About the live engineer interview series and Q&A
A large part of the ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ is interviewing engineers and enabling learners to ask the questions that matter to them. These interviews provide an opportunity for engineers to share how they use creative problem solving in their work and inspire the pupils to find their own engineering ideas.
In 2024-25 academic year, we conducted 18 live interviews with engineers from a wide range of background and industries with over 45,000 pupils joining us live from across the UK. The 2024-25 live interview series featured a NASA Scientist, a Top 50 Women in Engineering Award Winner 2024, the world’s greatest Watchmaker, one of the UK’s only female Railfreight Drivers and many more.
You can find videos of our previous engineer interviews on our YouTube channel
How do we interview an engineer?
Teachers get the opportunity to be introduced to an engineer and bring them into the classroom or have the class, and on occasion the whole school join one of our high-profile live interviews, giving them the opportunity to ask the questions that matter to them. This introduces them to inspiring people they can identify with, help broaden knowledge and career aspirations as well as dismantle stereotypes.
To access these interviews, please register for the competition then log into the resources area to find the link to access the interviews.
What if my school isn’t available to join the live interview at that time?
We host our live interviews on a variety of days and times but if these don’t quite align to your available, you can catch the recording on our YouTube channel a week later. We have a fantastic collection of past interviews on this channel so please make use of these as your alternative engineer engagement.
How will I know if that interview is suitable for my class?
We ask all engineering professionals to provide a quote beforehand so you have an idea of what the interview topic will be plus we will provide a guide age range.
Can I join multiple interviews?
You only need to attend one interview, however if you wanted you could attend multiple. Remember, the sooner you have your engineer engagement, complete your entries in class and send them to us, the sooner we can get engineers to grade them.
My class has watched an online interview, what next?
Once you’ve interviewed an engineer, it’s time for your pupils to start looking at the world around them to see if there is a problem they can solve with engineering. They will create an annotated drawing of how their idea would work and write a letter to an engineer explaining why their idea should be built. Remember, all entries are read and graded by professional engineers, with every single pupil who takes part receiving a named and graded certificate. If you have any questions or need any support, please contact our Service Delivery Coordinators.
UPCOMING INTERVIEWS
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN ANY OF THESE INTERVIEWS LIVE THEN PLEASE RSVP ON THE RESOURCE AREA.
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
Friday 6th March (live at 1pm) – International Women’s Day Special with one of WE50 Top 50 Women in Engineering in 2025 – Senior Data Analyst Imisi Joseph shares her journey into STEM, starting from her school years and how an unexpected introduction to the automotive world eventually led to a career in data analytics.
Monday 9th March (live at 9:30am) – British Science Week! – Solving tomorrow’s problems! – What is engineering? Who can be engineer? And how can we engineering the Future? Charlotte Malkinson, Technical Specialist, Performance Engineering at Cummins gives insights into engineering and inspires showing how anyone can help to solve tomorrow’s problems.
Monday 9th March (live at 1pm) – British Science Week! – A problem-solving expedition across air, sea and space – Lieutenant Tom Fuller’s career has varied.. Whether he’s on a mountain ridge for an adventurous training expeditions, sailing the vast ocean with the Royal Navy or bringing cutting-edge space technology and capabilities into reality for UK Space Command, the mindset is the same: curiosity, resilience and problem solving.
Wednesday 11th March (live at 9:30am) – British Science Week! – Improving lives through engineering! Paul is the CEO of Neupulse, where they use cutting edge technology to create breakthrough medical devices, including its innovative Tourettes device, which uses gentle nerve stimulation to help regulate brain activity and reduce tics. Guided by feedback from individuals with tic disorders, Neupulse has created a safe, non‑drug solution designed for everyday use, giving people greater control without affecting movement or focus.
Wednesday 11th March (live at 1pm) – British Science Week! – drones! Think drones are just little gadgets you fly around for fun? Think again! Join Nathan from Tekever to explore drones that are more like “flying computers” than toys. These drones can fly by themselves, travel huge distances, and help keep our oceans and coastlines safe. As a structural analyst and designer, Nathan works on the parts of the drone that make it strong enough to fly. Ever wondered why wings bend, or how we know a drone snap in the wind? Nathan figures out how every wing, beam and panel should be shaped so it can handle all the forces of flying. If you’ve ever looked at a drone and thought, “Is the wing supposed to do that?” or wondered how a computer learns to fly safely, Nathan can show you how engineering, design, and smart technology all work together to get a drone into the sky.
Thursday 12th March (live at 9:30am) – British Science Week! – Marching to the beat of my drum: From Apprenticeship to Head of Production. Frazer from British Drum Co proves that a career path doesn’t have to be a straight line or conventional. After dropping out of college without a clear plan, he followed his passion for music all the way to university. Today he combines that musical expertise with technical engineering precision and manufacturing as a Head of Production. Frazer is living proof that it’s ok to have an unconventional start and to take your time discovering which path works. Discover how his hobby evolved into a high-level engineering career!
Friday 13th March (live at 9:30am) – British Science Week! – From Customer Service to Coding: Unleashing Your Tech Superpower with Amran Salaad – Amran spent a long time helping people working in customer service, but she had a secret superpower: grit, passion and a curiosity for how things work. Now she is a “Software Engineer,” which is a fancy name for someone who writes “code”, which is like a secret language for computers! Amran’s journey will show you that you can switch careers at anytime and anyone out there, regardless of gender or background, could have a career in tech too!
Friday 13th March (live at 1pm) – British Science Week! – Who makes sure helicopters are ready for the skies? – Meet Maisie Dobbs, a Chinook Flight Test Engineer at Boeing, helping turn new ideas into safe and successful flights. The Chinook helicopter is a versatile heavy-lift helicopter equipped for extreme environments and multi-role operations.
More British Science Week interviews will be added at a later date, keep an eye out for further details!