Double honours for Brighton alumnae at everywoman in Technology Awards
Two University of Brighton alumnae have been nationally recognised as trailblazers in the world of technology.
The second annual Cisco everywoman in Technology Awards acknowledge inspirational women in the technology industry.
Shelia Flavell, chief operating officer at the FDM Group, scooped Leader of the Year in a corporate organisation award and Mandy Chessell, Master Inventor and Distinguished Engineer for IBM, won Innovator of the Year award.
The awards were presented at The Savoy in London on 29 March, after a keynote address delivered by Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Sheila, who studied an MA in marketing and an MBA at the university, said: “I am overjoyed and honoured to be recognised as Leader of the Year. It is proof to every hard-working and passionate woman that females can succeed in a male-dominated industry. The lack of women in technology is shocking (18 per cent in the IT industry), and I will continue to ensure that our Female Champion and Women in IT campaigns provide advice and support to women in the IT industry.”
Sheila has been instrumental to the increasing success of FDM’s academy programme, which has launched the careers of over 3,000 graduates worldwide, including University of Brighton alumni. As a result, FDM was awarded the Best Technical Graduate Recruiter and Best Graduate Training Programme of 2010 at Archant London’s National Graduate Recruitment Awards.
Mandy Chessell, who studied for a masters degree in software engineering, has a prolific invention record in middleware (computer software connecting components or people and their applications). Mandy is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and was also the first woman to be awarded its prestigious Silver Medal. You can read more about Mandy on page 14 of The Brighton Effect.
Mandy said: “I am thrilled to have been chosen for the award. The standard of the other finalists were incredibly high and the judges commented on what a difficult choice it was. Looking at the biographies of the other finalists, I have to agree with them!
“These awards are not just for the winners. They celebrate the thousands of women working in the technology industry and highlight the profession to school children and students. It is important the young people see our profession as an exciting and rewarding place to work. We need more people to train in science and engineering for the future of our economy. However, there is little information about what it means to work in the industry and this publicity is a great help.”
For more information about the other inspiring finalists, please visit: www.everywoman.com
