Euro MP meets Brunel's women student engineers and designers

Mr Evans, who has special responsibility for London North West which includes the London Boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon, is publicising a report about increasing the numbers of women industry and visited the university in Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, as part of his research.

He first met three Motorsport Engineering degree students who are members of the Brunel Racing team, which takes part in national and international student motorsport competitions.

“Do you get pushed aside by the blokes?“ he asked Tracey Kirk, 23, the team leader, only half-jokingly. “We don't let them do that,“ she responded.

Mr Evans also met several female Design students, including award-winning Tanya Budd, 20, a recent Young Engineer of Britain, whose invention, Hypo-Hoist, a sea-rescue and recovery device for a person overboard is currently being manufactured.

“Looking at the league tables, there is obviously a lack of women in design and engineering, which is a shame,“ said Ms Budd. “It's something that both women and men can excel at. It would be fantastic to see more women in this industry.“


After viewing final-year student designs for the Made in Brunel show, which will be exhibited to industry this summer, Mr Evans commented that he was “tremendously impressed,“ with the high standard. “I've seen some excellent ambassadors for women in industry and Brunel University,“ he said.

Engineering lecturer, Petra Gratton, a former president of Women's Engineering Society (WES), which encourages girls to take up these professions, and supports women pursuing their careers in industry, remarked: “My hope would be that our female engineering students would be an inspiration to anyone who wanted to study the subject.“

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Note to Editors:

For further information, please contact the Brunel University Press Office: Tel: 01895 265585; or email: helen.jacobus@brunel.ac.uk

Robert Evans MEP: 0208 890 5857; email: robertevansmep@yahoo.co.uk