Supporting dedicated students

Sabrina Singh is a technology associate at Morgan Stanley, who first realised the benefits the IET could offer during her university studies when she received our Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (now part of the IET Future Talent Awards).

A big part of the scholarship, which supports dedicated students working towards a career in engineering, was that it granted her membership for the duration of her four-year course. During this time, Sabrina was able to get involved in a range of exciting opportunities, including volunteering for our education programme, FIRST® LEGO® League, and attending several talks at IET London: Savoy Place.

After graduating in 2021 with a master’s in bioengineering from the University of Cambridge, and despite enjoying her degree, Sabrina had already decided that a career in software engineering was her calling when she did a software engineering internship after her first year of university.

The Scholarship also created opportunities

Being awarded the scholarship not only provided financial support but also opened doors to numerous opportunities with us. “Having seen all the events and networking opportunities available to IET members, it was an easy decision to keep my membership after graduation,” she says. “Personally, I do want to achieve chartership, and as a software engineer, I believe the IET is the best place for me to do that.”

Continuing her membership, she joined the London Young Professionals (YP) Network, and after attending the YP Conference in November 2022, was inspired to apply to the Young Professionals Committee (YPC), on which she now acts as the skills-based representative.

A highlight for Sabrina was attending the YPC meeting in Hong Kong. The three-day meeting involved updates from various members and feedback sessions on what they’re working on, as well as site visits to the IVE engineering lab and water treatment works.

YP Network was a significant part of her professional growth

Her involvement with the YP Network has been a significant part of her professional growth as it has not only given her the chance to develop skills that she may not have learned in the workplace but has allowed her to elevate the voices of young professionals.

“It’s important that the voices of the YPs are represented to the broader IET. It will be the current YPs that will oversee the evolution of engineering, and I think it’s a really pivotal time to make sure our opinions are heard.”

The opportunities to network and meet such a variety of people has been the best thing about her membership. From organising and chairing a panel discussion on AI in London, to representing us at the Smeatonian Society discussion dinner, these experiences have allowed Sabrina to cross paths with people from all types of engineering backgrounds and make invaluable professional connections. Despite no longer working in the bioengineering field, she also loves that her membership gives her a way to keep up to date with the latest news and events from the sector.

Sabrina’s advice to other young professionals starting out on their IET journey would be to embrace the evolving definition of engineering and make the most of the opportunities on offer. “Don’t feel like the IET isn’t for you. Even though I don’t work in a ‘standard’ engineering sector, I am still getting so much value out of my IET membership.”