News
The UKESF is pleased to announce that Professor Claire Lucas, Dean of Engineering and Innovation at Aston University, has joined the charity’s board as a Trustee. Claire has a long-standing relationship with UKESF, first becoming involved in 2013 when she represented Jaguar Land Rover as an industrial speaker. Since returning to academia, she has attended and hosted UKESF Summer Schools and events and contributed to Innovate UK-funded semiconductor skills work.
Claire’s research focuses on capability and capacity development in the UK engineering sector; particularly how education and professional development support the growth of engineers. Her group has created the first non-technical skills taxonomy for engineering, developed in collaboration with senior industry leaders to identify the behaviours of high-performing engineers.
Alongside her leadership at Aston, Claire brings extensive experience from senior roles at King’s College London and the University of Warwick. Nationally, she has contributed to engineering policy and standards as Deputy Chair of the 2022 QAA Subject Benchmark for Engineering, as an IET academic accreditor, and as a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Education & Skills Committee.
As a first-generation university student from a rural, working-class background, Claire is passionate about outreach and widening participation. In recognition of her commitment to gender diversity in engineering education, she received the Women’s Engineering Society Prize at the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards in 2019.
“Having Claire join the UKESF board brings invaluable experience from academia, industry, and national engineering policy. She has been part of our community for many years, from speaking at events to hosting our Summer Schools and her leadership in education, combined with her commitment to widening participation, will make a real difference as we continue to inspire the next generation of Electronics engineers.”
Neil Dickins, UKESF Chair of Trustees
