Webinar: The next generation of women in engineering STEM, from The Dyson Institute

Fourth Year Undergraduate Engineer

Sophie has worked at Dyson for almost 4 years since starting as part of The Dyson Institute’s first cohort in September 2017. She now works primarily on our environmental care projects, improving the auditory experience of Dyson machines.

As part of the undergraduate degree programme, Sophie had the opportunity to work in a variety of teams ranging from robotics, to new product innovation (NPI) in floorcare, all the way to automotive. She recently worked on the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde purifying fan and led the acoustics drive to widen the slots and reduce acoustics without compromising on fan performance.

“I feel very fortunate to have not faced too many challenges as a woman in engineering. For me, the main one has been a lack of understanding of the profession. At school, I had classmates who thought going into engineering meant being a car mechanic so I think it would be great for schools to teach just how wide ranging a field engineering is.”

Third Year Undergraduate Engineer

Having joined Dyson in 2018, Tash spent her first and second year at The Dyson Institute working on a range of projects across all Dyson’s product range, as well as an interesting rotation on the Automotive project. Her current, and favourite, role is in the Environmental Care research team. At school Tash enjoyed both creative and science subjects: physics, maths, art and music, seeing engineering as a blend to pursue them further. Over the past year, Tash co-founded the Women’s Engineering Society at The Dyson Institute.

“Studying and working allows us to learn the essential theory behind key engineering topics whilst also developing practical skills and implementing our theory in the workplace. I find this to be a powerful way to learn, and Dyson provides such a supportive environment to do this in.”

First Year Undergraduate Engineer

Joanna is in her first year studying at The Dyson Institute and is currently working in the Electronics team at Dyson. Motors are a core technology in Dyson products, and she’s part of the team developing simulations to select the materials with the best performance within motor components. At school, Joanna always had a passion for maths and computer science and wanted to pursue a career that involved these skills. Since working at Dyson, she’s found a “dynamic, creative and supportive space” to pursue projects in these areas.

“I always wanted to pursue a career involving maths, however it took a while to break down the ‘men in workshops’ stereotype and discover that engineering is so much more. Engineering encompasses all my passions and is a field in which technology is being pioneered for generations to come.”

The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology is the first education provider in the UK to be given New Degree Awarding Powers. The milestone comes just three years after it was founded as an alternative to a traditional degree education during which time Dyson has invested £31.5 million. Dyson’s Undergraduate Engineers pay zero tuition fees and earn a full salary. As well as their academic studies, from day one they learn by doing and contribute to new Dyson technologies to improve lives all around the world

Applications for the September 2022 intake, who’ll receive a Dyson Institute awarded degree apprenticeship, open in Autumn 2021. Read the details here.

Submit your idea to the James Dyson Award.

The 2021 James Dyson Award closes for entries on 30^th June. Find out more about how to enter here .

Throughout this year’s Award, stay up to date with how past winners are engineering our futures on the James Dyson Award Instagram page and the Dyson Newsroom.

Agnes: This year’s INWED theme celebrates women in engineering whose actions may not be the ones that make the headlines, but they are the best, brightest and toughest engineers. They may not be in the limelight but are the ones who work hard in the background, who dare to pilot solutions and create breakthroughs. 

Charlyne: This year’s theme reminds me of the film “Hidden Figures”. It highlights the women who worked in the shadows but were the root of many of our daily inventions. And events like INWED enable us to show the importance of having women in engineering today.

Lucy: INWED is all about showcasing current examples of women pioneering solutions regularly to send a message that women are not just capable but excelling.

Solveiga: I was encouraged to apply by someone who saw potential in my idea. I never expected to win the James Dyson Award but it really propelled my business into existence. There can’t be a better sign for someone to apply than that, take it from me!

Katherine: The Award gives young women a voice for their invention and a platform to break into the industry. It gave me the opportunity to pursue Respia full time as a start-up through educating the world about what’s possible for asthma management if you put resources behind it.

Lucy: Crucially the James Dyson Award is uniquely focused on supporting inventions just out of university in the early stages. If you have sketches, initial ideas or prototypes, submit your application – the Award is looking for an idea that solves a problem, not the final product!

Amanat: At university the James Dyson Award was introduced to us in our classes. We were always encouraged to enter by our professors but didn’t think we stood a chance at being recognised, let alone receive a prize. The Award is well respected in the industrial design world, and we’re honoured to be a part of the group of amazing other winners through this Award.

Judit: I was motivated to take The Blue Box from being a prototype to a product people could use.  To progress my at-home biomedical device for breast cancer screening, I needed to improve our algorithm and fully understand the physiology of the female body. Another consideration was whether the design was intuitive and practical enough for the user. The prize money and exposure from winning the James Dyson Award last year gave me a platform to focus and develop answers to these vital questions through further research and development.