Early passion for STEM
Floriane began making her mark on the world of engineering while still at school. She won the prize for sustainability at the National Science + Engineering Competition, was a member of the British Science Association’s CREST Youth Panel and was a keynote speaker at the Bill and Melinda Gates Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.
She went on to study manufacturing and mechanical engineering at the University of Warwick, where she co-founded and was president of the Warwick Women in Engineering and Science Society.
Problem solver
After graduating, Floriane joined pharmaceutical manufacturer GSK as an industrial placement engineer. She then became Head of Industry, Technology and Innovation at the cross-party think tank, Policy Connect - leading a team of policy managers and project coordinators to engage with civil servants and parliamentarians on manufacturing, data analytics and innovation. “I was able to help write policies and give actionable recommendations to the government,” she says. “I got to use my STEM background on areas I cared most about.”
She then joined BMNT as an innovation consultant, where she was able to put her think tank work into action. “I worked with the government to embed innovation practice and solutions in the defence sector,” she says. She is now a deployment strategist at Palantir Technologies, a company that builds and deploys software platforms for numerous high-profile organisations around the world. “I work in the UK government stream, harnessing data and solving data challenges,” she says. “Making positive organisational changes and solving problems is what gives me joy.”
An engineering role model
Floriane has become a leading voice in the field of tech ethics and innovation. She is a policy expert at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), a member of the British Standards Institute AI expert group and an IEEE Global Tech Ethics ambassador.
Floriane is also extremely passionate about equality, diversity, inclusion, and youth engagement in STEM. As a trustee at Stemettes, a social enterprise that promotes gender representation in STEM and the Arts, she helped write a white paper (government policy document) on diversifying role models in science textbooks. She also visits and mentors at her former secondary school’s STEM club. “I love working with the next generation of STEM enthusiasts,” she says.
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