Students have described how they were empowered and inspired to pursue careers in engineering at a Leeds summit.
The 2025 IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Summit – Leeds track was hosted by the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds, with a programme carefully curated to enable and empower women in engineering.
Seeing so many women engineers together strengthened the sense of community that our society talks about, and the support felt real and visible in a way you don't experience day to day.
The summit increased reach, accessibility and participation across the North of the UK with more than 65 attendees including 27 undergraduate, Masters and PhD students showcasing their research. They included Yuriko Iyama, a first-year PhD student studying surgical robotics.
She said: "I really enjoyed the poster session where I was able to discuss my research, which helped my presentation skills. The feedback from my presentation enabled me to reflect on my work. I was delighted to receive the poster presentation award for this session."
Dr Salma Al Arefi, Chair of the Leeds Track summit, said: "The student poster competition used an innovative feed-forward approach, giving students detailed guidance on how to develop and refine their posters before presenting.
"This structure created an accessible pathway into conference presentations and was especially valuable for undergraduate participants, which for many was their first presentation at an international conference."
During the day Lisa-Dionne Morris, Professor of Public & Industry Understanding of Capability Driven Design at the University of Leeds and founder of the Black Female Academics network, gave a keynote speech, reflecting on her journey and lived experience as a woman in STEM.
Yael May, a PhD student who is researching surgical and MRI robotics to help diagnosis and treatment options, found the keynote speech inspiring.
She said: "The keynote speech sparked reflection on how I present myself as a researcher and how to optimally communicate my research to others.
"It has boosted my confidence to continue to take ownership of my work, pursue opportunities and persevere when it becomes challenging."
Professor Morris said: "A standout feature of the day was the speed mentoring with Leeds early career and alumni women engineers, including Fareda AlWakeel, Sonia Akoto, Dr Nikita Greenidge, Dr Azza Eltraify and Yejing Fan.
"Seeing students engage with leaders who once walked the same corridors created a strong sense of community, ambition, and possibility – a real demonstration of why student-centred spaces matter for building visibility, confidence, and pathways for future engineering leaders."
Students also got involved with the organisation of the summit, which helped build connections for both Yuriko and Yael.
Yuriko said: "I was a programme manager for the event and it was my first time getting involved with organising a summit.
"It was really helpful to learn new skills about planning and event management which will help me in my future as a researcher.
"The summit had a positive impact on how I feel about my future."
Yael added: "As Chair of the Student Volunteering Committee, it was great to work with so many amazing and like-minded women in the department. With the conference being open to everyone, it was important to include male allies whose support strengthened the conversation."
Dr Paul Steenson, Senior Lecturer & EDI and Accessibility advocate at Leeds, gave some important perspectives during the panel, led by Dr Azza Eltraify entitled Engineering and Women's Health: Towards Inclusive and Innovative Solutions.
Volunteering at the event were students from the Women in Engineering Society at Leeds University Union (LUU).
Claire Pravinata, President of the LUU Women in Engineering Society, said: "As an undergraduate, I took this event as a stepping stone, in the sense that it was a chance for me to see the kinds of paths I might want to follow and the goals I want to work towards.
"Women in engineering are highly capable of achieving great things, and there is a strong, active push for change within the industry.
"I came out of the event feeling more confident; seeing so many women engineers together strengthened the sense of community that our society talks about, and the support felt real and visible in a way you don't experience day to day."
