Trio latest to land prestigious engineering scholarships

Three engineers have become the latest recipients of a prestigious scholarship which aims to instil business, leadership and managerial skills at the heart of UK industry.

The young engineers have each been awarded a £50,000 Sainsbury Engineering Management Fellows (SMF) scholarship to study for an MBA at the world’s top business schools.

The scholarship was started by Lord Sainsbury of Turville in 1987 to increase the quantity and quality of engineers in senior executive positions in UK companies, combining strong technological skills with effective management skills to drive forward the country’s economy.

The trio will join an alumni of more than 400 Sainsbury Management Fellows who have received world-leading business education through the scholarship programme. Since its inception in 1987, recipients have founded more than 300 new companies, worth more than £4.8 billion and created more than 20,000 jobs in the process.

Four of the latest recipients will begin their studies this autumn. They are:

• Neel Gunturi, MEng Hons – studying at INSEAD
• Tom Pickering, CEng MEng Hons – studying at IESE
• Mayowa Ubebe, MEng Hons – studying at MIT Sloan School of Management

Commenting on her scholarship award, Mayowa Ubebe said: “I would like to build my soft skills in areas that are key to helping me become an effective leader such as sales, communication, influence, leadership strategy and negotiation.

“This MBA will be fundamental to achieving my goal of making the transition from middle management to senior leadership, rising to the highest levels of leading energy companies and occupying decision-making roles on boards.”

After graduating with their MBAs, these SMFs will become part a prestigious network through the wider SMF community. And in turn, these newly graduated SMFs will share their knowledge and expertise with upcoming young engineers through a variety of activities, including mentorship. EIBF awards up to 16 Sainsbury Management Fellows scholarships to talented engineers and scientists each year. Applications are currently open for the next set of scholarships.