Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day 2023

What (or who) inspired you to become an engineer?

Courtney Macdougall – Project Development Engineer   

I really enjoyed mathematics and physics at school, I loved problem-solving, and one day, speaking to a career counsellor, they encouraged me to look at engineering. I looked at the jobs engineering could lead me too, and quickly saw it could take me into the energy sector - and I could travel!

Mithila Nanda – Engineering Manager 
It’s a core memory for me from when I was around 15 years old. I remember visiting my uncle who was a civil engineer during Dubai’s building boom. I visited his company's construction site and I remember seeing hundreds of drawings across the walls of his site cabin. When he pointed out the buildings those drawings created, I thought it was magic! I Googled how to become an engineer and the rest is history. 
 

How does it feel to work amongst other women in engineering?  

Marina Murdasova – Project Manager

To be a part of ambitious, smart, and problem-solving women engineering gang is a gratifying and rewarding career journey. It’s important to encourage and champion other women in engineering to attract more young talent in the sector.  

Courtney Macdougall – Project Development Engineer

I get goosebumps answering this; I am so proud to be part of a team that has incredible woman engineers! The support and creativity that these women provide me with at work, makes this job so enjoyable. We all come from different parts of the world, but we all have ambition and a common understanding. It is a great support but also super inspiring to work alongside them. 

Imke Preuss-Driessen – Senior Project Manager
A diverse environment is most inspiring as it allows us to paint a comprehensive picture that covers all aspects. Working amongst other women in engineering strengthens me to tackle our ambitious and challenging tasks. So, it just feels great to work with other women and I wish that many more women will choose to do so. 

What would your recommendations be for others considering a career in engineering? 

Mithila Nanda – Engineering Manager 
Engineers have so many applications in all different industries and sectors. Be open to the opportunities this amazing profession can teach you, knowing that it can open doors at any point in your life. This is the beauty of being an engineer! 

What kind of improvements do you feel should be made to ‘make safety seen’?  

Marina Murdasova – Project Manager: 
By investing in gold safety culture and consistently pushing safety messages, we move closer to our goal of every employee going home safe and well. Simple steps such as having widespread visibility into safety performance and widespread access to data of incidents and near misses reporting will help keep safety front of mind for everyone. 
 
Imke Preuss-Driessen – Senior Project Manager: 
Re-occurring safety training, safety reports for incidents and near-misses are already implemented and raise awareness. As safety is everyone’s business it is already easily accessible for everyone. As far as possible, this should be further supplemented with topics that concern psychological safety. 
 
We all deserve to flourish in a working environment which is safe, reliable, and collaborative. We are proud to display some of our best and brightest women in engineering who work together to #MakeSafetySeen.