Women following in the family footsteps

SUNITA Gupta and Shwetha Jakkidi are two women who are following family traditions by pursuing careers in electronics.

Both women are bachelor of engineering (electronics and computer engineering) degree students at Manukau Institute of Technology. They are enjoying the challenging programme, they say.

"All my family are either doctors or engineers," Shwetha says.

"I was good at physics and mathematics at school, so I chose electronic engineering."

Initially the 21-year-old was the only women in her class until Sunita, aged 23, joined the programme in the second year after completing her certificate in engineering (electronics).

The two recently paired up for a research project to develop a computer-based control system for servo motors which are used in industry and on aircraft. Both did computer control engineering and their interest in the subject led to the research project.

After completing the programme next year, Sunita hopes to find employment as an electronics engineer focusing on computer hardware, while Shwetha aims to continue studying for a masters degree.

"I'm applying to go to the United States for my masters," she says.

Department of electrical and electronic engineering academic leader Len Jennings says 11 of 150 students in the electronics and computer engineering programme are women.

"We would like to see more women consider electronics and computer engineering as a career option. It's not a traditional engineering degree and is mostly computer-based," he says.

It can lead to management positions or design and research roles in industries as diverse as horticulture and marine, he says.

"Electronics and computer engineering is used in all sorts of fields and, through the research projects, the degree can be tailored to suit individual interests and aspirations.

"It's a challenging degree which is ideal for students who have a strong mathematics and physics background."

The four-year degree also has an honours stream which involves in-depth research projects.