Tomorrow's Engineers Live 2026 speakers

Yasmin is a chartered chemical engineer dedicated to developing renewable energy projects, and the author of Power Up: An Engineer’s Adventures into Sustainable Energy. Having worked in coal and gas fired power stations as well as oil and gas, Yasmin transitioned away from fossil fuels into more sustainable energy systems over the course of her career. She now works on heat networks, energy innovation funding, green hydrogen project development, and leads battery software development at RWE. In addition, Yasmin has given more than 100 talks about engineering and energy, written for the BBC and Metro, and featured in TV and radio programmes. In recognition of her public engagement work, she has been awarded and shortlisted for multiple industry awards, including the 2025 TechWomen100 Individual Award.

Mike is a visionary technology leader with broad market insight. He joined Thales in September 2025 to help the Group address future technology challenges by developing advanced defence, security, cybersecurity, digital identity and aerospace solutions in a sustainable and ethical way. A passionate advocate for technology’s societal benefits, Mike is an active speaker and media spokesperson. His experience spans global sectors including financial services, retail, manufacturing, government and defence. With a strong IT background focused on software development, data analytics, AI and cloud technologies, Mike also brings expertise in change management and customer engagement.

Hilary joined EngineeringUK as Chief Executive in January 2019 and leads the organisation in its mission to enable more young people from all backgrounds to be informed, inspired and progress into engineering and technology careers. EngineeringUK leads collaborative work across hundreds of organisations to improve the impact of engineering and tech engagement for young people - with the aim of ensuring that the UK has the workforce needed for engineering and technology to thrive, to improve sustainability and to achieve net zero.

Becca has more than 10 years’ experience researching education, skills, employment, and diversity. She leads EngineeringUK’s work establishing the current and future workforce and skills needs and how to address them, STEM educational pathways, and understanding the opinions and experiences of young people’s engagement with STEM subjects and activities. Before joining EngineeringUK, Becca worked in a range of research and policy roles at the Federation of Small Businesses, the Learning and Work Institute, Kantar Public, and YouGov.

After a physics degree and research at the University of Chicago, Becky taught physics and supported students to work with the UK Space Agency and NASA putting a payload in space. She developed research projects with CERN, the Wellcome Trust and others. She founded the Institute for Research in Schools in 2015 to scale this approach across the county. She still teaches physics and now runs Project Earth, a charity supporting young people across the world to innovate for the planet. Affiliated to The Earthshot Prize and supported by a phenomenal group of expert advisors, it empowers young people to have a genuine impact on their future.

Bhakti leads a team of students working on the development of the Gen1 RC platform and other vehicles used as the championship’s primary teaching tools. Her work focuses on translating real-world engineering principles – such as vehicle dynamics, performance optimisation, and systems integration – into accessible, hands-on learning experiences for students. Bhakti is particularly interested in how competition-based STEM education tools and devices can bridge the gap between theoretical study and practical engineering, helping young people develop both technical competence and engineering intuition.

After a varied career in arts administration, fundraising and EdTech he joined EngineeringUK 6 years ago and has been responsible for the development of Neon, a website for teachers which brings together quality assured enrichment activities for teachers.

Joe leads primary school engagement work across North East England. A former primary teacher with a background in education, performing arts and engineering, he develops nationally recognised resources including the British Science Association-endorsed 'STEM Person of the Week' programme. His research focuses on challenging scientist stereotypes in young children and addressing unconscious bias in early years settings. Joe is part of the award-winning NUSTEM team, recipients of the 2025 Institute of Physics William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for pioneering physical sciences outreach.

Jonathan is a multi-award-winning science communicator. His 35-year career began in television, including producer and series producer credits on documentaries, popular factual, and particularly children's science shows. He later ran a training and consultancy with clients including The Royal Institution, NESTA, major science festivals, the learned societies, NCCPE, and McKinsey. Joining Northumbria University in 2014, he helped establish NUSTEM. As Assistant Professor, his research interests include intergenerational and playful learning, computational tinkering methodologies, and AI-assisted educational resource production. He teaches in the School of Computer Science.

Mark has more than 40 years’ experience working across special education, regional and national programmes, with local authorities and government. In addition to teaching in special education, Mark’s career has centred on building collaborative partnerships between young people and employers to support successful progression into future careers. As part of a research-based Masters, he conducted research at the Institute of Education UCL, comparing formal and workplace-based learning in apprenticeship settings. Mark holds a postgraduate diploma in Careers Education and Guidance from Nottingham Trent University.

Nicola is a former Headteacher of 2 Northwest secondary schools. She's been Director of Education with the Careers & Enterprise Company, the national body for careers education, for 5 years. Her role relies on bringing the voice of education leaders, practitioners and learners into careers education to drive quality and continuous improvement. Recent work includes developing and testing key careers policy solutions. These include the reinvention and modernisation of work experience and quality assurance of the careers system. Professional development of Careers Leaders and wider education professionals is a key area of focus.

Pete is an aerospace engineering student, applying performance engineering and systems-level thinking to turn competition into a practical learning engine rather than a one-off STEM experience. The S-RC Cup is a UK-based RC motorsport championship rethinking how STEM education is delivered through year-long, competition-driven programmes. S-RC uses accessible RC motorsport to give young people hands-on experience in engineering, manufacturing, and race strategy, acting as a genuine entry point into full-scale motorsport and engineering pathways.

Rebecca’s career in learning and career development industries spans a range of sectors most recently education as Head of Careers. She has been in her current role at EngineeringUK since 2022, where she develops careers messaging and resources, to inspire young people from all backgrounds to choose a career in engineering and technology.

With more than a decade's experience in strategic social investment, stakeholder engagement, and cross-sector partnerships, Sarah leads global initiatives that empower employees, strengthen communities, advance equity, and create long-term value through purposeful collaboration. Sarah oversees Johnson Matthey’s global community impact programme, Science and Me, which works to improve access to quality STEM education and opportunities for young people. Through partnerships with local non-profits and schools, the programme delivers projects, volunteering initiatives, and grants that inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Sarah is founding Artistic Director of award-winning STEAM theatre company One Tenth Human, based in Lancaster. She has a degree in the History and Philosophy of Science (University of Cambridge), a Masters in Theatre Directing (Royal Scottish Conservatoire), and was a 2010 Clore Leadership Fellow, mentored by Sir Richard Eyre. One Tenth Human is currently developing a Royal Academy of Engineering 'Ingenious' funded outreach project, to be delivered in Manchester primary schools June 2026.

Shamineh joined WISE (now part of the IET) in 2023, bringing more than 10 years of experience delivering events and projects for UK non profits. With a background in Gender Studies and Social Development, she’s passionate about driving gender balance in STEM. Shamineh partners with STEM organisations to strengthen their outreach efforts. She trains women in STEM and STEM allies to inspire the next generation of the STEM pipeline using WISE's outreach tool, My Skills My Life.

Shane has been running online school engagement programmes, such as I'm an Engineer, Get me out of here, since 2003. The company's STEM outreach projects have run in countries around the world including Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Kenya, Germany, Spain, UK, Ireland and the USA.