Kim Dennis, IT Specialist Skill Group Manager with Marconi Communications, Stoke, Coventry, today won the prestigious title of 1998 Young Woman Engineer of the Year.

During a celebratory 21^st anniversary ceremony held in London at the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts Manufacturers and Commerce) 26 year old Kim was presented with a cheque for £1,000, a silver rose bowl and a certificate by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. Runner-up and winner of the Women into Science and engineering (WISE) prize was Catherine Day, a Senior Test Engineer with Millbrook Proving Ground Limited, Millbrook, Bedfordshire. Catherine, 30, received a cheque for £600 donated by WISE and a certificate. A third prize of £200 and a certificate was also awarded to Senior Software Engineer, Amanda Box, 28, who works for Thomson Marconi Solar Limited in Rochester, Kent.

In addition to the main Award, a Mary George Memorial Prize is also offered to younger entrants who, whilst academically eligible have yet to gain experience and responsibility required for the Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award.

Winner of the 1998 Mary George Memorial Prize was 23 year old Angela McConville, a Production and Logistics Controller with Bradley Doublelock Limited, Bingley. West Yorkshire, Angela received a cheque for £300, a silver slaver and a certificate. The runner-up was Jacintha (Jassy) Pyke, 24, an Experimental Engineer with CompAir BroomWade, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Jassy received a cheque for £150 and a certificate.

Jointly sponsored by The Institution of Incorporated engineers (IIE) and The Caroline Haslett Memorial Trust, this year’s Award attracted a substantial number of high calibre contenders with a wide range of knowledge and experience in electronic, electrical and mechanical engineering.

Several of the previous years’ winners, alongside representatives of the companies who sponsored the ten finalists, were introduced to HRH The Princess Royal who, having made the presentations, attended a special reception to celebrate the Award’s 21^st anniversary.

Kim Dennis, 26, from Binley, Coventry

Skill Group Manager for IT Specialists – Marconi Communications, Stoke, Coventry

In 1998, having completed her secondary education at Wolston High School, Coventry, Kim began an OND in Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering at Coventry Technical College under a Technical Apprenticeship with GPT Limited, Stoke, Coventry. Upon completion of the course in 1990, Kim remained at Coventry College as a sponsored student for a further two years to pursue a HND in Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering, qualifying in June 1992.

Having successfully completed her studies, GPT Limited rewarded Kim with her first role as System Support Specialist. In 1995 she moved on to the position of Team Leader for IT Specialists and later progressed to her current as Skill Group Manager for IT Specialists under GPT Limited’s new title – Marconi Communications. As Skill Group Manager, Kim is responsible for the career development, pastoral care and discipline, resource management and workload scheduling of her team of 20 technical specialists. She is also heavily involved in project management which involves preparing project briefs and plans, and monitoring and communicating each project’s progress.