An annual Award to encourage more women to aim for Chartered Engineer and corporate status.

• Download information about the WES Karen Burt Award
• Download information about the 2008 winner, Emily Spearman

Who was Karen Burt?

As an active member and Council office holder in The Women's Engineering Society, Karen Burt was a tireless campaigner for the recruitment and retention of women in science and engineering. From her own experience and her extensive research she was regarded as an expert in the management of career breaks and women 'returners' to engineering.

Karen graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge and obtained a PhD from Reading University. She joined British Aerospace Systems at Stevenage as project engineer for scientific satellites and progressed to Senior Systems Engineer before developing an interest in management in the Total Quality Environment, and subsequently becoming Business Acquisition Manager.

Leaving BAe, she set up her own consultancy and was instrumental in establishing the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation Systems within University College, London. She had just accepted a position on the staff of UCL when her career was abruptly ended by a devastating stroke.

Karen is remembered as a gifted communicator and her fight to recover speech and mobility following her stroke was an inspiration to all who knew her.

What is the award and who is eligible?

Officially launched on 3 November 1998 by The Women's Engineering Society, the Karen Burt Memorial Award is made annually to a woman engineer of high caliber who has newly attained full corporate membership and Chartered Engineer status through her relevant Institution.

The award not only recognizes the candidate's excellence and potential in the practice of engineering and highlights the importance of Chartered status, but also gives recognition to contributions made by the candidate to the promotion of the engineering profession.

Comprising a cash prize and a year's membership of WES, the first award was made in November 1999, to Rebecca Dowsett aged 27, who works as Market Sector Manager for IMI Norgren Ltd, Shipston and is a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. She is closely involved in the Link Engineer scheme at schools in Coventry and Birmingham areas and acts as mentor for graduate trainee colleagues.

How are nominations made?

Each participating accrediting engineering Institution nominates one candidate annually, following the normal institutional review process, with final selection by a WES panel on the basis of further information provided by the candidate. This latter stage focuses particularly on the candidate's contribution to the promotion of the engineering profession. The collaboration is designed to strengthen links between WES and the engineering Institutions and to help raise the profile of women engineers and encourage them to attain Chartered status.

Where can I get further information on the Karen Burt award?

Individuals wishing to obtain further information about the award and the nomination procedure should in the first instance contact their own accrediting professional institution.

Institution managers who need further information should contact the WES office.