Spotlight
element there that I hope is beginning to disappear. While it’s unfair, I think even today, women often have to work harder to gain the same level of respect from their peers. Communications in a technical
environment, especially when you’re bridging the gap between different disciplines, or between technical and non-technical people, can be tough. One of my favourite challenges to overcome is bringing these stakeholders together by using clear and concise language and keeping it simple.
I’ve also had to learn that accepting failure is a part of the learning process, and it’s how you pick yourself up from it that is the most important. When you fail, you’re simply trying to reach your goals and learn what works and what doesn’t. Failure is just another word for learning, and without learning, I’d be a much worse engineer!
MV: One thing I’ve learned is that change is constant and, to succeed, it’s important to adapt to the environment.
Building credibility can sometimes be
difficult as a woman in the engineering sector. I find there’s often a degree of scepticism that must be navigated before trust can be built, although there’s definitely a generational
CIE: What are some of the biggest rewards you’ve reaped over your career? MV: More than I can count! One of the biggest rewards is the opportunity to grow and constantly learn, not just through self-directed education, but also learning from others. I also love to be surrounded by engineers and technical specialists with a real passion for their areas of expertise, especially in a collaborative environment when there is a problem to be solved. That’s where the magic can really happen and I love being a part of that.
CIE: What advantages can a career in engineering / electronics offer young people? MV: First of all, very early while you go through education, you start developing the skillset and mindset of being a problem solver, details-orientated, very often data driven and a great collaborator. Secondly, there are lots of different career paths you can take following education. And finally and, most importantly, the unique skillset you obtain both very early during education days and later on when you start doing various roles put you in a fantastic position of being able to change the career directions in your life very easily.
I also think it opens a whole world to young people, both figuratively and literally. Science and engineering have a universal language internationally compared with other subjects, like law, which might be specific to a state or country. Because of this, I believe engineering and the sciences present a much greater opportunity for collaboration on an international level.
CIE: How can we encourage young people – particularly women – to take up a career in engineering and electronics? MV: Starting early and changing perceptions is immensely important. I think working with educational institutions, placing an emphasis on apprenticeship programmes for young women and simply doing everything we can to make sure that the awareness is there to say that engineering isn’t only a career for men. I also think drawing on the experiences of the current generation of women in engineering, allowing them to share their insights, is a great way to learn the lessons of the past and give rise to a more diverse future for our industry.
CIE: What excites you about your current role and do you have any more career goals to fulfil? MV: What excites me most is helping people; helping engineers reach their potential, helping our customers solve challenges and helping aspiring technical professionals as they embark on their careers.
My current role allows me to do just that with a wide range of technical professionals from all kinds of background, which is fantastic. I also love to learn, so constantly gaining insight, seeing cutting- edge technologies, supporting customer challenges – it’s all very exciting to me.
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