Marcliffe date for AFBE-UK Scotland’s Diversity and Inclusion Awards
Diversity and inclusion successes will finally be celebrated when the AFBE-UK Scotland Awards take place in the north-east of Scotland next month.
Around 250 people are expected to attend the ceremony, which is due to take place at The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa, Aberdeen, on Thursday, October 21, 2021. Colette Cohen OBE, chief executive at the Net Zero Technology Centre, is to deliver the keynote speech.
Operators and energy service companies are among those that have made the shortlist for the awards, which were due to be held last year but were postponed due to Covid-19.
Dr Ollie Folayan, chair of AFBE-UK Scotland which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, said: “Everyone has done an incredible job, especially during these uncertain times. We are thoroughly looking forward to celebrating diversity and inclusion stories in the energy and engineering sectors.”
The finalists are:
Young BME Professional of the Year
Vanessa Burton, assistant engineer at Mott MacDonald
Mimi-Isabella Nwosu, assistant materials engineer at Sir Robert McAlpine
Thaddeus Anim-Soumah, engineering manager, projects at Croda
Company of the Year
Spirit Energy
Baker Hughes
IMRANDD
Outstanding Mentor of the Year
Dr Philip Enegela, materials & corrosion engineering SME at Ineos
Susan Grayson, director, resourcing, talent, D&I and L&D at Spirit Energy
Helen West, head of operational excellence at Thames Water
BME Leader of the Year
Dr Ibiye Iyalla, academic strategic lead at Robert Gordon University
Lydia Balogun Wilson, Clair Ridge operations support team lead at BP
Tony Fong, engineering manager at Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult
A further award will be given to an individual for their commitment to diversity and inclusion. The awards have been sponsored by Royal Air Force, Kellas Midstream, Petrofac, Enquest, BP, Leonardo, Spirit Energy, Shell, Schlumberger, Royal Academy of Engineering and IMRANDD.
Aberdeen-based AFBE-UK Scotland supports all young people, particularly those from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, with career aspirations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Over the years it has worked with thousands of pupils, students and graduates through online seminars and face-to-face events in both the north-east and Edinburgh. The social enterprise is part of AFBE-UK, which is based in London and formed in 2007 with the Scottish branch launching four years later.
The University of Aberdeen’s School of Engineering is the latest organisation to join AFBE-UK Scotland, a platform for sharing ideas and supporting diversity and inclusion strategies. Other partners to sign up recently include the RAF, Subsea 7, Serica Energy and the Mercedes F1 team.
AFBE-UK Scotland provides mentoring programmes to support young people with their STEM careers. This includes its schools programme NextGen, where industry leaders and professionals give advice to pupils through entertaining events; Transition, where industry leaders help aspiring engineering professionals to enter the job market; and Real Projects, where industry professionals share their knowledge and expertise.
These programmes were usually carried out in person, however, they are currently taking place online due to the ongoing Covid-19 issues.
In addition, AFBE-UK Scotland is celebrating its own award success. Dr Folayan has been named a finalist in the Diversity Hero of the Year Award at The Herald & GenAnalytics Diversity Awards 2021, in association with Arnold Clark. The winner will be announced on The Herald’s virtual Awards Room platform on Thursday, October 7 (2021).
For more information on AFBE-UK Scotland, visit: http://www.afbescotland.org/
Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE.
Published: 27-09-2021
