Webinar: Being an Inspiring STEM Ambassador & Toolbox 5 – Ball Run

Alexandra Knight: Founder, STEMazing Ltd

Alex is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IMechE with over 15 years’ experience of working in Industry. She is the Founder of Stemazing – a social enterprise dedicated to inspiration and inclusion in STEM. Alex is passionate about supporting others in STEM to shine as confident, visible role models and inspire our future generations of innovators and problem-solvers. She is also a Visiting Professor with the Royal Academy of Engineering at Brunel University London and a Trustee on the Board of the Women’s Engineering Society. Alex won the We Are The City Champions Award in 2020 for her work to champion diversity and inclusion in STEM.

John Butler: Education Officer, IMechE Midland Region

John Butler is Education Officer for the Midland Region of IMechE.  He commenced his volunteering activities as a young engineer at the start of his career.  Many years of travelling overseas on international business development stopped this activity but he was able to re-start again around 20 years ago since when he has been Midland Region Chair, sat on Council as the chair of its co-ordinating committee and a volunteer at many Institution events.

Engineering is a passion for John and he is keen to promote this to the next generation.  Over recent years he has organised and run many activities at schools, shows and within companies. These are mainly hands-on, interactive programmes which engage with children of all ages and shows them basic engineering principles whilst having fun.

He says, “Volunteering is giving back for some of the rich experiences gained within engineering”.

Sandra Mulligan: Senior Business Development Manager, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Based in Glasgow, Sandra guides engineers all over Scotland, in industry and academia, through the process of gaining registration. This includes encouraging students & apprentices to sign up for their free membership to coaching engineers to achieve Chartered, Incorporated or Engineering Technician registration and Fellowship.

This is done through presentations, workshops, seminars and one to one advice sessions throughout the Region both as in company events and also as open events. These events provide members of the engineering profession many opportunities to access guidance, support and advice either face to face, over the phone or via email and webinars.

She also advises organisations on how to set up the Supported Registration Scheme on site and/or get their training schemes approved or accredited by the Institution. Sandra also runs mentor training sessions and networking events for industry contacts.

Having worked in the region for a long time, Sandra has a wide network of personal contacts and has close links with the volunteer committees. Frequent positive feedback confirms that she carries out her business development role with a high level of competence and professionalism.

Sandra particularly enjoys visiting companies and seeing the exciting careers that exist in engineering in Scotland today. She feels fortunate to meet a variety of engineers from a huge variety of industry sectors and finds it rewarding to help engineers progress their career goals and ambitions.

Sandra graduated from Trinity College Dublin, and went on to hold a variety of sales and marketing roles in the corporate hospitality sector, working with Virgin Hotels and Sodexho before joining IMechE.

Tom Owen: Senior Business Development Manager - International, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Tom Owen joined the Institution as International Business Development Manager in early 2015, and is part of the global business development team focused on membership development internationally.

Tom introduces new members from academia and industry, with engineers at all stages of their career, from the seven international regions of the Institution: Europe, Middle East and Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Southern Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

He promotes the benefits of membership and professional registration through relationships with key contacts, engineering companies and academic institution. He supports and advises engineers through the process of professional registration, and provides guidance and advice to candidates and their employers. This is possible through a suite of tailored workshops, presentations, and one2one support.

He enjoys travelling and building relationships with companies all over the world. He works closely with the Hong Kong office to provide membership support for new and existing members, working towards membership and professional registration.

Tom has a long running fascination with engineering, and when younger he was an air cadet. He loved flying and understanding the engineering behind the aeroplanes. He is particularly interested in how new technology from aerospace and materials is applied to sports; from Formula 1 racing cars to tennis racquets. This led him to do a degree in Sports Technology at the University of Bath, which gave him a well-rounded engineering background.

He went on to work at a water and environmental professional body, most recently working as the Head of Membership and Professional Development. He has extensive experience supporting engineers and scientists to gain membership and registration, whilst supporting Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and training.

Meeting people who are passionate about what they do is an exciting part of his job. Tom strongly believes that university education is not an endpoint, and continuing to learn and professionally develop is vital to engineers and technicians.

Isobel Pollock-Hulf: Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, ,

Isobel is an IMechE Past President and currently Chair of the IMechE Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Isobel is also Chair of the IMechE Nominations Committee and Chair of the IMechE Pension Scheme.

Isobel graduated from Imperial College, London in 1976 and became FIMechE in 1991.

As Patron of WES (Women’s Engineering Society), she works with WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) and is one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering announced in 2016.

Appointed OBE in 2015 for services to mechanical engineering. Awarded Honorary DSc from Huddersfield University in 2004 and from the University of Leeds in 2016. FCGI in 2010 for services to engineering and in 2016, awarded Honorary Fellow of the IET.

Isobel continues to promote the importance of measurement through her BEIS & NPL appointments and as a British Hallmarking Council member.

Zoe Holland: ,, ,