Saheela Mohammed has been honoured during her graduation ceremony as the recipient of the 2017 Chancellor’s Medal. The honour was due to her in outstanding contribution to the Faculty of Engineering, the University and the wider community of Sheffield.
Addressing the gender imbalance of engineering
Saheela is a Student Ambassador for the Department of Bioengineering and she has worked tirelessly to address the gender imbalance of engineering, raising the profile of the engineering as a great career choice for women. Saheela certainly hopes to inspire the next generation of female engineers.
Drawing interested young people into STEM
Professor Stephen Matcher, Bioengineering Course Director at the University of Sheffield, said “During her time at Sheffield, Saheela has been an energetic champion for reaching out to others. She has sought to draw interested young people into STEM through her work on outreach programmes and has enthusiastically joined the battle to get more women involved in all branches of engineering.”
While a student in Sheffield, Saheela also led a collaboration with the student societies’ Women in Engineering and Engineers without Borders to deliver 130 STEM outreach workshops to Year 8 students.
She also played an important role in promoting the children’s book, “Suzie and Ricky - The Crash Landing, created by the Women in Engineering student society at the University of Sheffield. The book introduces children and their families to engineering and was distributed free of charge to hundreds of primary school children throughout South Yorkshire and the UK. The book was also the inspiration of the “Engineering Is…” campaign that launched in at the UK's Houses of Parliament. The "Engineering is" campaign, launched by the University of Sheffield and backed by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield, includes a children’s book written by student engineers from the university as well as online games, lesson plans for teachers and information on different engineering careers.
It aims to challenge perceptions of engineering and inspire primary school children, particularly young girls, to consider studying engineering at university.
Education is so important in making a positive impact
"To be the recipient of the prestigious Chancellor's Medal is a great honour and surprise,” said Saheela. “Education is so important in making a positive impact and I have enjoyed being able to make my contribution through the STEM outreach initiatives offered at the University of Sheffield and hope to continue this in the future. Sheffield will always be a special place for me as I have met the most determined people during my time here, who want each other to succeed. Having worked extensively with the University’s Women in Engineering team, I am incredibly thankful for their support and guidance in providing workshops and networking opportunities to children and university students. There is a gender gap in engineering and I am proud to have played a part in addressing it."
Engineering is a great career
Faculty Director for Women in Engineering, Dr Gwen Reilly said "Saheela has worked with young women at all age groups because it is important that girls realise early on that engineering is a great career, it is encouraging to see that more female school pupils now consider engineering to be a suitable career for them and that must be related outreach work Saheela and her peers are doing to demonstrate the creative and innovative aspects of engineering"
On top of this, Saheela has also participated in several open days, primary and secondary school outreach programmes, mentoring schemes and STEM visits as an inspirational role model and advocate for women in engineering.
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