My Engineering Journey

Engineering plays an important role in our society and I believe in order to create truly inclusive solutions the workforce needs to be more diverse and representative of our society. To me International Women in

Engineering Day is about increasing visibility as I believe representation matters.

When I first took an interest in engineering a few people tried to talk me out of it because they thought it may be lonely and is seen as a “masculine subject”. Fortunately, I found a community of likeminded women and allies who supported me during my BTEC engineering course all the way through to when I gained my BEng Robotics engineering degree. I then worked within Digital Manufacturing in R&D Where my primary focus was the digitalisation of work instructions through AR and VR applications as well as supporting clients with the transition into industry 4.0. I then worked on a large-scale factory expansion project where I oversaw the integration of technologies and tested the solutions before releasing them to the process owners within aerospace. In the 3 years I worked in industry I continued to volunteer as a STEM ambassador and had the opportunity to travel and talk to young people.

During the first lockdown I had a lot of time to reflect on my career and where I wanted to be in the next 5 years. I applied for the Secondary Design and Technology PGCE and began training with the end goal in mind of teaching Engineering. I am excited for this new journey and I was able to secure a post as an Engineering Teacher at the Doncaster UTC. I enjoyed working in industry however my passion is currently focused on supporting the next generation and ensuring they are well informed about engineering and their options of future prospects. I hope to disrupt any misconceptions young women might have about engineering or what an engineer looks like.

Audrey Chivaura

BEng Robotics Engineering