Electronics Weekly
Continuing our series on the latest EW BrightSparks of 2024, we profile Jessica Ross a Design Engineering Graduate Apprentice at Leonardo who has been studying at Strathclyde University.
Achievements
Jessica highlighted her belief that there are numerous paths to excel within your career as an engineer. She is currently a Graduate Apprentice at Leonardo, so she is completing her engineering degree alongside working within the business three days a week.
At Leonardo she has already taken responsibility for her own projects, as a second year graduate apprentice. Recently, for example, she completed a feasibility study to improve the safety of open beam working. Her study was accepted by the chief engineer and programme leaders, with her suggestions for improvements implemented on the factory floor.
Jessica told us she was proud of this project, as it received a significant amount of investment and was acknowledged as a key improvement in health and safety around open beam working.
In conjunction with her studies and work commitments, Jessica also competes for Scotland at hockey, most notably at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the European Championships 2023. At the time of entering for EW BrightSparks, she was preparing for the European Qualifiers and the Nations Cup. Indeed, Jessica helped to clinch the National Championship for the Scottish Hockey Team not long before the EW BrightSparks awards.
She told us:
“It is a privilege to be able to compete at the highest level in sport, but it requires a huge amount of sacrifice and hard work external to my studying and working. By showing others that a dual career in sport and engineering is possible, I hope I am able to become a leader who inspires more young girls to take part in sport and excel within their career at the same time. Many studies have shown that taking part in sport improves grades, school attendance and classroom behaviours. By inspiring more young girls to take part in sport I hope that can indirectly advance the next generation of engineers, ensuring the industry is diverse and inclusive.”
Jessica also highlighted that her own path into engineering was not a direct one. She first completed a Bachelors of Design after leaving school. And then she worked as an Interior Designer before making the change to engineering.
She believes she has found a unique means of channelling all that she has learned into her work as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) Ambassador in the community, by mixing sports and science to offer a fresh perspective.
“I believe that to close the STEM skills gap, we should challenge the outdated and inaccurate stereotypes that discourage people from pursuing engineering by showing that an engineering career can work alongside other personal goals. I offer a unique perspective to this narrative, as I compete at the highest level in international sport alongside an engineering career. I truly believe that there is an intrinsic link between excelling in sport and excelling academically, which is why I combine a hockey taster with a STEM outreach session. Within my STEM outreach sessions, I use my creative skills and previous degree in design to make electronics more accessible to those who don’t have a typical maths/physics type brain.”
She told us of the need to move away from the idea that there is a ‘right’ way of learning and thinking:
“When I was at school I didn’t complete any science subjects and I scraped a pass in Maths. I was always a creative thinker, enjoying subjects such as Art, Music and English. Even at a young age I would have never considered that engineering could have been a viable option for me, simply from my perception of the career. I would like to become a champion of changing that impression, as now I understand that curiosity, creative problem solving and communication skills are central to innovation in engineering. By understanding my learning style, (through a few years of trial and error) I now find that I am able to achieve high marks in my maths classes at university, something which I would have never believed was possible when I was at school.”
Electronics Industry ViewpointStewart Edmondson, CEO of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF), also shared his viewpoint on Jessica’s entry, which he described as an “impressive all-rounder”.
Stewart highlighted her taking responsibility for her own projects and how her study – to improve the safety of open beam working – was accepted by the chief engineer and programme leaders, with suggestions for improvements implemented on the factory floor.
Stewart also highlighted her leadership and technical skills and “worthwhile STEM outreach activities”.
Community
Jessica’s community contributions involve completing STEM outreach work in schools within her local area.
During her STEM outreach work, Jessica told us, she combines an introductory hockey session with a STEM workshop. This is to show how a sporting career and engineering career can work together.
“I believe, to close the STEM skills gap, we should challenge the outdated and inaccurate stereotypes that discourage people from pursuing engineering by showing that an engineering career can work alongside other personal goals. I offer a unique perspective to this narrative as I compete at the highest level in international sport alongside an engineering career. I truly believe that there is an intrinsic link between excelling in sport and excelling academically which is why I combine a hockey taster with a STEM outreach session.”
For example, within her STEM outreach sessions she uses her creative skills and previous degree in design to make electronics more accessible to those who may not appreciate maths or physics type brain.
“When I was at school, I didn’t credit myself with being academically gifted enough to study engineering, however I failed to realise that I already had many of the skills needed for the job such as problem solving, visualising solutions and communication with others. This is the main reason I attempt to cater my STEM sessions to as many different learning styles as possible.”
She shared how passionate she is about showing how creative a career in engineering can be. “A university education is imperative to teach the technical skills and knowledge to become an engineer. However, I would like to champion the skills needed to think outside the box and generate creative solutions to push forward engineering advancements. In the future, I would like to inspire both young women in engineering and young women in sport, to show that an engineering career is accessible to anyone who is willing to work for it.”
Congratulations to Jessica Ross!
See also: Elektra Awards 2024 – The Winners
