Posted on June 21, 2024 / in Primary Engineer

CEO Spotlight: Celebrating International Women In Engineering Day with Susan

International Women in Engineering Day highlights the positive impact that women in engineering have had on our society and everyday lives.

We are catching up with our Chief Executive and Founder, Susan, to get her insight into her experience and to celebrate #INWED24.

We know that early engineering engagement is so important particularly for girls, tell us more.

Have you read a book called Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez? It is one of my favourite ‘angry’ books – clearly illustrating why we need more women to be involved in the design and make stages of everything we use!

Our work at Primary Engineer is about empowering girls and women from all backgrounds and experiences to feel capable, have a voice and be part of those decision-making processes. Importantly though we do not do that in isolation as we need to ensure that the boys know girls can be engineers too. So, all our activities are aimed at all pupils together.

At the end of the day, we know that not all the girls and boys for that matter will choose to go into engineering, but we do know that they will know what an engineer is and does and that they will carry an engineering mindset into whatever career path they take – and that’s a great outcome. Plus, of course, many more will follow an engineering career too!

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher, but I was always looking at business ideas too.

As a kid I have always painted and drawn but at school I didn’t think I could turn that into a career until I walked round the Graphic Design Department at the University of Central Lancashire – it just felt like I had come home!

Graphic Design involves a lot of creative problem-solving, illustration, design – taking ideas and making them clear and accessible to others. I loved that! After some time in industry, I came back to the idea of teaching completed a PGCert and worked in a Secondary School in Chorley for 8 years.

If you had to explain what you do to a school pupil, what would you say?

We take engineering into classrooms across the UK and I help design the way we do that. I help find the links to the people and industries that support us to work with more and more schools – but most importantly we help pupils see the opportunities open to them through engineering in all its incredible sectors.
Every day is different, every day we hear a stories about the impact of our work and every day I get to work with the best group of people!

What does a typical week look like for you?

Yes, there’s the usual morning coffee, lots of emails and meetings but there’s also such variety and excitement, a typical week is anything but typical!

Sometimes I’m based in the office or travelling around the UK for events and conversations with a range of people, whether that’s for product development, internal planning, or talking to people who want to learn more about what we do.

Anyone can have a conversation but to truly listen to what people are saying and understand what they are trying to achieve is something else entirely. I think I’ve always been a good listener even as a child.

Primary Engineer has a long history, do you have a favourite moment?

That’s a difficult question! How can I possibly choose one in particular above the rest when so much has happened. Honestly, too many have been extraordinary. What I do take great joy in is when I hear the buzz in the office when any one of the team shares a story from a pupil, a teacher, an engineer or an event – those moments without a doubt are fantastic!

Last question. What’s one bit of advice you’d give yourself when you were little?

It will be alright in the end. And if it’s not alright, it’s not the end.