Phoebe Rylatt, third-year Mechanical Engineering with integrated masters student, has won the Female Undergraduate of the Year Award, partnered by Rolls-Royce.

Phoebe is a STEM ambassador and peer mentor, as well as a maths tutor for the charity Action Tutoring, volunteering at primary and GCSE level with the aim of closing the attainment gap. Last summer she undertook an internship on the HS2 project and delivered food parcels for those who were shielding in lockdown.

“To me, this award shows that there is a place for all women to excel in engineering, that believing in yourself is the first step to realising your potential. I am so grateful for the opportunity that has been awarded to me through winning STEM Female Undergraduate of the year with Rolls Royce. I am excited to immerse myself in industry, working with like-minded engineers on the forefront of engineering development.”

“This award shows that there is a place for all women to excel in engineering, that believing in yourself is the first step to realising your potential.”

Russian and History student, Kathryn Moore, won the First Generation Undergraduate of the Year Award, partnered by HSBC.

Kathryn is currently on her year abroad but is involved in a range of societies, including the East Midlands Universities Air Squadron. She is working at a local GP practice and mass vaccination site to aid with the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

“Being a first-generation university student, I have always had the mentality that I need to work twice as hard to ensure that I can take advantage of all the opportunities that attending a university offers. I was particularly honoured to have been selected as winner of the First Generation Undergraduate of the Year Award 2021 because this award aims to champion social mobility, a cause which I am particularly passionate about as a result of my own experiences. This award has enabled me to develop a wide range of new skills and I am really looking forward to my internship with HSBC.”

“I was particularly honoured to have been selected as winner of the First Generation Undergraduate of the Year Award 2021 because this award aims to champion social mobility, a cause which I am particularly passionate about as a result of my own experiences.”

We are incredibly proud to have not one but two UoN students win in a competition that offers nine categories – especially with over 5,000 entries from 140 UK universities.

Professor Sarah Speight, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience at the University, said: “I am very proud of Phoebe and Kathryn. They are making a real difference to local communities through the choices they have made - in developing themselves, they are helping others. They are fantastic ambassadors for the student population in Nottingham, using their energy and skill to support educational attainment and Covid recovery. Congratulations to them both.”

On behalf of everyone at the university we would like to take the opportunity to offer our congratulations to both Phoebe and Kathryn whose amazing hard work embodies the values of the University of Nottingham community.

The TARGETjobs Awards offer an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their hard work to potential employers.