Top honours for USW at Wales STEM Awards

The University of South Wales (USW) secured a number of leading honours at the Wales STEM Awards.

For the second year running, a leading USW expert was named STEM Woman of the Year, with Dr Mabrouka Abuhmida , Senior Lecturer in Computing and Mathematical Sciences, sharing the award with Michelle Slee from the DVLA. Last year Sharan Johnstone, USW’s Head of Cyber Security, was named STEM Woman of the Year.

A team led by senior lecturer Dr Leshan Uggalla won the STEM Research Project of the Year category for work being done at USW to streamline data collection in environmental monitoring.

USW was shortlisted in the three other categories – with Cyber First Project Lead Holly Lidbury a finalist in the STEM Ambassador of the Year category, USW-based CEMET among the STEM Team of the Year finalists, and USW’s Cyber Outreach Programme a finalist in the STEM Educational Programme of the Year (Public Sector) category.

After being named STEM Woman of the Year, Dr Abuhmida said: “Thank you to those involved in judging these awards, and to my fellow nominees. While I have won this award, I feel that we are all winners as what we do really matters.

“it is not the end, it’s just the beginning of something bigger and better. Thank you to the University of South Wales for believing in the cause, as the cause is much bigger than myself.

“I am very privileged to be here tonight. to be given this podium. This is why I am committed to using my privilege to help others.

“I was inspired by something I read in a blog by Professor Donna Whitehead, who’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Wales, ‘here’s an international message for everyone advocating for women in STEM education and women’s education in general - instead of trying to change people, let’s focus on changing mindsets. My advice is to start at the foundational unit of our societies—families, in all their diverse forms’.

“I stand on the shoulders of giants; none of this is solely my own work. It’s the collective effort of outstanding teams supporting me, my managers, my Faculty, researchers and innovators, teaching staff, the professional support staff, our outreach team, and to the CyberFirst team at the University

”Without your hard work, none of this would’ve been possible. This award belongs to you all.”

After winning the STEM Research Project of the Year, Dr Leshan Uggalla said: “First of all, we would like to congratulate all the other shortlisted members within all categories for their great journeys so far.

“We are delighted to receive the award for the Best Research Project of the Year 2023, as this is an excellent recognition of our project's impact on society here in Wales and around the world and the hard work of all team partners and their members.

“We would especially like to thank the University of South Wales for believing in us and supporting the project and the team. We sincerely thank the Higher Education Council for Wales (HECFW) and Global Wales for funding and enabling the project.

“I would also like to thank other partners, the Welsh Government, Rhonda Cynon Taf Council, the Welsh Institute for Digital Information (WIDI), Global Wales, Respiratory Innovation Wales (RIW), Bangor University, and Can Tho University-Vietnam, for their outstanding contribution towards the project.

“Finally, a huge thank goes to the Wales STEM Awards team for organising such a great event.”

Dr Paul Davies, Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science as USW, in which all the USW nominees are based, said: “It is wonderful to see a USW colleague honoured as the STEM Woman of the Year for the second year running. Dr Abuhmida is a pioneer in her field, a leading voice in her sector, and an inspiration to women who want to make their mark in any one of the huge variety of STEM fields.

“Dr Uggalla and his team are also pioneers, using their expertise to develop an effective system to support many applications that can have a major impact on the world around us.

“The work of the our Cyber Outreach team has been has been second to none, and shows the wide range of expertise that is on hand at USW to increase the interest of the next generation in this vital sector, work which has been further developed by Holly Lidbury, our Cyber First Project Lead - I particularly applaud her and her team’s work in highlighting to women and girls the career opportunities in the industry.

“It is also good to see recognition of the truly groundbreaking work of CEMET, with the outstanding impact the specialists in the team have had (and continue to have) on a wide range of businesses across Wales - their continued efforts will undoubtedly drive tech R&D to new levels.

“I applaud all of my colleagues on their victories and nominations in the Wales STEM Awards. They are very well deserved. I also thank them for their hard work and commitment to the University of South Wales.

“It is this commitment that makes the University stand out as one of the leaders in STEM, not just in Wales, but across the UK and beyond. My congratulations go to them – it is an honour that is very well deserved and it is my privilege to work alongside them.”