for future generations of engineers.
The scholarships provide an accelerated personal development programme that includes: a £5,000 bursary to be used towards career-related personal development activities; invitations to dedicated training and networking events; support from an Academy mentor; invitations to exclusive Academy events and opportunities; and access to an alumni community of over 800 engineers.
I received my Engineering Leadership Scholarship in 1995 when I was in my second year at university. I graduated two years later with a civil engineering degree and have worked in the construction industry ever since. I can honestly say I would not be where I am today had I not received the scholarship from the Academy. It gave me opportunities that changed studying engineering from a qualification with good career prospects into a true vocation--something I loved and was personally invested in. Something that I felt had the power to change lives and transform society.
After graduating, I spent the first seven years of my career working in the UK before I moved overseas. I was initially based in Macau, then Hong Kong, and finally I spent two years living in Russia before moving back to London to take on my present global role. It was in 2009, when I was in our Moscow office, that I received an out-of-the-blue email from the Academy who were trying to track down former award holders in order to start an alumni community. I jumped at the opportunity give back and have been actively supporting the ELS ever since.
It is interesting to reflect on what has changed in the 30 years since I received my award. A lot of the fundamentals students are learning on their courses won’t be too dissimilar to what I learned. Maths is still maths. Mechanics still mechanics. Geotechnics is still geotechnics. But there is a much sharper focus on climate change and the impact we are having on our planet. Ironically for someone who works in construction, I want us to build less. We need to get better at embracing the circular economy and using what we have got more efficiently. We need to get better at using the resources we have more efficiently – not simply building more to cope with an ever-growing population. The solutions for climate change – whether they be renewable energy, low carbon cement, green aviation fuel or electric vehicles and
battery storage – are all founded within the engineering disciplines represented by those with Engineering Leaders Scholarships.
The biggest difference is the use of technology. The impact it has had on society and the way we live our lives, and the way we learn. 30 years ago, university engineering departments were asked to nominate candidates. My application for the Leadership Scholarship was handwritten on a paper application form and put in the post. Google and MSN Search weren’t launched until the year after I graduated, and most organisations didn’t have a website. Email was not common in the workplace when I started work. I remember getting my first mobile phone – calls and texts only. 3G networks were launched in 2001 and LinkedIn wasn’t commonplace until 2007, yet now we are all connected, all of the time and AI is changing the workplace. ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are revolutionising the way we learn and the way we work.
Our challenge, as engineers and leaders, is how we embrace the ever-changing technological landscape and apply new technologies to help us address some of societies largest challenges such as climate change, clean energy, food security, water security, and health equity. It is to help the UK engineering community keep pace with market needs, societal drivers, global competition and technological innovation that the Academy is in the process of setting up its new Skills Centre, which we’ll be hearing more about as it develops.
Lots has changed for the ELS programme over the last 30 years, and for the better. The selection process has evolved as technology has evolved. Covid was a gamechanger on many fronts including the switch from face-to-face to online interviews. And then more recently ChatGPT. We have been constantly tweaking the questions to try to get real answers, not simply AI generated answers. Adding video to the application process has also helped us to see the real person, literally and metaphorically.
I am so grateful that 30 years ago the Academy spotted my potential and awarded me a scholarship. My career over the past three decades has been more rewarding that I could ever have imagined as an undergraduate and I think it is testimony to this programme that this year I and two other early alumni were elected Fellows of the Academy.
Meeting the inspiring students at the networking and training weekend, I was conscious that among them would be some amazing entrepreneurs – the sort that used to scare me by having seven great new business ideas before breakfast – as well as future leaders of industry and ground-breaking academics. They represented all engineering disciplines, and I am confident that, like me, they will appreciate the power of the networks they make through the ELS programme and other opportunities offered. I am also confident that by coming together and blending their skills and expertise they will make a positive difference in our world with a lasting legacy.
Since 1995, the Engineering Leaders Scholarship programme has supported over 800 undergraduates from universities across the UK. To celebrate the programme’s 30th anniversary we have collected 30 of their inspiring stories.
