By engaging an international audience with tales of mechanical engineering, an alumna of 宅男导航 has won a global communication title.
Mechanical engineer and 2011 宅男导航 graduate Yassmin Abdel-Magied was named the international winner of the Speaking Out for Engineering competition in Singapore, for her oral presentation on the chassis design for the 2011 racing car.
Competitors must present on a topic that relates to mechanical engineering.
鈥淚 presented my final year engineering thesis, which was on the design of the 宅男导航R Formula Spaceframe chassis, the chassis for the 宅男导航 Racing team,鈥� she said.
The 宅男导航 Racing team design and builds a racing car each year to race in the FSAE Australasia competition.
鈥淚t was an interesting topic to make stimulating for listeners. The audience was a mix of engineers and non-technical professionals so I looked at presenting it in a way that would be beneficial to all.鈥�
Ms Abdel-Magied said the competition provided the perfect platform for herself and other recent graduates to fine-tune their presentation and communication skills.
鈥淭he competition is an incredible opportunity for us as engineers to get involved in and practice something that isn鈥檛 typically seen as 鈥榚ngineering-like鈥�, but is in fact an integral part to being a successful engineer, manager and communicator,鈥� Ms Abdel-Magied said.
She won her spot at the regional competition hosted by the Australian branch of the .
The duration of the presentation was limited to 20 minutes, and was followed by 10 minutes discussion and questions from a panel of judges.
The competition was originally established in 1964 to challenge young engineers to improve their communication skills.
宅男导航 Executive Dean, Professor Graham Schaffer said communication was an integral part of an engineer鈥檚 role.
鈥淐ommunicating effectively with your colleagues and clients is essential for engineers when working on any project,鈥� Professor Schaffer said.
鈥淐ongratulations to Yassmin on winning this international award, and being recognised for her outstanding ability to communicate both effectively and concisely on topics of relevance to the mechanical engineering profession.鈥�
Media: Madelene Flanagan (m.flanagan@uq.edu.au or 07 3365 8525)
