The third edition of Bentley Motors’ Extraordinary Women initiative recently wrapped up, featuring university students from the UK and Qatar. These students spent a week at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, engaging in a specially curated program. During their visit, they interacted with Bentley experts and executives, explored the manufacturing processes, and worked on individual projects.
Aimed at fostering and nurturing the next generation of young female leaders, the 2024 edition of the Extraordinary Women program provided students three months of one-on-one mentorship from inspirational figures in technology, engineering, design, and business. Among the participating institutions were The University of Doha for Science and Technology in Qatar, and the Universities of Bath, Loughborough, and Manchester Metropolitan in the UK.
Titi Oliyide, a Senior Process Safety Engineer and the 2023 Young Woman Engineer of the Year mentored the engineering student, while Ilse Crawford, founder of Studioilse, provided design support. Qatar’s UNESCO art ambassador, Muna Al-Bader, mentored in design. Dr. Noora Fetais Al Marri, honored for her cyber security education work, offered technology mentorship. Dr. Hanan Farhat, founder of the Qatar Association for Women Engineers, covered engineering, and Dr. Buthaina Al Ansari, a senior advisor at Tamkeen Training and Consulting Solutions, mentored in business.
Dr.Karen Lange Member of the Board for Human Resources at Bentley Motors said: “With every year, the Extraordinary Women programme grows stronger, as exemplified by the quality of this year’s Pioneers, all who have generously given their time in the spirit of collaboration as we seek to build a legacy for young women. It has been a great honour to meet and engage with such talented young women during their visit – witnessing their energy and ability fills me with great optimism for the future”.
Launched in 2022, the Extraordinary Women program involves students and mentors from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. Part of Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy, it encourages women to pursue careers in STEM and the automotive industry.