AWE Engineers receive prestigious Whitworth Scholarship Awards

Three AWE engineers have been awarded prestigious Whitworth Scholarship Awards for their excellence in the field. The Awards – named after the visionary engineer, entrepreneur and inventor, Sir Joseph Whitworth – recognise exceptional academic ability, outstanding practical skills and the qualities required to succeed in the industry.

Award-winners Katrina, Christopher and David attended an award ceremony last week to receive their awards at the London HQ of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, alongside other talented engineers from across the UK.

Senior Facility Engineer and Head of Profession for Control & Instrumentation, Christopher, said: “I am so honoured to win this award, especially as the other candidates are of such high quality. I am really excited to join the Society as a Scholar and meet all the amazing people that make it possible.”

Katrina, Senior Technical Sponsor, who started her career as an apprentice in a small manufacturing company on her local industrial estate, said: “I am very proud to be given this opportunity. The Award Holders and Society members are all individuals who have shown excellence in their behaviours, visions, achievements and support within Engineering.”

Alongside financial support for their research, the Award winners are given the means to connect with previous Whitworth Scholars and other newly successful Award holders.

Senior Manufacturing Engineer, David, said: “It is an honour to have the opportunity to be associated with the great Sir Joseph Whitworth. This gives access to a group of like minded, vocationally trained engineers promoting UK engineering, which is awesome.

I am planning on making the most from the networking activities open to Scholars of the Society. I am hoping the experience and knowledge shared will help me to grow as an engineer, and give insight into how we can further improve our engineering at AWE.”

Katrina added: “I aim to make the most of the resources available through this award to enhance the skills I have already gained through my years in industry, and explore the network of people who can provide insight and guidance from the decades of experience they have achieved. I hope I can use this to help other aspiring Engineers who come from a similar background.”

For the Award winners, this success has come after years of hard work and fascination in engineering, some initially joining AWE as part of our apprentice scheme.

David said: “I took on an engineering GCSE at secondary school to play with these strange machines called lathes and mills. I loved the concept of manufacture and creating precision assemblies from parts that I made. I was hooked and applied for an AWE Apprenticeship to formally learn the craft”.

Three AWE engineers have been awarded prestigious Whitworth Scholarship Awards for their excellence in the field. The Awards – named after the visionary engineer, entrepreneur and inventor, Sir Joseph Whitworth – recognise exceptional academic ability, outstanding practical skills and the qualities required to succeed in the industry.

Award-winners Katrina, Christopher and David attended an award ceremony last week to receive their awards at the London HQ of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, alongside other talented engineers from across the UK.

Senior Facility Engineer and Head of Profession for Control & Instrumentation, Christopher, said: “I am so honoured to win this award, especially as the other candidates are of such high quality. I am really excited to join the Society as a Scholar and meet all the amazing people that make it possible.”

Katrina, Senior Technical Sponsor, who started her career as an apprentice in a small manufacturing company on her local industrial estate, said: “I am very proud to be given this opportunity. The Award Holders and Society members are all individuals who have shown excellence in their behaviours, visions, achievements and support within Engineering.”

Alongside financial support for their research, the Award winners are given the means to connect with previous Whitworth Scholars and other newly successful Award holders.

Senior Manufacturing Engineer, David, said: “It is an honour to have the opportunity to be associated with the great Sir Joseph Whitworth. This gives access to a group of like minded, vocationally trained engineers promoting UK engineering, which is awesome.

I am planning on making the most from the networking activities open to Scholars of the Society. I am hoping the experience and knowledge shared will help me to grow as an engineer, and give insight into how we can further improve our engineering at AWE.”

 Katrina added: “I aim to make the most of the resources available through this award to enhance the skills I have already gained through my years in industry, and explore the network of people who can provide insight and guidance from the decades of experience they have achieved. I hope I can use this to help other aspiring Engineers who come from a similar background.”

For the Award winners, this success has come after years of hard work and fascination in engineering, some initially joining AWE as part of our apprentice scheme.

David said: “I took on an engineering GSCE at secondary school to play with these strange machines called lathes and mills. I loved the concept of manufacture and creating precision assemblies from parts that I made. I was hooked and applied for an AWE Apprenticeship to formally learn the craft”

“From putting me through an apprenticeship, to sponsoring me for further education to giving me access to professional mentors – I would not be the engineer I am today without AWE’s people.”

Christopher added: “I have always enjoyed science and understanding how things work. My parents always got me involved in DIY around the house from childhood, which I enjoyed. Following work-shadowing with my uncle who was a maintenance engineer, and a school organised work experience placement at the AWE Skills Academy, I was convinced that engineering is what I wanted to spend my life doing.

I joined AWE at sixteen as an apprentice, straight out of school. Since then they have funded and supported every qualification I have undertaken, from my First Diploma in engineering to the Master’s degree I am currently studying.”

This year’s Award winners join other exceptional AWE engineers who have won Whitworth Scholarship Awards. Adam Churchman, who won the award last year, was keen to congratulate our 2023 winners on their incredible achievement:

“I feel privileged to have shared a unique opportunity with my peers here at AWE. It is a great personal achievement of all those elected as award holders this year and serves as recognition of their unique blend of practical and academic abilities in their respective engineering fields. I would also like to encourage those who are eligible to apply next year, do not let this opportunity pass you by.”

 Huge congratulations to Katrina, Christopher and David!

“From putting me through an apprenticeship, to sponsoring me for further education to giving me access to professional mentors – I would not be the engineer I am today without AWE’s people.”

Christopher added: “I have always enjoyed science and understanding how things work. My parents always got me involved in DIY around the house from childhood, which I enjoyed. Following work-shadowing with my uncle who was a maintenance engineer, and a school organised work experience placement at the AWE Skills Academy, I was convinced that engineering is what I wanted to spend my life doing.
I joined AWE at sixteen as an apprentice, straight out of school. Since then they have funded and supported every qualification I have undertaken, from my First Diploma in engineering to the Master’s degree I am currently studying.”

This year’s Award winners join other exceptional AWE engineers who have won Whitworth Scholarship Awards. Adam Churchman, who won the award last year, was keen to congratulate our 2023 winners on their incredible achievement:

“I feel privileged to have shared a unique opportunity with my peers here at AWE. It is a great personal achievement of all those elected as award holders this year and serves as recognition of their unique blend of practical and academic abilities in their respective engineering fields. I would also like to encourage those who are eligible to apply next year, do not let this opportunity pass you by.”

Huge congratulations to Katrina, Christopher and David!