Event Report | Women in Engineering 4th Challenges and Opportunities Event

Dr Nagham Saeed, the Challenges and Opportunities organiser and Vice Chair of IEEE UK and Ireland, shares her insights on this recent event.

It feels incredible to have delivered the IEEE Women in Engineering UK and Ireland “Challenges and Opportunities” event for the fourth time! I’m deeply grateful to the IEEE COINS conference organizers for recognizing our efforts with the Diversity and Inclusion (DnI) Award Amit Singh Farshad F. Prof. Eiman Kanjo.

We initiated this annual series back in 2020 during the challenging times of COVID-19 under the ambassador scheme Iman El-Dessouki for IEEE WIE UK & Ireland. Over the years, the event has evolved and grown, addressing various technical and professional aspects each year. This year, we had the honour of holding the event jointly with the IEEE COINS conference at King’s College London on 30th July 2024.

The theme for this year was “Leading Women in Tech: Insights, Experiences, and Designing for Diversity and Inclusion.” We featured two panels of inspiring women from both industry and academia Julie McCann, Dr Carol Marsh OBE, Ramona Marfievici, Zeba Khanam, PhD Fehmida Jafferali Saumya Kareem Reni PhD MIEEE MIET and Erika Sanchez, who shared their invaluable contributions to enhancing Diversity and Inclusion in their workplaces and research environments. This is in addition to the awards ceremony for the Diversity and Inclusivity winners.

I am thrilled to hear that both the conference organisers and attendees found the event to be an enlightening and enriching experience. Let’s continue to empower the next generation and support them in their journey!