Yewande Akinola (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 | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984 Ibadan, Nigeria |
| Alma mater | Cranfield University University of Warwick |
| Employer | Laing O'Rourke |
| Known for | Design Engineering |
Education
editYewande 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] Yewande 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
editYewande 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 Yewande 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] Yewande Akinola has appeared on BBC Radio 4.[14] In 2014 Yewande Akinola designed a Rainwater Harvesting System.[15][16]
In 2013 Akinola worked with Girl Guiding UK to encourage more young women into engineering.[17] She featured in a Royal Academy of Engineering campaign "Designed to Inspire".[18] She was featured on the QEPrize 2014 campaign "Create The Future".[19] She delivered a keynote talk at the 2016 Ada Lovelace day celebration.[20] She featured in the Institution of Engineering and Technology 2017 campaign "Portrait of an Engineer".[21] In 2021 she was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering[22]
Awards
edit1998 - 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]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Yewande Akinola". ZODML. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "Yewande Akinola wins Exceptional Achiever award – Arup [UK]". emotanafricana.com. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ a b "2012 Young Woman Engineer of the Year finalists announced - Engineering Opportunities". engopps.com. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards - IET Conferences". conferences.theiet.org. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "About us – Low Cost Sustainable Housing". lcshr.com. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Girl Power: STEM Solutions Towards a Sustainable World conference | Long Road Sixth Form College". www.longroad.ac.uk. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ Agard, Karlene. "Megaproject Trends For 2019: Yewande Akinola On The Next Frontier In Design". Forbes. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ "Titanic: The Mission - Channel 4 - Info - Press". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Trophy 2013 - Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering". Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ IET (3 December 2012), The IET's Young Woman Engineer of the Year (YWE) Award Finalists 2012, retrieved 4 February 2018
- ^ "Yewande Akinola". IMDb. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Mile High City, Absolute Genius: Monster Builds - Credits - BBC - CBBC". BBC. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ Yewande Akinola (1 February 2018), Yewande's features, retrieved 4 February 2018
- ^ "Engineer Yewande Akinola explains her most exciting projects., Sheila Hancock; Engineering; Empty nesting and dependent children, Woman's Hour - BBC Radio 4". BBC. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM". Patent Scope. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Interview with Yewande Akinola: Inventer [sic] & Design Engineer | Shedistinction". www.shedistinctionblog.com. September 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ girlguiding (21 February 2013), Yewande Yewande Akinola, retrieved 4 February 2018
- ^ Royal Academy of Engineering (4 June 2013), Yewande Akinola - Designed to Inspire - Royal Academy of Engineering, retrieved 4 February 2018
- ^ Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (27 February 2014), Create the Future - Yewande Akinola, retrieved 4 February 2018
- ^ Finding Ada (12 December 2016), Engineering for Global Development & Sustainability, Yewande Akinola at Ada Lovelace Day Live 2016, retrieved 4 February 2018
- ^ "Portrait of an Engineer - Faraday Secondary". faraday-secondary.theiet.org. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Academy celebrates first new Fellows elected under Fit for the Future diversity initiative". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ "The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards - IET Conferences". conferences.theiet.org. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "35 Women Under 35: Meet your next boss". Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Entrepreneur of the year puts prison past behind her". Retrieved 4 February 2018.