Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day 2021 #INWED21
Engineering shapes the world and helps make our planet a better, safer, more innovative and exciting place to be.
Engineering is no longer just a ‘man’s world’. Perceptions, along with demographics, are shifting, and International Women in Engineering Day is a part of the movement to raise the profile of women in engineering, to inspire future generations.
Taking place annually on 23 June, INWED is an international awareness campaign celebrating the work and achievements of women engineers. This year’s theme is ‘Engineering Heroes’.
Our Runcorn site has many talented women who are ‘#EngineeringHeroes’, helping us to change the way we work and ensure we have the processes in place to improve people’s lives.
To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, we caught up with some of our colleagues to learn more about their roles, hear their stories and to find out why they would encourage more women into engineering.
Nadia Komyagina
Senior Site Director, Engineering
How or why did you get into engineering as a career?
Both of my parents were engineers and encouraged me to learn about science from a young age. We’d go to the museum and buy science kits and toys from the gift shop, so even when I was 8 or 9 years old I was experimenting and learning, and I ended up loving it. I chose Chemical Engineering as my major in University and now that I’ve work in this field for more than 14 years, it’s still what I’m most excited about and interested in doing professionally.
Has anyone inspired you during your career?
My career in Teva has encouraged me to explore opportunities in the industry. But it was the combination of my own explorations, along with the guidance from my managers and mentors, that I realised that engineering was the right path for me.
What would you say is the achievement you are most proud of so far in your career?
My greatest achievement was when I managed to get to work on time for once. Just kidding!
My real greatest professional achievement was completing my Bachelor’s degree in 4 years. I had no financial support from my family and had to work a full-time job while pursuing my Chemical Engineering degree. This taught me to prioritise my time, build great habits and stay focused on my goals. I’m proud of this accomplishment and I feel that what I learned gave me a big advantage in my career.
What advice would you give to females who may be considering engineering as a career choice?
There’s no better feeling than waking up every morning and doing something you enjoy while making a difference to the community at the same time. Work hard on your personal development. If it’s what you want and what you find interesting, believe in yourself and forget about any stereotypes. Your knowledge and skills are the most important things. It’s what you do and how you do it that will make you a good engineer.
Additionally, I’m a creative thinker. I think it’s important to approach tasks and issues from different angles, rather than just doing what has always been done. By having an open mind and taking a different approach, I believe you can find new and improved ways of doing things.
As a manager, I like to foster this approach in my team too. It means they feel comfortable suggesting and discussing new ideas, often generating unusual and effective solutions as a result, which is great for team morale and for the business.
Amy Hassett
Operations Engineering Manager
What does your role entail?
My role involves buying, installing and testing new equipment for the introduction of new products/processes, or the continuous improvement of our existing products. My current project is supporting the introduction of Biologics to site on the Pre-Filled Syringe filling machine which is very challenging, but it’s exciting to be a key part of something so novel to site.
Why did you choose engineering as a career?
I studied Physics at University as I always wanted a deeper understanding of the way things worked. After I graduated I had no idea what I wanted to do so applied for a range of jobs in Engineering/Logistics hoping to fall into something. My first job role was working as a Graduate Systems Engineer programming control systems for the chemical and gas industries – this involved a lot of travel to different sites and working on a range of projects to automate manual or semi-automatic processes. I enjoyed the variety this role entailed and the satisfaction of completing a project. From here I applied for a job at Teva where I was supporting the Serialisation project working within Operations, and then naturally moved into the Technical Support department which has recently become the Engineering department as you know it today.
Has anyone inspired you during your career?
The team around me who have such strong technical knowledge, are always ready to help and don’t mind my endless taking the mick regardless of the situation.
What advice would you give to females who are considering engineering as a career choice?
I would tell them to have the confidence to stick to their goals and aspirations regardless of challenges that might face them. I was one of a handful of women studying my course, through to being one of a few women in an engineering based role but, I’ve gained so much confidence and knowledge at every step of the way and only look to increase that going forward.
Rebecca Shepherd
Senior Engineering Team Leader
What does your role entail?
I am the Engineering Team Leader within the Autoinjector and Early Stage Development Cluster of CPD at Teva. The role involves managing the engineering workload across a number of generic and specialty needle based injection device projects. It is my responsibility to ensure that the products are safe and effective through the application of appropriate engineering design controls, analysis and safety risk management. I also manage a team of engineers, as well as dealing with other internal and external contacts including third party suppliers and manufacturers.
Why did you choose engineering as a career?
I was always a very logical and practical person growing up. I did my work experience at the age of 15 in the RAF, and I’ve never looked back! The analytical nature of an engineering career suited my personality very well!
What do you love about engineering?
It’s a very challenging yet satisfying career. Things can change from day to day, and with so many industries that need engineering expertise there is a big choice of paths to follow! There are usually a vast number of problems to investigate and solve, and innovative solutions to develop and implement!
What challenges do women face in engineering?
The number of women entering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) subject careers is improving but is still low, particularly in engineering. The fact it is male-dominated can make STEM less attractive to females, or even damage their confidence. Introducing a strong focus to STEM and hands on experience early in schools is key, along with strong female role models!
What advice would you give to females who are considering engineering as a career choice?
Go for it! It’s such a rewarding career and can teach you so many life skills. It can take you anywhere in the world and if you’re determined to do it, you won’t regret it!
Find out more
- We’re hiring! Are you interested in learning about other roles at Teva? If so, check out why Teva is a great place to work.
- Interested in learning more about our manufacturing expertise? Watch Hikmat, Paul and Amy as they go behind the scenes at our Runcorn manufacturing site and show how they produce 480 million doses of medicine each year.
Original Teva Ref: COB-GB-NP-00031
Date of preparation: June 2021
