INWES RECOGNISES DESERVING WOMEN
The INWES awards seek to recognize and honour individual women who have first distinguished themselves in promoting the core values of INWES and their various fields of STEM.
These core values among others include the following:
– Becoming an influential voice on STEM issues for the benefit of women and girls, gender equity and society.
– Increasing the presence of women and girls in mainstream STEM decision-making bodies.
– Promoting exchange of information, networking, advocacy and opportunities through a number of international, regional and national events and projects.
The Awards Committee of INWES is happy to introduce five distinguished women who were recognised for their outstanding achievements in their services to INWES and also in their own individual fields of STEM.
Two awardees received the INWES Distinguished Service Award while the other three received the INWES Distinguished Woman in Engineering Award. The women were awarded during the dinner and awards ceremony held during the 19th ICWES which took place from 3rd to 6th September, 2023 in Aotea, New Zealand.
The INWES Awards
- INWES Distinguished Service Award
This is the original INWES award that has been handed out every three years since ICWES14 in 2012. It is awarded to women who have made outstanding and significant contributions to INWES in various officer capacities for at least five years. Awardees must have demonstrated strong dedication and enthusiasm, projecting the core values and vision of INWES. A maximum of three awards will be given triennially.
- INWES Distinguished Woman in Engineering Award
This is a new Award introduced in 2021. It is awarded to women who have earned at least one engineering or engineering-related degree, and being a recognized member of any professional engineering organization (not necessarily an INWES member). Awardees must be in a position of influence within her current professional engineering organization and/or community, a strong advocate for promoting the active participation of women and girls in engineering at least for the last five years, be seen to be a role model within her current organization and/or community, demonstrated passion in supporting women and girls in engineering and the mission of INWES, demonstrated excellence in promoting the engineering field and made significant contributions to the field. A maximum of three awards will be given triennially.
- INWES Distinguished Woman in Science Award
This is a new Award introduced in 2021. It is awarded to women who have earned at least one natural science or math related degree, and being a recognized member of any professional natural science or math organization (not necessarily an INWES member). Awardees must be in a position of influence within her current professional natural science or math organization and/or community, a strong advocate for promoting the active participation of women and girls in natural science or math at least for the last five years, be seen to be a role model within her current organization and/or community, demonstrated passion in supporting women and girls in natural science or math and the mission of INWES, demonstrated excellence in promoting the natural science or math field and made significant contributions to the field. A maximum of three awards will be given triennially.
Awardees for the INWES Distinguished Service Award 2023:
- Professor Kong-Joo Lee
She was the Organizing Chair of ICWES13 in 2005, served on the INWES Board and was President for two terms, 2011 to 2014 and 2014 to 2017. During her Presidency, INWES obtained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
With the start of her presidency, the Asian Pacific Nations Network (APNN) was inaugurated in 2011, and its success triggered the African Regional Network (ARN) in 2014, followed by INWES-Europe in 2015. Noteworthy achievements included her ability to obtain funding through sponsorships from industry, such as Samsung Inc., Agilent, Korea and KWSE.
Professor Kong-Joo Lee holds;
– B.Sc. College of Pharmacy, Ewha Womans University
– M.Sc. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
– Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry, Stanford, CA
She is a Senior Scientist at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Division of Chemical Analysis, Dean, Graduate School, Ewha Womans University, and Adviser to the Korean President for Science & Technology. She has over 100 technical publications and many books helping women in STEM diversely.
Professor Kong-Joo Lee was the President for the Association of KWSE from 2006-2007 and the initiator of the Young Women Scientists Camp (YWS Camp) being held annually since 2012 by KWSE for young women in STEM in Asia and the Pacific.
Currently, Professor Kong-Joo Lee is currently a distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Women’s Institute in Korea, Ewha Woman’s University and also, the President of Jiphyun Network (NGO).
She has received several awards for her active involvement in the enhancement of women in STEM such as the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Award in Korea (2012) and the Superior Teaching Award: Excellent Research Fund Awards, Ewha Womans University from 2002 to date.
In recognition of her outstanding advocacy for women in STEM at both the national and international levels, her effective leadership of scientific and academic organizations that has had an impact on increasing the involvement of women scientists, and her dedication service to INWES, Professor Kong-Joo Lee was presented with the INWES Distinguished Service Award, 2023.
- Dipl. Ing. Sylvia Kegel
She served as Treasurer for INWES from 2015 through 2023, and organized the INWES Europe Regional Conference in Munich in 2016. In addition to hosting the Board of Directors meeting during the Munich conference, she was instrumental in mobilizing women in various capacities across Europe to join INWES and was instrumental in the kick-off of INWES Europe.
While Treasurer, she succeeded in solving major issues with the multiple INWES international currency accounts and introduced new accounting software. Thanks to Sylvia INWES has a more effective financial management system with online capabilities and more suited to handling multiple currencies.
Sylvia Kegel effectively handled all paperwork to obtain and dispense the UNESCO funds for ICWES17, ICWES18 and ICWES19, ensuring travel support for speakers and qualified members. Her expertise was indispensable in supporting most of the INWES Committees with IT support and seeing to the efficient and effective running of meetings and operations. She is Head of the novel IT Team of INWES.
Sylvia holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering / Telecommunications, from TU München, with 16 years of experience in the field of telecommunication networks technology: from planning and commissioning engineer in rural Java to Project Management of Turnkey Overlay Networks and Service Management of Telecommunications with a staff of 800 in two Joint Ventures in Russia/CIS. She was Treasurer of dib, the German Association of Women Engineers, 2003-2020.
Presently, Dipl. Ing. Sylvia Kegel is Lecturer for Project Management at the University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer. She is the founder and interim General Manager of diverse companies and joint ventures in the field of technical services, valves, automation/testing technology and trade with rare gas/purification logistics for over 18 Years. She is also, Cofounder and CTO in a tech start-up for a year. She travelled the world in different expat positions from 1990 to 2006, and a Board member at the non-profit organization Competence Center Technology-Diversity-Equal Chances.
In recognition of her outstanding advocacy for women in STEM at both the national and international levels, her effective leadership of engineering organizations that has had an impact on increasing the involvement of women engineers, and her dedication service to INWES, Dipl. Ing. Sylvia Kegel was presented with the INWES Distinguished Service Award, 2023.
Awardees for INWES Distinguished Woman in Engineering 2023
- Ir. Prof. Dr. Leong Wai Yie
Ir. Prof. Dr Leong Wai Yie is the current Vice President (External Relations) of INWES from 2021 to 2023. She previously served as a Board of Director of INWES from 2017 to 2020, and was Chair of the Membership Committee. She is an accomplished engineer and STEM advocate with an impressive track record and commitment to promoting women in engineering, advancing the field of engineering, and contributing to the well-being of society.
Wai Yie strongly promoted INWES to ASEAN countries and was the brain behind Singapore, Myanmar and other countries joining INWES. As VP – External Relations, she represented INWES at several international forums, including the United Nations and UNESCO. She was instrumental in promoting INWES initiatives to Union International Association (UIA) in Korea, UNESCO ICT Congress in Thailand, UNESCO Meeting in Korea, and many more global platforms. In 2019, she represented both WFEO and INWES at the 11th International Forum of NGOs, organised in partnership with UNESCO in Paris, France. Wai Yie actively promotes INWES through social media and the newsletter.
Professor Leong Wai Yie holds:
– PhD (part-time) Seismic Behaviour of Precast Pinned Bean-to-Column Connection(2014)
– MEng. Civil Engineering(2002)
– MSc (part-time) Design and Construction of Tunnelling and Underground works(2004)
– Postgraduate Certificate in Academic and Professional Practice(2016)
– Warwick Leadership programme(2017)
Fellow IET UK, APEC Professional Engineer, International Professional Engineer, Professional Engineer Malaysia, Chartered Engineer, Senior Member IEEE, Fellow IEM and Honorary Member AFEO
Nationally, Prof. Dr Leong Wai Yie plays a key Advisory role and serves as a think-tank to the Malaysia Ministry of Science and Technology and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She is actively engaged in various committees and initiatives related to digitalization, climate change and disaster risk reduction in Malaysia. Her contribution to the development of blue economy position papers is enormous. She is deeply involved in key governmental and industry taskforces, including MCMC 5G Taskforce, and SIRIM IR 4.0 Assessor.
Her engineering prowess focuses on biomedical signal processing, telecommunications, wireless sensor networks and smart control. She has authored 6 book series highlighting innovations in Electronics and Biomedical Engineering, and is a recognised international speaker of over 500 talks, seminars and conferences to mentor and support women in engineering.
Wai Yie has STEM at heart and gives financial support in the form of scholarships, grants, and others to help make STEM education more accessible and affordable to women in STEM.
Currently, she is the Chair-elect of the International Networking Group of Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia (YSN-ASM).
In recognition of her outstanding dedication, transformative leadership and trailblazing contributions in the field of engineering and STEM, Ir. Prof. Dr. Leong Wai Yie, an exemplar of remarkable achievements in engineering and academia was presented with the INWES Distinguished Woman in Engineering Award, 2023.
- Professor Georgia Kremmyda
Professor Georgia Kremmyda is the current Vice President (Conferences) of INWES from 2021 to 2023. She previously served as a Board of Director of INWES for 2017 – 2020 while representing the University of Warwick at INWES17 in New Delhi, India. Georgia demonstrated excellent leadership by successfully leading her team to win the bid to host ICWES18, and though virtual, she effectively organised the conference to the admiration of all participants.
As VP (Conferences), she was the liaison for ICWES19 and successfully completed the processes for the bidding for ICWES20, underscoring her proactive involvement and commitment to INWES and ICWES.
Georgia Kremmyda successfully collaborated with INWES and practically led the delivery of two Warwick-funded projects, as well as INWES’ participation in CSW66 and CSW67 events. She immensely contributed to women in STEM worldwide by obtaining funding from the University of Warwick for the Enhancing Research project jointly ran with INWES in 2022 and 2023.
Professor Georgia Kremmyda holds:
– PhD (part-time) Seismic Behaviour of Precast Pinned Bean-to-Column Connection(2014)
– MEng. Civil Engineering(2002)
– MSc (part-time) Design and Construction of Tunnelling and Underground works(2004)
– Postgraduate Certificate in Academic and Professional Practice(2016)
– Warwick Leadership programme(2017)
Professor Georgia Kremmyda is currently Head of Teaching and Deputy Head of the School of Engineering, University of Warwick, UK. She is a distinguished Professor with high record of scholarship and has demonstrated achievements in both engineering research and education at local, national and international levels. She developed an interdisciplinary cross-faculty programme in Humanitarian Engineering to promote science and engineering globally and successfully bridged academia and industry with 15 years of experience as an engineer before joining academia. Georgia successfully executed multi-million pound projects funded by prestigious institutions like the European Commission, Royal Academy of Engineering, and more, as the PI.
Georgia is recognized as an international leader through keynote speeches, edited/co-authored books and external grants, and has published numerous books, journals, and conference papers in the field of Humanitarian Civil Engineering. She demonstrated excellence in teaching, receiving the National Teaching Fellowship of Advance HE in 2022 and the Warwick Award of Teaching Excellence in 2018. She has a proven record of dedication to diversity and women empowerment in STEM, serving as a role model in INWES, WES and Athena Swan. Prof. Georgia Kremmyda has been a Trustee, Council Member and Director of Education in the Women Engineering Society (WES UK), 2016-2019.
In recognition of her outstanding dedication, transformative leadership and trailblazing contributions in the field of engineering and STEM, Prof. Georgia Kremmyda, an exemplar of remarkable achievements in engineering and academia was presented with the INWES Distinguished Woman in Engineering Award 2023.
- Engineer Oliva Richard Kilyenyi
Engineer Oliva Richard Kilyenyi is presently serving as the Assistant Secretary, and also a member of the ARN Board of Directors of INWES. As a distinguished African woman engineer and a trailblazer with passion for mentorship and advancements of young women in STEM, she was a speaker in one of the Webinars organised by ARN as part of the Warwick-funded STEM Project. Oliva continues to devote her time and skills towards several INWES-ARN activities. She was an active participant of ICWES 18 and presented a key Paper entitled: Sustainable cities through the creation of sustainable transport systems.
Oliva is an enthusiastic leader, and in June 2022 was trained in the USA under the Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leaders Program. As a distinguished mentor, she works closely with the Engineering Registration Board (ERB) of Tanzania, and mentors graduates Engineers under the Structured Engineers Apprenticeship Programme (SEAP) and non-Structured Engineers Apprenticeship Programme. She receives up to ten graduate engineers’ mentees yearly.
Nationally, Oliva teamed up with the Institute of Engineers Tanzania-Women Chapter (IET-WC) and Tanzania Women Architects for Humanities (TAWAH) to design the Kisarawe Girls Secondary School: A project under the ‘Tokomeza’ Zero Campaign aimed at creating a conducive learning environment for girls along the coast.
Under the teenage mother course (“Mama Course”) Program, Oliva and her team searched for school dropped out teenage mothers and enrolled them in Vocational training under donor funds.
She has over 7 years of experience in both local and donor-funded STEM projects (INWES-ARN, Karibu Sweden Association (KSA), Karibu Tanzania Organization (KTO), and Ilula Folk Development College).
Engineer Oliva Richard Kilyenyi is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Engineering Project Management at the University of Dar-es-Salaam. She holds:
– Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Civil and Structural Engineering, University of Dar-es-Salaam (2014).
– Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination, Kisimiri High School (2010).
Oliva is currently the Deputy Project Manager of Morogoro-Makutupora SGR project, executed under the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC). She organizes fellow women Engineers to use their profession to support humanitarian activities and solve societal problems. She is a co-founders of the Iron Scientist and engineers’ women foundation (ISEWF), aiming to promote equal participation of Women and girls in STEM. For these sterling achievements, she was recognised by Her Excellency Elisabeth Jacobsen, the Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tanzania, for her excellent engineering and leadership contribution to Tanzania and East Africa at large in March 2023.
In recognition of her outstanding dedication, transformative leadership and trailblazing contributions in the field of engineering and STEM, Engineer Oliva Richard Kilyenyi, an exemplar of remarkable achievements in engineering and academia was presented with the INWES Distinguished Woman in Engineering Award 2023.
Awardees for the INWES Distinguished Woman in Science Award
Unfortunately, no compliant applications were received for this new award in 2023. We hope to receive candidates to be nominated for ICWES20 in 2026.
The Awards committee congratulates all 2023 awardees.
Compiled by
Nelly Sakyi-Hagan (Chair-Awards Committee, 2021-2023)