Nike Folayan

Dr Nike Folayan MBE (born 1978) is a Chartered Engineer and a Telecommunications Engineering Consultant. She is co-founder and chair of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers[1] that campaigns for more ethnic diversity in UK engineering.

Nike Folayan
Born1978
Alma materUniversity of Kent University of Sheffield
EmployerParsons Brinckerhoff
Known forAssociation for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK)

Education and career

Folayan received an MEng in electronic engineering from the University of Kent, and earned her PhD in antenna design at the University of Sheffield.[2]

After her PhD, Folayan joined Mott MacDonald as a Communications Engineer.[3] Here she "worked on the radio design for a number of tunnels as well as communications systems such as CCTV and public address systems".[4] She joined Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2013, working as a Systems Integration Consultant.[4] She worked on major infrastructure projects including CrossRail and the upgrade of Victoria Station.[5] In 2016 she was promoted to Associate Director for Communications and Control within the Railways Division of WSP.[6]

Campaign for diversity

In 2008, Folayan won the Precious Award for "Inspiring Leader within the Workplace".[7][8][9] In 2012, Dr Folayan was featured in Powerlist: Britain’s 100 most influential people of African and Caribbean heritage.[10] She was the keynote speaker at the Higher Education Academy STEM annual conference in 2014.[11] She is a trustee at the Engineering Development Trust and a member of the Science Council and Transport for London diversity groups.[12][13][14] She contributed to the Royal Academy of Engineer's diversity strategy, In 2017, Folayan spoke at the Institution of Engineering and Technology's "9 % is Not Enough" conference.[15]

The Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers

Nike Folayan and her brother Ollie Folayan founded the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) in 2007 and remain as the organisation's chairperson.[16] In 2011 Vince Cable, then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills attended the AFBE-UK’s seminar on infrastructure in the UK.[17][18] At the time, he recognised AFBE-UK as "an excellent example of encouraging partnership between stakeholders in the engineering communities and supporting young people as they embark on a range of exciting career paths in science and technology".[17] In 2012 AFBE-UK launched "Making Engineering Hot", a video campaign which promotes engineering to the BME community.[19] In 2016 she coordinated "Transition", which saw students from universities across London take part in a series of employability workshops, CV assessments, mock interviews and engineering challenges.[20][21]

References
  1. "Home - Association For BME Engineers (AFBE-UK)". afbe.org.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  2. "A sense of belonging in engineering - Create the Future". Create the Future. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  3. "Young, gifted and black". Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  4. "People integration systems - The IET". www.theiet.org. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  5. "Female engineers: The women solving real-world problems". The Independent. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  6. "A fascination for TVs inspired me to be an engineer: Nike Folayan - Melan Mag". Melan Mag. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  7. "Enterprising women shine at Precious Awards - Ethnic Now". www.ethnicnow.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  8. "Precious Awards 2008". preciousawards.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. preciousonline (2 December 2008), Precious Awards 2008 | Nike Folayan | Mott Macdonald UK | Winner :: Inspiring Leader within the Workplace, retrieved 20 January 2018
  10. "About Us - Association For BME Engineers (AFBE-UK)". afbe.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. "STEM Careers for All? Diversity In Engineering | Higher Education Academy". www.heacademy.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. "4 volunteers we want to thank - The Science Council". The Science Council. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  13. "Trustees | etrust". www.etrust.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  14. "Association Established To Give Black and Minority Ethnic People Access to Opportunities in STEM Celebrates 10th Anniversary in London". Ariatu Public Relations. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  15. "#9PercentIsNotEnough Conference - IET Events". events.theiet.org. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  16. "About Us - Association For BME Engineers (AFBE-UK)". afbe.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  17. "AFBE-UK Scotland | AFBE-UK Scotland". www.afbescotland.org. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  18. "Vince Cable to speak on Engineering Infrastructure in the UK". PRLog. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  19. AFBE UK (4 August 2012), Making Engineering Hot 2012 Careers Day.mov, retrieved 20 January 2018
  20. AFBE UK (1 August 2016), AFBE-UK's Transition in London, retrieved 20 January 2018
  21. Tideway. "Transition - Tideway helps redress the balance of our industry workforce - Tideway | Reconnecting London with the River Thames". Tideway. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
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