Five women are competing for the prestigious Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award. The award, sponsored by The Institution of Incorporated Engineers, The Caroline Haslett Memorial Trust and supported by BT and Ford Motor Company, will be presented to the winner by Sir Digby Jones, director-general of the CBI, on 17 January 2006 at the BT Centre, London.
This year's finalists are:
• Elizabeth Cornes, engineering technician, Network Rail
• Rachael Johnson, automation maintenance engineer, Royal Mail
• Sara Pullen, crew systems engineer, BAE SYSTEMS
• Laura Gray, working exhibit technician, Leicester County Council
• Abigail Sprankling, captain, REME
The winner of the main award will receive a cheque for £1,000, donated by BT, a silver rose bowl and a certificate; while the runner-up will also receive a certificate and The WES (Women's Engineering Society) Prize of £500. The winner of the Mary George Memorial Prize (offered to a younger entrant who, while academically eligible, has yet to gain the experience and responsibility required for the main award) will receive a cheque for £500, a silver salver and a certificate.
In addition to these awards, the Ford Women Into Science and Engineering (Wise) Prize will also be presented. This prize recognises the achievements and commitment of a female engineering student at a UK university who is in her penultimate year of study.
The sponsors Ford Motor Company and Wise wish to attract more young women to study and commit to engineering as a career path.
Kiara Harper, currently studying Automotive Engineering at Kingston University, is the winner of the Ford Wise Prize 2005. She will receive a cheque for £750, donated by Ford Motor Company.
