Marking International Day of Women and Girls in Science

My time at DETC so far

This month marks my two-year anniversary at DETC which also coincides with International Day of Women and Girls in Science yesterday (Sunday 10 February), and what a journey it has been! As a graduate straight out of university, I was eager to get as much experience as possible. I’ve been privileged enough to work with a fantastic and supportive team, which mixes years of experience and knowledge, with new approaches and state of the art technologies. I’ve seen DETC double from six engineers to now a team of twelve, with over fifty affiliate organisations all with the same mission of using digital tools and techniques to position the UK as a global centre of excellence for automotive development.

During my time at DETC, I’ve been involved in projects such as Roadmapping the future of the UK Automotive Industry, Virtually Connected Hybrid Vehicle (VCHV), and DYNamic Analysis Modelling and Optimisation of GDI Engine (DYNAMO).

What I’m working on now: highlights

After undertaking an industry-wide requirements capture, the delivery team and I are planning a project proposal. Still under wraps, we can only reveal that it will involve product development process optimisation and extensive use of cutting edge digital tools. The consortium will consist of OEMs and Tier 1s at its core, with the aim of including contributors from across the UK automotive sector.

This is the largest project DETC has ever attempted, and will, hopefully, have a significant impact on the productivity and efficiency of automotive product development across the whole UK industry. We aim to keep the generated IP within DETC, however open for use to all. Who knows, perhaps the project outcome may even benefit the wider community in other sectors, and internationally!

In preparation for this project, the DETC, in collaboration with the Digital Catapult Centre, are running an open innovation workshop, called ‘Pit Stop’.  The activity is designed to accelerate the growth of new ideas, and it will bring together automotive companies, experts and high calibre start-ups, in a secure and creative environment. The aim is to identify new and emerging UK based start-up technologies, that can help the UK automotive industry reduce the time it takes to design and test a new vehicle.

What I most enjoy about my role

I thoroughly enjoy working in engineering, because there are so many problems in this world that can be eradicated by science, technologies, engineering and mathematics (STEM). I have seen the impact of this through numerous initiatives and projects which benefit the wider community for generations.

An example of our work, is the DETC School’s Outreach programme, that I am heavily involved in. We visit local schools and those across the country to try to inspire young people to choose subjects leading to a future in digital engineering. Most recently, we’ve awarded a local primary school a Green Goblin kit car, so students can work together to design, build and race two electric cars in the Greenpower competition in Dunton, July 2018. The students will receive engineering support and be mentored by the DETC team and our affiliate companies on a regular basis.

I personally think it’s important to engage with young students especially female students, as they are next generation of engineers, scientists and innovators. I hope we can inspire them to pursue STEM careers, as STEM is not bound by race, ethnicity, gender, politics, or stereotypes. It allows all individuals to become members of a global community, which is an integral part of the legacy that DETC will deliver.

- This blog post was written by Simone Pereira. This blog post is intended for internal and external use -