It's Neurodiversity Celebration Week (17-23 March), and to mark the occasion, we've been sharing real-life experiences from neurodivergent engineers within our member and volunteer base. Today, we're featuring an interview with Beverley Gibbs, Director of the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology and a valued IET Volunteer, conducted by Daisy March, our Senior EDI and Engagement Executive.
Beverley has worked in the industry for an incredible 37 years in a range of different disciplines. From training as a process engineer to moving into applied research and research management, to transitioning into academia for the second part of her career, she has had the benefit (and challenge!) of experiencing many different environments. One thing the sectors that have attracted Beverley all have in common, though, is being about mobilising change.
We spoke to Beverley about the path that led her into volunteering and why it’s become such an important part of her journey as an engineer (and as a person!)
Hi Beverley, thank you so much for speaking with me today. Can you tell me about when your volunteering journey started, and what inspired you to get involved?
My first formal volunteering experience was as a Brownie leader, which I did for 5 years. My daughter was of Brownie age, and I wanted to contribute, given that all these lovely people were giving up their time to run the pack, so I became Tawny Owl and had a great time.
I was a Brownie myself actually! What a fun way to get started as a volunteer. Now, can you tell me about your volunteering role with us at the IET?
I’m an Academic Assessor, which is the role that supports the awarding of academic accreditation to higher education programmes that meet AHEP4. This is a great fit given my interests in engineering education, innovation in higher education, and - more broadly - quality assurance.
Quite different from Tawny Owl! But great that you found a role that fits your interests so well. Can you tell me a bit about how your volunteering journey has evolved over the years?
I first volunteered for the IET in the Foothold project 'Engineering Neurodiverse Futures' where I was the HE representative on the steering board. This is a transformative project that supports engineering students and apprentices to access tailored, funded support including diagnosis, which is a huge barrier to helping neurodiverse engineering students thrive.
I've been actively involved with the Engineering Professors' Council for about 7 years now and have always found it is a very productive and forward-thinking community. At first, it was a way to expand my network out from the University I was working in and meet like-minded people and I was thrilled that the EPC published our rapid response review of teaching engineers during the pandemic ('Emerging Stronger') in Summer 2020. Reading some of those student voices from that time is a little like accessing a time machine now. I now Chair the EPC's Education, Employability and Skills Committee and am a member of the EPC Board.
I joined as an IET academic accreditation trainee in 2023/24, so I'm just completing my first full year. So far, I've been part of 5 accreditation panels at Universities in England and Wales, with 1 more to go in the 24/15 academic year. I was also privileged to be invited to give a keynote speech at the 2024 Annual Accreditor Conference.
Wow! Again, such varied roles – I’d love to read some of those student voices!
Could you tell me more about some of the projects you’ve participated in?
Since 2020, I've worked in two new engineering-specific university projects: the new Model Institute in Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford where I was Chief Academic Officer, and the Dyson Institute in Malmesbury, which I lead. Another institution in this space is The Engineering Design Institute (TEDI-London).
I reflect frequently on what these new institutions tell us about engineering and more specifically, engineering students, given that their pedagogical approaches and scale mean you can see the learning environment really closely - it's like looking in a microscope.
Despite coming from different origins, these engineering-specific organisations share some interesting features: they're all in a cross-disciplinary space, they all use project-based or immersive learning, and their curricula have elevated levels of coaching and professional skills. They also work together to raise some interesting questions that are of interest to all engineering educators - for example, how much and what kind of maths is needed in a contemporary engineering degree.
These institutions also report very high levels of neurodiverse students - 40-50%. How do we explain this - are neurodiverse students attracted to smaller scale active-learning environments? Or is this a typical prevalence that is just more transparently identified and addressed in smaller institutes? Or is it because they are engineering-specialist, and the prevalence of neurodiversity is higher in engineering than other university subject?
This connects to the most recent project I'm volunteering on: 'All In For Engineering' with the Engineering Professors' Council. I'm leading on the development of a neuro-inclusion maturity framework that is co-designed by a community of academics, professional services colleagues and neurodivergent students. I want all of our engineering students, however they think and communicate, to have a rewarding university experience and to reach their potential in a supportive environment. That's not the current situation, but we can get there, and a benchmarking framework will help describe good practice.
Absolutely, it’s so important that young people are given the chance to learn in a way that is most accessible to them. Amazing stuff!
So, let’s talk about you as a mentor – when you work with developing engineers, what advice do you typically give them about growing in their careers?
I’ve had the privilege of working with graduating engineers for several years now, and that's a very exciting transition point in an engineer’s journey.
It's important to not only take opportunities, but to recognise them when they're presented, and be ready to make your own opportunities by staying alert to the environment you're working in and coming up with solutions to the organisation's challenges. Understanding a company from multiple perspectives can be very powerful both in developing solutions, and that breadth can also build your network. But my main advice is that however clearly you can see you career goal, it will not be a straight path there - it's much more like a wander through the woods. Embrace this as an exciting prospect not a threat!
I try to stay up-to-date with developments within my sector and the wider industry by asking questions of colleagues and committing to understanding the material that crosses my desk. It would be easy to take things at face value and not intellectually engage with what I’m seeing, but where is the fun in that?! I have a (slow-burning) interest in smart textiles - the E-Textiles Network is a great resource for webinars, workshops and an annual conference.
Can you share instances where advice or connections helped you make important career decisions?
Not really........I’m an independent-spirited type of person! But a really important career intervention for me happened just a few years ago when I participated in some research with Birkbeck College on career stories of people with ADHD.
This involved a strengths-based interview and in the process, I realised that my own career journey came about because of ADHD not despite it. I bring a lot of energy to projects, I'm willing to take risks, am resilient and can connect ideas really intensively. It was liberating to perceive myself in this way and I’m more comfortable with my journey now.
That must have been a validating revelation to have! It’s great to hear this experience led to a more positive perspective shift.
On that topic, could you share how volunteering has changed your perspective on your career and on the engineering community as a whole?
I’ve been amazed at how open, kind and inherently interesting all the colleagues I've worked with are. On accreditation panels, you come together for a short and intensive period of time, get to know people very quickly and can learn so much in a couple of 5-minute chats about what they're working and what's happening at their university or company
People really do make all the difference! Can you tell us about any future volunteering aspirations with the IET?
I have a fair amount of Board experience now, and I’m interested in governance so I might have a run at an elected central role in the next year or two.
You absolutely should go for it, Beverley! Is there anything else you would like to share today?
Volunteering is time commitment, but aside from the particular rewards of the activity you're interested in, it is a way to build your network and have impact outside your own immediate environment. To me, engineering has always been a profession rather than a subject, and together we make, shape, and develop our profession.
What a line to end on! Thank you so much Beverley for speaking with me and sharing your volunteering journey – it’s been incredible to hear about the many different ways you have given back to the industry over the years.
#VolunteerSpotlight