Professional Engineer of the Year to change public perception

The Engineering Excellence Awards, presented recently by Engineers Australia, Sydney Division, are given to finalists who demonstrate outstanding excellence, innovation and best practice. The 2013 Professional Engineer of the Year is Dr Bronwyn Evans, who is working towards her lifelong mission to change the public’s perception of what it means to be an engineer - especially for women.

“When I finished high school, I knew I wanted to do something big, exciting and concrete,” Dr Evans explained. “There were huge misconceptions about women in engineering 30 years ago. It was an exotic career choice for a young woman; however, there was limited leadership potential.

“I entered into the engineering industry with strong mentors, without realising that it would be these few people who would instil leadership qualities in me from the very beginning. People took a chance on me, which has in turn offered so many great opportunities.

“I strongly believe you lead by example, and I would encourage every engineering professional to take on a mentoring role to develop and strengthen the future of our profession.”

Dr Evans noted that the key attributes of engineering - critical thinking, problem solving, intense curiosity and a competitive spirit - are all the ingredients of a great leader. At the same time though, she believes the engineering profession also needs to embrace the other “crucial elements of leadership … strategic thinking, communication and forward thinking.”

“Engineers have great ideas, but without being able to communicate them, they are just ideas,” she said. “It is imperative for future innovation and international collaboration that our engineers are top communicators.”

Through Dr Evans’ 30-year career she has held positions of Senior Vice President of Quality, Clinical and Regulatory at Cochlear; Director of The Warren Centre; Non-Executive Director at John Holland; and Asia Service Manager at GE Healthcare. During this time she has shaped and been shaped by the dramatic changes in the industry.

Speaking of her new title of Professional Engineer of the Year, Dr Evans said, “The Excellence Awards program is greatly respected and, as such, I believe this is a great opportunity to bring to the forefront current issues facing the engineering community.”

Soon to embark on a new venture as CEO of Standards Australia, Dr Evans is keen to see the younger engineers develop as strong leaders in a growing competitive global environment. She also hopes to use her new title as a platform to engage with the engineering profession.