Queen Mary University of London awards Fellowship to Dr. Ibilola Amao
The Fellowship was given to Dr. Amao at a special Queen Mary event, A Night of Science and Engineering, where the filmmaker and presenter Gordon Buchanan received an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) for his commitment conservation and the protection of biodiversity.
A Queen Mary alumna, Dr. Ibilola graduated in 1985 with a first-class honours degree in civil and structural engineering, progressing to her PhD in computer-aided design and draughting at Bradford University.
After her PhD studies, Ibilola trained as a Pupil Engineer with Babtie, Shaw and Morton Consulting Engineers (Jacobs Engineering) for three years, and also attended Manchester Business School. In 2022, Dr Amao joined the Industrial Advisory Board of the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary.
Dr. Amao is the Chief Executive Officer of Lonadek Global Services, a multi-award-winning, women-owned consultancy which has offices in Lagos, Nigeria and London, UK. She is a Board Member at the Energy Institute IE Week and a member of the Africa Prize panel of judges at the Royal Academy of Engineering UK.
Professor Colin Bailey, President and Principal of Queen Mary says: “As a Queen Mary alumna, we are incredibly proud of Ibilola’s achievements. This Fellowship is a fitting recognition of her distinguished career and her advocacy for the empowerment of youth, women and girls in STEM, IT and entrepreneurship. It’s truly impressive that Ibilola’s company, Lonadek, has now trained over 5,000 engineers and empowered over 100,000 STEM talents.”
Dr. Ibilola Amao adds: “I am proud and honoured to receive this Fellowship. I thank the University for this recognition especially as Queen Mary is the place where I began my career as an engineer. It has been my aim ever since graduating to instil in others a passion for STEM, especially minorities who may not consider STEM for study or a career. I spend a lot of time sharing my knowledge with younger women and trying to get more girls into the talent pool in male-dominated sectors, to inspire them and bring about change.”
The Fellowship is also conferred for Dr Amao’s support for Queen Mary’s recently established Centre for Academic Inclusion in Science and Engineering (CAISE). Established by the Faculty of Science and Engineering, CAISE works to ensure that the University’s curriculum is inclusive, and that students are supported equally throughout their academic and career development.