Nike Folayan
British academic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr Nike Folayan MBE HonFREng [1] (born 1978) is a Chartered Engineer and a Telecommunications Engineering Consultant. She is co-founder and chair of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers[2] that campaigns for more ethnic diversity in UK engineering.
Nike Folayan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 (age 47–48) |
| Alma mater | University of Kent University of Sheffield |
| Employer | WSP UK |
| Known for | Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) |
Education and career
Folayan received an MEng in electronic engineering from the University of Kent, and earned her PhD in antenna design at the University of Sheffield.[3]
After her PhD, Folayan joined Mott MacDonald as a Communications Engineer.[4] Here she "worked on the radio design for a number of tunnels as well as communications systems such as CCTV and public address systems".[5] She joined Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2013, working as a Systems Integration Consultant.[5] She worked on major infrastructure projects including CrossRail and the upgrade of Victoria Station.[6] In 2016 she was promoted to Associate Director for Communications and Control within the Railways Division of WSP.[7]
Campaign for diversity
In 2008, Folayan won the Precious Award for "Inspiring Leader within the Workplace".[8][9][10] In 2012, Dr Folayan was featured in Powerlist: Britain’s 100 most influential people of African and Caribbean heritage.[11] She was the keynote speaker at the Higher Education Academy STEM annual conference in 2014.[12] She is a trustee at the Engineering Development Trust and a member of the Science Council and Transport for London diversity groups.[13][14][15] She contributed to the Royal Academy of Engineer's diversity strategy, In 2017, Folayan spoke at the Institution of Engineering and Technology's "9 % is Not Enough" conference.[16]
The Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers
Nike Folayan and her brother Ollie Folayan founded the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) in 2007 and remain as the organisation's chairperson.[17] In 2011 Vince Cable, then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills attended the AFBE-UK’s seminar on infrastructure in the UK.[18][19] At the time, he recognised AFBE-UK as "an excellent example of encouraging partnership between stakeholders in the engineering communities and supporting young people as they embark on a range of exciting career paths in science and technology".[18] In 2012 AFBE-UK launched "Making Engineering Hot", a video campaign which promotes engineering to the BME community.[20] In 2016 she coordinated "Transition", which saw students from universities across London take part in a series of employability workshops, CV assessments, mock interviews and engineering challenges.[21][22]