b'Member News March 2023 13Early careerMaking connectionsAlso in attendance at the Young Professionals (YP) Summit in November was Zara Wellington-Hacker BEng MIET, who shares her experience below.During November, I had the privilege ofgave an inspiring overview of their careers attending the IET YP Summit in London,and involvement with the IET. They both which pulled together engineers from acrossmentioned the famous phrase you only the world into one room. It was a jam- get out what you put in as both had seen packed event. Following a couple of intensetheir careers and aspirations go fromZara Wellington-Hacker BEng MIETrounds of Scissors, Paper, Rock we brokestrength to strength as a result of beingno doubt that all the people in that room away into smaller groups and discussedinvolved with the IET. will carry on Professor Bob Cryans parting the IET community on both the local andmessage to Inspire, Mentor and Lead.technical levels, how the IET fosters theseI will speak on behalf of all the communities, how we can be involved andattendees and say the copious amountsI could not thank the IET enough for how we, as the young generation, see theof networking opportunities throughoutorganising this event and giving me the future of the IET communities. the event were priceless. The caliber ofopportunity to attend. Following the engineers from various disciplines wasSummit, I look forward to being involved It was great to hear from Likhitasecond to none, everyone was passionatewith the IET on the local level and building Chandrashekara and Joe Gibson whoabout creating a promising future. I haveon the connections I have made.Aged 18-35? Join the Young professional network today: theiet.org/young-professionalsIET Future Talent AwardsIn the summer of 2022, more than 120 of the 1600+ studentsZeena graduated in summer 2022 with MEng in Computing and apprentices awarded IET Diamond Jubilee Scholarships andand is now a software Engineering Horizons Bursaries* graduated or completed their studies. engineer with Microsoft.Zeena Patel, a Diamond JubileeVolunteering and promoting 78%Scholar, was supported by STEM to peers and to were working in or goingthe Royal Commission for younger people is part of on to post-graduatethe Exhibition of 1851. our expectations of award study in engineeringrecipients. Zeena became and technology bya mentor to another September last year. undergraduate wanting to The award was not onlylearn more about tech to They took up roles in a hugefinancially significant butgain a deeper understanding range of companies from Tataalso motivated me toof her own interests and Steel and Hoare Lea to techwork hard and surpassthe available opportunities start-ups.expectations. It gavewithin the field. me the confidence toThis scholarship has allowed Our awards, many of whichapproach large companiesme to start my exciting are donor funded, make a bigand seek experience. journey into a career in difference to students andengineering and obtain my apprentices aspiring to befull potential in this field.engineers. Zeena Patel* Diamond Jubilee Scholarships andFind out more about how you can support aspiring engineersEngineering Horizons Bursaries arelike Zeena through the IET Futures Fund theiet.org/futuresfundnow known as Future Talent Awards.'