Spotlight on Scholarships: Kate Lucas
We’re proud to shine a spotlight on our members and tell their career stories. This time we share the journey of Kate Lucas, IGEM Scholarship Recipient
When Kate Lucas applied for an IGEM Scholarship, she was interested in hydrogen-powered transport and keen to find a way into the engineering industry. She now reflects on how the award helped build her confidence and opened up opportunities as she progressed into higher education.
Having excelled at maths alongside physics and history at A level, Kate said: “I had always liked solving problems, so engineering was a natural fit.”
“I then studied engineering at the University of Cambridge, which is general for the first two years, followed by two years of specialisation. I chose to specialise in manufacturing engineering, and the course covered a range of interesting topics – not only on the technical side but also looking at managerial and policy issues. It also involved several practical projects. For example, I was able to work with a company to identify ways to reduce their energy usage.”
After her studies at Cambridge, Kate was awarded a Choate Fellowship for a year’s postgraduate study. Kate chose to study at Harvard University in the US. The fellowship offered the freedom to choose any courses, for which Kate is currently studying history, poetry and art, as well as engineering and manufacturing.
Kate said: “While I am in the US, I hope to also take the opportunity to travel and conduct site visits at interesting factories and engineering locations. After this year, I hope to return to a technical engineering role, inspired by a year of thinking deeply about what it means to make things, and what it means to be human in an age of robots.”
Kate was in Year 13 when she saw that IGEM offered scholarships and at the time was particularly interested in hydrogen powered transport. She was also interested in becoming a member of a professional institution, saying: “I didn’t know anyone who was an engineer, so it seemed like a great way to get an insight into the industry.
“When I opened the email that told me I had been successful in my application, it was so exciting and gave me a great boost in confidence before starting university.
“The scholarship has benefitted me in many ways and has allowed me to explore potential career paths. For example, IGEM organised a call with a company making robots for use in the gas industry, which was a great intersection of my interests. The funding has allowed me to say yes to so many exciting opportunities to deepen my understanding of engineering. When applying for jobs, I found that employers really liked to see that I had been awarded the scholarship, and it was a great way to demonstrate engagement with engineering institutions.”
Kate added: “I think it is an exciting time for the future of the industry, especially with the recent release of the government’s Industrial Strategy and welcome investment in projects like HyNet.
Looking ahead, Kate reflected on the wider direction of the energy transition and her future in the industry. She said: “The UK’s change in energy mix over my lifetime is a great success story that I think we really should celebrate more, particularly becoming the first G7 country to phase out coal. But there is still so much more left to do – both in terms of practical implementations of existing technologies, and research into new and innovative ways to generate and use energy, particularly gas.
“As I move forward in my career, I hope that being an IGEM member will allow me to access a network of relevant people and companies. I would love to engage more in the future with IGEM visits to sites of interest.”
Kate concluded: “I am grateful to everyone at IGEM for their support over the course of my degree. Interactions with large organisations can sometimes feel a bit cold and impersonal, but with IGEM I’ve had an incredible experience from start to finish. It has always felt like people have genuinely cared about the work they do – both in supporting members, and in moving the industry forwards.
Kate encourages those who are thinking about applying for a scholarship to find out more. She said: “Definitely go for it. If you don’t apply then you won’t get it, and even the application process is a useful way to reflect on your experiences so far and what your interests might be.”