Humans of Warwick - Dr Maryam Masood

Dr Maryam Masood

Assistant Professor, MSc Programmes, WMG 

“I’ve inspired a lot of women. Not just friends and family, but also in my community back home.”

“Coming from Pakistan and with my father being a pharmacist, the traditional expectation was to pursue medicine, there were no engineers in my family. While my brother and sister followed the more familiar path, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to be an engineer.

My family were supportive, understandably surprised by my decision they encouraged me to follow what I was passionate about. I’d always been good at Maths and Physics and was fascinated particularly by the concept of sustainability and renewable energy. I set out on my journey to become a Mechanical Engineer at the University of Engineering and Technology. It was an interesting and eye-opening experience. There were only 12 girls out of a group of 250 in my cohort. I knew it was going to be hard work to prove my strengths.

Once I’d graduated, I wanted to do something that supported my community and made a difference, so I decided on the academic route. I took up a teaching role at the University and then managed to secure a fully funded Masters leading to a PhD scholarship. The tricky bit was that this was going to be in the UK, and at this time I had never even travelled out of the city on my own, let alone move to another country!

Previously, it had mostly been men who would travel abroad for studies like my dad or my brother. There wasn’t much resistance, just a lot of questions around whether I was sure of my decision and will be able to manage. I was, and I was determined to make it the best experience possible. I came to the UK in 2008, I still remember very vividly leaving the airport in a taxi thinking what had I done and if anything went wrong, I’d be straight on the plane back home. 17 years later, I’m still here.

I was lucky there were people I knew on the course, and we built a community. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at University of Cambridge, but I understand that not everyone is as fortunate. Through my own experiences, I feel a real connection with our international students. I know exactly what they are going through and can recognise when they might be finding things challenging. I do my best to support and guide them. This is why I take great satisfaction in my pastoral role, supporting students and helping them navigate their academic journey.

Warwick has been a central part of my academic career in the UK. The colleagues I work alongside at WMG and the University have been an integral part of my professional development, I deeply appreciate the shared learning, collaboration, and mutual support that define our community.

And did I make the difference back home that I wanted to? I believe I did, in more ways than one. I now see a lot more women taking the step into engineering and studying abroad has also become a more accepted and achievable path for women in my community. I was among the first to take that leap, and I’m proud to have helped inspire the next generation, making it a little easier and more accessible for the women who follow.”