Insights Empowering women engineers of the future in India

At Atkins, a member of the AtkinsRéalis Group, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) are key to the growth and prosperity of our company. Our ability to innovate and adapt in a fast-changing environment becomes more powerful when we give opportunities to different voices to make a difference. 

As part of our ED&I program in India, in October 2021, we launched ‘The Atkins Academia: Building Bridges Program’ that aims at collaborating with universities to offer students specialized training in the field of engineering. The program, which is a partnership with The Government Polytechnic Women’s College, gives students the opportunity to learn more about industry insights and develop relevant skills for their future careers.

Celebrating success

To recognize and celebrate the achievements of the first cohort that included 30 students, a felicitation event was organized in April 2022 at AtkinsRéalis ’s Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Bangalore, India, and was attended by representatives from Atkins, program coordinators, and lecturers from The Government Polytechnic Women’s College. The event recognized students for passing the final assessment and also offered them the opportunity to join Atkins after their graduation.

Bharat Gala, Senior Vice-President, GTC, AtkinsRéalis says: “We are proud to support the next generation of women engineers by providing our global expertise and industry knowledge. The Atkins Academia reflects the values of our ED&I strategy, and the program plays a key role in creating a new talent pool, aligned with our approach to connecting people, data and technology.”

What is the Atkins Academia: Building Bridges Program?

Students can enroll at The Atkins Academia during their final year of college. The program spans over three months of rigorous classroom training and assignments, and is designed around the following three principles: 

1. Corporate Social Responsibility: providing free training to students in their final graduation year
2. ED&I: upskilling and empowering women engineers 
3. Talent Pool: creating a talent pool of qualified engineers who meet the job market demand of the industry 

Ravi Kumar, Lead Designer at GTC, AtkinsRéalis , and a key collaborator of the program says: “The opportunity to train and develop women engineers of the future was one of the most satisfying experiences of my career. The initiative helped me enhance my skills as a trainer and realize my passion towards supporting women in STEM careers despite the existing barriers in our society.” 

Diverse experiences and opinions enhance our ability to create innovative and sustainable solutions for our clients and communities. We are committed to continue making a difference by providing similar collaborations with other disciplines in our organization.

Have you been inspired by our women engineers?

We’re looking to grow our teams in India. If you’re looking to start an exciting new career, find out more about engineering jobs in India or sign up for our job alerts so you never miss an opportunity.