Engineering and Baking Brilliance Combine

West London College is celebrating International Women in Engineering Day today, 23 June 2023, and we were delighted to welcome two exceptional engineers to our Hammersmith and Fulham College earlier in the week. Dr Shini Somara, a mechanical engineer, media broadcaster, producer and author visited West London College on 20 June 2023 to film a short film with Andrew Smyth for the Engineers Making a Difference (EMAD) social media campaign. Andrew is a famous British aerospace engineer, perhaps more well-known for his culinary success on the TV shows ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and ‘Baking Impossible’.

Andrew and Shini were tempering chocolate to explore how turbine blades in a jet engine are made. For those who are wondering what on earth melted chocolate has to do with jet engines… “It’s all about the crystals,” Andrew said, “We’re explaining the fun side of engines in an enjoyable and creative way to stimulate the curiosity of our viewers.”

Dr Shini Somara recently published her book called ‘Engineers Making a Difference’. Dr Somara’s book has been generously supported by Imperial College London and The Gatsby Foundation, who have donated over 16,000 copies to 8,000 secondary schools in the UK.  

Accompanying the book is a social media campaign, where Shini films with most of the engineers, to find out more about their engineering work and who they are as people!

There are 46 engineers in the book and Shini is producing and publishing over 36 films in the next nine months! Shini has already published 15 films to date on her YouTube channel. 

Dr. Shini Somara, who is passionate about switching people on to Engineering, said: “It’s never been more important to update the public perception of Engineering so that we can encourage more diversity and inclusion into this exciting and essential industry.”