NOVOCOMMS
Women in Electronics: trust your instincts
A richer gender diversity in the UK electronics industry is good for business, says Katie Howard, an electronic engineer working with the UK’s leading antenna, mobile satellite, and smart city specialist, Novocomms.
I
was brought up in rural Cornwall, very much outdoors, on tractors and horses, in fields and beaches. It was idyllic and I am very grateful for that time, but I’ll admit thinking about a career was never my priority. I did okay at school, but really dedicated my time to sports. My dad is a trained auto-electrician and I remember ‘helping’ him in the workshop. I think this is what inspired my career choice, but I wanted to find a way to merge this with sports.
By the time I was in my late teens, I’d enrolled in a sports science degree in North Wales. However, it soon became apparent that the final year project idea I had, to create a device to analyse the distributed weight of a horses’ footfall, was not in scope of that department and was far more aligned to an Electronic Engineering degree. I remember arranging a meeting with the Dean of Engineering at the university to understand the feasibility of switching degrees. I knew I didn’t have the correct A-levels and I remember he was quite concerned about my ability to keep up, so negotiated a condition of my transfer; I should enrol in a few additional modules/ classes to catch up on what I missed during A-levels. The big lesson here? If you really want to achieve something in your career, don’t be put off if on paper you’re not the ideal candidate. Be tenacious and stay true to the courage of your convictions. I often wonder what I’d be doing now if I had not kept pushing my case back then. I knew it was the right decision for me and I negotiated hard!
Masters in RF engineering I’ll not lie, at first it was tough. I had to put in the extra hours to catch up with the other students, but after a few months, I started to really hit my stride. I was lucky to have made some great friends to study with and we all supported each other. I arranged to study under the Erasmus Scheme in Denmark for a year, which gave me some valuable experience and I found I had a real interest in
both Photonics and RF.
I was subsequently sponsored to complete my Masters degree in RF Microwave engineering, which is what I’ve ended up focusing on at Novocomms. Between graduating and joining Novocomms, I completed my graduate scheme with Collins Aerospace and spent several years travelling the world, visiting customers and attending industry events. I met many great people during this time, developed key skills and gained much more confidence. Novocomms is an exciting change for me, I can see even from the short time I’ve been here that there is huge growth potential, and a friendly but dedicated team.
Large corporation or dynamic SME? Working within a big corporation was great for my first role straight from uni. There was always someone to ask questions, and lots of support to facilitate development but, while you often get to work on prestigious projects, you’re usually a very small cog in a much larger machine! I spent five great years within aerospace, but by March of 2023, it was definitely time for me to move on. Now I am enjoying getting my feet under the table at Novocomms, which is a spin out from Birmingham University and has strong links to the city. We’re focusing in three prime areas; sub-6GHz products, mmWave & mobile satellite antennas and smart city projects, all of which hold exciting opportunities in emerging markets both in Europe and further afield.
Being an SME, my role at Novocomms is very varied, which took some getting used to after the more formal structure of a large Aerospace corporation. Within one week I could be liaising closely with a client on the delivery of a new antenna technology, attending an event for the space sector, prospecting new sales leads, talking to potential customers or collaborative partners, putting together a consortium, and helping to write the proposal for a funding bid.
Diversity is good for business. I passionately believe that greater diversity of genders, cultures, and experience is hugely important to the future growth of the UK electronics industry. Not just the electronics sector, but business in general. It has been shown again and again that more diversity within industry makes for better outcomes. Speaking at a recent Women in Electronics forum in the USA, Michael Knight, CEO of Endries International, argued that diverse groups outperform non- diverse groups, and these teams make better decisions than individuals 67% of the time. For gender and ethnically diverse groups, this number jumps to 87%. A more varied workforce is not a box ticking exercise, as some would say; it’s important for developing a strong and successful business. My advice to anyone thinking about a career in electronics? If it’s your real passion, don’t be put off by doubt; take that first step to find about relevant degrees and start your journey.
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2024 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
