Deeksha Sampath MSc MIET

Technology Transfer Engineer

Deeksha Sampath is a Technology Transfer Engineer at WMG, at the University of Warwick, below we look at her journey into a STEM career.

Growing up

Deeksha’s inspiration to work within engineering comes from a very young age. Growing up in India, her parent’s jobs required frequent travel, where she would often notice various transport modes such as, cars, trains, and airplanes. She was always fascinated by transport and was interested in building things when she was younger. Her grandfather who was an engineer, indulged her desire to build by buying her Lego sets, they would sit together every Sunday to make miniature replicas of motor vehicles.

By the time she completed high school, her passion for engineering, and its application to create social impact only increased, which is why she took up mechanical engineering despite being one of 3 girls in a batch of 400.

Career

Deeksha completed her bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, followed by a master’s in manufacturing systems engineering. She has a keen interest for circular technologies and also worked on developing a framework for composite recycling methods.

Before joining WMG, she worked as a Junior Research Trainee under the Government of India in Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) companies such as the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, BHAVINI and Steel Authority of India, involved in the Aerospace, Nuclear and Steel industries. This allowed her to gain a well-rounded understanding of complex multidisciplinary processes in the Indian and UK industrial markets.

Working at WMG

Deeksha now works as a Technology Transfer Engineer as part of the SME Group, here at WMG and is a key member of the Net Zero Innovation Network (NZIN).Link opens in a new window She uses her technical expertise to engage with stakeholders across various engineering sectors, sharing best practices.

Her day-to-day job involves collaborating with SME clients based in the UK through workshops, events and supporting them with sustainability and materials projects such as, measuring product carbon footprints, performing energy monitoring interventions to establish baseline and provide recommendations. She also performs materials characterization of steels and polymers to identify the root cause of material failures and supports client journey through UK government funds for business cases where required.

Additionally, Deeksha is also an active member of the University’s EDI committee and spends her time supporting outreach programs at Warwick such as being a speaker for the Thrive Women’s Personal Development Program, Panel member at the International Women in Engineering day and volunteers for the IET and MAN group’s annual Design and Make Challenge.

Achievements

This year Deeksha was recognised by the Women's Engineering Society as a part of the Enhanced by Engineering – Top 50 Women in Engineering 2024.

Deeksha is also a full member of the Institute of Engineering Technology (MIET) and the Women’s Engineering Society (MWES).

As a student, she was also awarded the WMG Excellence Scholarship (50%) for FT Masters Study in 2020.

In her scholarship application, some highlights that won her the award was that she was in the top 3% with a distinction in her UG degree being one of 3 women in a class of 400 having published a paper and taken part in various research projects.

Extracurriculars during her UG degree stood out where she volunteered for Blue Cross India for animal rescuing and was a senior volunteer for National Service Scheme where she supported organising sustainability drives such as beach/neighbourhood clean ups and tree plantation.

Advice to aspiring engineers

“Women who want to pursue engineering shouldn’t doubt themselves. Engineering is something that enhances your life and there is no gendered stereotype to enhancing people’s lives.” - Deeksha Sampath