Yewande Akinola
Yewande Akinola MBE (born 1984) is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in sustainable water supplies. She works as Principal Engineer for Laing O'Rourke and hosts television shows about engineering for Channel 4 and National Geographic.
Yewande Akinola | |
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Born | 1985 Ibadan, Nigeria |
Alma mater | Cranfield University University of Warwick |
Employer | Laing O'Rourke |
Known for | Design Engineering |
Education
Akinola was born in 1984 in Nigeria. As a child she designed model-sized houses.[1] Her father, J. M Akinola, was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works of the old Western Region in Nigeria.[2] Akinola studied Engineering Design and Appropriate Technology at the University of Warwick, which she completed in 2007. During her degree she was a mechanical engineer for Thames Water, where she worked on clean water treatment sites. In 2007 she was employed by Arup Group as a Design Engineer designing water supplies and water management systems. Whilst working for Arup, she earned a master's degree from Cranfield University in 2011.[3]
Career
Akinola is interested in developing water and sanitation for underdeveloped countries.[1] She has worked on projects in the UK, Africa, Middle East and East Asia.[4] She is the founder of the Global Emit Project, which mentors young people who are interested in engineering.[5][6]
In 2010 Akinola presented Titanic: The Mission for Channel 4[7] and National Geographic Society.[8] In 2012 she judged the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering competition to create a trophy.[9] That year, she was shortlisted and won the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award.[10] She has also presented for CBeebies and Yesterday TV.[11][12][13] Akinola has appeared on BBC Radio 4.[14] In 2014 Akinola designed a Rainwater Harvesting System.[15][16]
Akinola is a prominent voice in the movement to increase diversity within engineering.[17] In 2013 Akinola worked with Girl Guiding UK to encourage more young women into engineering.[18] She featured in a Royal Academy of Engineering campaign "Designed to Inspire".[19] She was featured on the QEPrize 2014 campaign "Create The Future".[20] She delivered a keynote talk at the 2016 Ada Lovelace day celebration.[21] She featured in the Institution of Engineering and Technology 2017 campaign "Portrait of an Engineer".[22]
Awards
1998 - Nigerian National Mathematics Award[2]
2009 - UK’s Society of Public Health Engineers Award for Young Rising Star[3]
2012 - Exceptional Achiever Award by the Association for Black Engineers (AFBE-UK)[2]
2012 - Young Woman Engineer of the Year from the IET[23]
2013 - Management Today’s top 35 women under 35[24]
2014 - PRECIOUS Award for Outstanding Woman in STEM[25]
References
- "Yewande Akinola". ZODML. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "Yewande Akinola wins Exceptional Achiever award – Arup [UK]". emotanafricana.com. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "2012 Young Woman Engineer of the Year finalists announced - Engineering Opportunities". engopps.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards - IET Conferences". conferences.theiet.org. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "About us – Low Cost Sustainable Housing". lcshr.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "Girl Power: STEM Solutions Towards a Sustainable World conference | Long Road Sixth Form College". www.longroad.ac.uk. 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- Agard, Karlene. "Megaproject Trends For 2019: Yewande Akinola On The Next Frontier In Design". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- "Titanic: The Mission - Channel 4 - Info - Press". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "Trophy 2013 - Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering". Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- IET (2012-12-03), The IET's Young Woman Engineer of the Year (YWE) Award Finalists 2012, retrieved 2018-02-04
- "Yewande Akinola". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "Mile High City, Absolute Genius: Monster Builds - Credits - BBC - CBBC". BBC. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- Yewande Akinola (2018-02-01), Yewande's features, retrieved 2018-02-04
- "Engineer Yewande Akinola explains her most exciting projects., Sheila Hancock; Engineering; Empty nesting and dependent children, Woman's Hour - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM". Patent Scope. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "Interview with Yewande Akinola: Inventer & Design Engineer | Shedistinction". www.shedistinctionblog.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "Yewande Akinola | Women's Engineering Society". www.wes.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- girlguiding (2013-02-21), Yewande Akinola, retrieved 2018-02-04
- Royal Academy of Engineering (2013-06-04), Yewande Akinola - Designed to Inspire - Royal Academy of Engineering, retrieved 2018-02-04
- Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (2014-02-27), Create the Future - Yewande Akinola, retrieved 2018-02-04
- Finding Ada (2016-12-12), Engineering for Global Development & Sustainability, Yewande Akinola at Ada Lovelace Day Live 2016, retrieved 2018-02-04
- "Portrait of an Engineer - Faraday Secondary". faraday-secondary.theiet.org. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards - IET Conferences". conferences.theiet.org. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "35 Women Under 35: Meet your next boss". Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- "Entrepreneur of the year puts prison past behind her". Retrieved 2018-02-04.