Nida Anis On How We Can Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics

Parental and community engagement. I think it’s really important to engage parents and community members in discussions about the importance of diversity in engineering and encourage their support and advocacy for girls’ participation, and for parents to play a more active role in supporting their daughters when they want to pursue careers in engineering!

Despite the growing importance of engineering and robotics in shaping our future, women remain significantly underrepresented in these fields. This series aims to explore and address the barriers that discourage girls from pursuing careers in engineering and robotics. We are talking to educators, industry leaders, pioneering women engineers, and robotics experts who have made significant contributions to their fields, to discuss the strategies they believe can inspire and increase the participation of young girls in engineering and robotics. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Nida Anis.

At 19, Nida Anis has made her mark in motorsport engineering across Europe and Asia, despite not growing up as a motorsport fan. Her journey began with a student robotics competition, sparking her engineering interest.

By 18, she entered the motorsport industry, initially working on a website for Formula Ford drivers Ben & Ashton Cox, leading to a shadowing opportunity at Souley Motorsport. Next, her role as a Junior Engineer at Evans GP in the GB4 Championship, notably working on improving lap times, paved her way to work with teams like Versa Motorsport and the DW Evans GT Lamborghini team.

With a place at Oxford Brookes University for a BEng in Motorsport Engineering awaiting her in September 2024, Nida also contributes to motorsport through visual and written media, along with her work as co-founder of ‘Asian Motorsport’, promoting the sport in Asia. Through these outlets, she champions women’s involvement in motorsport, embodying the belief that hard work breeds success.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

From an early fascination with computers and cybersecurity competitions, my journey in engineering took a unique turn towards motorsport.

Initially focusing on subjects like Maths, Physics, and Computer Science at A-Level, and participating in cybersecurity challenges like CyberFirst Girls and CyberStart Essentials, my first practical engineering experience came from a student robotics competition in 2022. This, alongside an EPQ (extended project qualification) on motorcycle racing safety, paved my way into the motor vehicle engineering field.

My passion for motorsport engineering ignited after obtaining a scholarship placement at the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna’s Italian Motor Valley Experience programme (IMVE), offering firsthand insights into the industry through partnerships with giants like Ferrari and Lamborghini. Getting to tour their factories was awe-inspiring.

Through connections, I then had the opportunity to build a website for Formula Ford drivers Ben & Ashton Cox which then led to shadowing opportunities at Souley Motorsport, transitioning into a junior engineering role with Evans GP in the GB4 Championship. There, I significantly improved lap times and acquired further experience with Versa Motorsport in Australia and DW Evans GT in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia.

Currently, I’m engineering in the F4 Indian Championship with MP Motorsport and the FIA Formula Regional Middle East Championship.

Beyond engineering, I co-founded Asian Motorsport, a platform dedicated to motor racing news in Asia, contributing as a freelance writer and editor within the field, showcasing a blend of technical and media skills in the motorsport and automotive industries.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

There are lots! I think the most interesting stories are from the F4 Indian Championship. What stood out was that we were all from different parts of the world and despite language barriers (and Cyclone Michaung!), we all came together to make the racing happen. That was the first time I worked for an extended period away from home too and it just goes to show that engineering is a universal language.

What inspired you to pursue a career in engineering or robotics, and how can we replicate that inspiration for young girls?

There weren’t any external factors that inspired me, I think it was more internal — participating in things like the Italian Motor Valley Experience programme and student robotics competitions made me realise that I had the skills and the talent to pursue a career down that path.

In part to the success I found from these events, I replicated this in sixth form by setting up an F1 in Schools programme for Year 10–13 students, which has now become popular amongst the other girl students.

For younger girls, giving them the opportunities to get hands-on experience through competitions and exposing them to engineering environments, such as factory tours, is so important. It helps you realise that this is a real career that you can pursue, that there are lots of opportunities and that you can make.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Without hesitation, I would like to thank several people;

Josh Evans, my Team Manager at Evans GP, for the support that he’s given me throughout my career in motorsport and the many opportunities that I’ve had to work across many different championships, and through starting projects like the Asian Motorsport website project. He’s been a great mentor and a good friend, and I’m incredibly lucky to have been supported by him.

I’d also like to thank the staff at Lady Eleanor Holles Girls School, firstly for granting me the opportunity to study there with a bursary, and secondly for allowing me the time and the opportunities to gain the work experience that has been so crucial to my career so far.

Lastly, I’d also like to thank my family for being accommodating and supportive of my career ambitions, even when I’ve spent a lot of time away from home in different countries!

Can you share a story of a challenge you faced as a woman in engineering or robotics and how you overcame it?

There have been days where I’ve noticed that I can count the number of women in the paddock on one hand. It was never something at the front of my mind, but sometimes I’d think about it and have a moment of realisation where I was like, “Oh, right. I guess I’m the only person who looks like me”.

Overcoming this has been a matter of me focusing on my work, and reminding myself that I am talented and that I have earned the right to be working where I am. It has been challenging though, especially when you combine it with spending a lot of time away from home. It can sometimes feel isolating.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

It’s a series: Liu Cixin’s “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy (The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest, and Death’s End). The scope of the three novels is vast and difficult to summarise here, but it’s a very bold work of Chinese science fiction that offers a different and refreshing take on the genre.

It’s also very different to a lot of works of Western science fiction, as it leans into aspects of Chinese history, culture, and philosophy — which is something you don’t see in a lot of books.

Liu was formerly an engineer himself, so I enjoyed his technical style of writing as well as his ideas about the future of our society!

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

“The harder you work, the luckier you get!” — Chris Davison.

I think it’s pretty self-explanatory, the more work you put in, the more you get out, and the more opportunities you get. When the going gets tough, I like to lean on my work as something constant, something that I can keep chipping away at and always improving.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist myself but no work will ever be perfect, this does mean you can keep improving and developing your work though and that’s the attitude I take.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I’d like to say that starting projects like Asian Motorsport and the F1 in Schools programme at Lady Eleanor Holles Girls School have left many positive impacts.

Through Asian Motorsport I’ve helped students and aspiring journalists gain experience in motorsport media, whilst through the F1 in Schools programme there are now lots of girls in LEH who see motorsport as a possible career option which I can say first-hand wasn’t the case at the time I joined in 2021.

During Indian F4, I had the chance to work with student interns from the United Motorsports Academy and introduce them to some key aspects of motorsport engineering!

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this report, only about 16% of engineering positions in the US are held by women. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from Engineering and Robotics?

I think not seeing the possible opportunities and career routes available is a big barrier. When studying, I talked to another female who was an incredibly talented student interested in motorsport, but didn’t want to pursue a career in the industry because it was too “macho” and “masculine”.

Motorsport is getting better, and diversity and representation are improving. I feel like if there were more opportunities to get hands-on experience and see what it was actually like to be an engineer then a lot more girls would consider going into engineering careers.

This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should enter the Engineering and Robotics fields?

Every day is different. I’ve never had two days that have been the same. There’s always a new problem, a new challenge, and you’re always working with and meeting new people. It’s such a dynamic industry and I love the constant change.

You also have to combine a lot of skills, it’s not just about being technical, it’s about being a good people person and team player too!

Can you please share “5 Things We Need To Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics?”

1 . More opportunities for women to get hands-on. A key group that supported me when I was beginning to get involved in motorsport was FIA Girls on Track, partnered with Motorsport UK. They host events at places like the Motorsport UK HQ, University College London, and the McLaren Electric Racing HQ at Bicester to name a few. Through that, I’ve met a lot of women and girls who either work in motorsport or who aspire to work in the industry.

I’ve also received opportunities from McLaren’s 60 Scholars Programme as well as the McLaren Applied International Women in Engineering Day, where I’ve had the chance to network and gain some valuable insights and tips for advancing my career.

On top of this, the AccuDreamJob Experience Day with Accu & Oxford Brookes Racing, the UK’s top Formula Student team, directly led me to choose to study Motorsport Engineering at the university, whilst allowing me to learn a lot more about the development of a race car.

2 . More role models and mentorship opportunities, both male and female. I don’t know where I would be without the support of Josh Evans, who has been invaluable in helping me progress my career in motorsport and helping me grow and develop to become a better person. Highlight female engineers and provide role models for talented engineering students to provide them with guidance and support for professional and personal development. This is so important!

3 . Scholarships and financial aid. I wouldn’t have had the opportunities to gain motorsport experience if I hadn’t studied at LEH, and I wouldn’t have studied at LEH and enjoyed a fantastic sixth-form education if I hadn’t received a bursary that meant that I could afford to study there.

I’m lucky to have been able to gain an income through work that will help me fund my university studies, however, the cost of living crisis is a big problem and unfortunately, there aren’t many scholarships and financial aid programmes in the UK that support talented engineering students from underprivileged backgrounds.

4 . Parental and community engagement. I think it’s really important to engage parents and community members in discussions about the importance of diversity in engineering and encourage their support and advocacy for girls’ participation, and for parents to play a more active role in supporting their daughters when they want to pursue careers in engineering!

5 . I think it’s also important to encourage collaborations between schools and universities as well as engineering companies that can increase diversity, for example, through offering internships, work experience opportunities, and career pathways for girls in engineering. It gives them more hands-on experience and helps them see potential career pathways that they can take.

In your opinion, what are the most effective ways to introduce girls to engineering and robotics at an early age?

Hands-on programmes and educational activities, interactive workshops and school competitions give girls experience in engineering from a young age. It’s a lot more exciting than just sitting in a classroom! I also think mentorship opportunities are really important too as it gives girls someone to lean on and reach out to for support.

How do you think the portrayal of women in STEM fields by media and educational materials impacts girls’ interest in engineering and robotics?

I guess being quite young my experience might be different to those older than me, but I’ve grown up seeing a lot of women in STEM! I never really considered STEM as something I couldn’t be a part of, and I think now the representation is a lot better than it used to be in the past.

I also watched a lot of Doctor Who when I was younger and it consistently had a lot of women in STEM fields back in the 1960s, with female characters who were computer programmers, scientists, medical doctors and technical leads.

I also studied at two all-girls schools where the promotion of women in STEM was a very big thing.

What advice would you give to girls who are interested in engineering and robotics but are hesitant to take the first step?

Just go for it! Take the plunge. You never know what it will be like if you never give it a shot. Even if you end up deciding it’s not for you, at least you’ve had that experience and can make an educated decision.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

It’s one of my goals in the future to launch a programme or a website that’s targeted to women in motorsport that contains a lot of educational resources about different areas of motor racing, key motorsport engineering concepts, CV advice and explainer articles. Almost as a ‘go-to’ resource for all things I’ve found I needed or noticed other girls would gain insight from.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers can follow me on Instagram (@nidaanis04), as well as my LinkedIn profile. My written articles and work in journalism regularly appear on the Feeder Series and Asian Motorsport websites.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.

Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.