Join us for this event, organised by CIHT West Midlands, to recognise INWED (International Women in Engineering Day). This will be held in-person at the Atkins office in Birmingham. Please find full details below.
In recognition of INWED (International Women in Engineering Day), the CIHT West Midlands region is holding an event, where we will hear from four female engineers:
Farheen Ahmed - Associate Technical Director at Arcadis
Lorna Ball - Associate Director at Arup
Chrysa Gkotsopoulou - Principal Engineer at COWI
Juliana Aristizabal - Asset Management Consultant at Atkins
They will talk about their pathways in the engineering industry, things they have learned, the challenges, and what needs to change now and in the medium to long term future.
This event will also be an opportunity for networking and some light refreshments will be provided. Spaces are limited, so please book your place soon via the 'book a place' button on this page if you wish to attend.
2nd Floor, Townhall Area,
2 Chamberlain Square,
Birmingham,
B3 3AX
This event is open to CIHT Members and non-members and will be of particular interest for engineers of all levels and specialisations.
Farheen Ahmed, Associate Technical Director at Arcadis
Farheen is a chartered engineer with over 18 years’ experience leading large multi-disciplinary design teams in the delivery of major highways projects on the Highways England and Local Authority Network.
Farheen is skilled professional and one of her key skill is delivering technically complex projects in close collaboration with contractors and the Key Supply chain to ensure that designs are developed accurately, efficiently and delivered on time.
She is fully conversant with all relevant design standards. Prior to her current role, Farheen has led and developed teams in the highways scheme design and project management disciplines for various other consultants. Farheen has been responsible for managing and directing the delivery of an extensive programme of scheme designs and professional service activities throughout the process from identification, Value Management to the construction phase. This involves her undertaking careful and collaborative planning and programming with clients, stakeholders and contractors to ensure designs are delivered to budget and to programmes that make efficient and effective use of network access (including minimising scheme congestion and JTR impacts), resource availability and funding.
Farheen has immense experience as technical lead, particularly on complex projects that require multi-disciplinary design inputs, and ensures all scheme designs undergo appropriate levels of review for both buildability and designing for maintenance, conducting Early Contractor Involvement sessions if required to ensure that design produced is fit for purpose and provides a safer environment for public and other stakeholders. She collaborates closely with clients throughout the process to ensure scheme designs comply with design briefs and their expectations.
Lorna Ball, Associate Director at Arup
Lorna is an Associate Director with over 30 years’ experience in the identification, design, construction, operation and maintenance of highways and infrastructure projects. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and has extensive project management experience. Lorna co-ordinates resources to deliver a wide range of complex multi-disciplinary projects for Lenders, Concessionaires, Shareholders, Highway Authorities and International Finance Institutions to time and budget.
She manages a wide range of significant infrastructure projects that include Lenders Technical Advisor on the M25 DBFO as well as multi-disciplinary projects in Uzbekistan. Her recent roles in Uzbekistan include Team Leader for World Bank project ‘Tashkent to Andijan Road’. This is a 360km long road requiring upgrade to expressway standards via a potential PPP model across a range of challenging terrain. She was also Team Leader for Khorezm Roads, an EBRD pre-investment study considering 225km infrastructure and where to best invest $151m.
She has key leadership roles within Arup and influences future advisory, highway and global strategies. Lorna is an active member of the Institution of Civil Engineers; she is a Reviewer, Supervising Civil Engineer (SCE) and sits on the Professional Conduct Panel.
Chrysa Gkotsopoulou, Principal Engineer at COWI
Chrysa is a Principal Engineer with over 10 years' experience in highways design, digital engineering, and project and teams' management. She is a Chartered Engineer with academic background in Civil Engineering and Project Management and she also holds the title of European Engineer (Eur Ing).
Chrysa works as Discipline Lead for various projects of major clients such as HS2, Network Rail, National Highways, and the TfL. In her Technical Lead role, she produces complex engineering solutions in the highways sector using emerging technologies and ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget and are of an excellent quality.
Chrysa also has broad experience in BIM and digital engineering products, processes and industry best practice and she held various BIM roles throughout her career, including the set up and assurance of digital information data and the production of a BIM Capabilities Framework focussing on digital skills development among teams of engineers. As a Technical Lead, she is keen on developing, coaching and mentoring individuals to build a high performing team and maximise talent in digital engineering and innovation.
Juliana Aristizabal, Asset Management Consultant at Atkins
Originally from Colombia Juliana is an Asset Management Consultant working within Atkins' Transportation Business. She has a civil engineering background, and an MSc degree in Digital Asset Management.
Since joining Atkins as a graduate she has been consultancy focussed and uses her technical knowledge to effectively develop solutions for clients, ensuring she clearly articulates the benefits of our projects and collaborating with clients to bring together engineering knowledge and innovative solutions.
Juliana has supported multiple Asset Management projects where she has supported the development of key asset management products such as AM Policy, AM Strategy, AM Plans, AM Maturity assessments, AM Improvement Plans, etc. Her insightful analytical skills and ability to present complex information in a visually appealing way allows team to effectively collaborate and communicate project outcomes.
Got a question?
t: +44 (0)20 7336 1555
e: info@ciht.org.uk