Engineers: Marita Cheng and Nisrine Chartouny
'There weren't robots in my home that did the dishes' - engineers from Australia and Lebanon on developing ideas to make people's lives easier.
When Australian mechanical engineer Marita Cheng got to university, she was shocked to discover that only five out of 50 students on her course were female. She responded by starting Robogals - an organisation that goes into schools and teaches robotics to girls as a way of encouraging them into choosing engineering as a career. Having won multiple awards and starting her own robotics company, Marita is now an inspiring role model herself, and has developed a robot arm that can aid people with mobility issues.
Lebanese civil engineer Nisrine Chartouny oversees miles of tunnelling on London's ambitious Crossrail project. Her work requires precision, skill and very long hours. Nisrine joined her company Bechtel 10 years ago, and says she and her husband put off having babies for five years because she was enjoying her job so much. Now a mum of one, she was able to go back to work four days a week and wants the rest of the industry she is so passionate about to embrace flexible working, so that it can hold on to women like her.
(Photo: Marita Cheng (L). Credit: University of Melbourne, Australia. Nisrine Chartouny (R). Credit: Bechtel)
Last on
Clips
-
Robots and teleporting - bringing ideas to life
Duration: 01:03
-
Tunnelling under London
Duration: 01:34
Broadcasts
- Mon 23 May 2016 02:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Mon 23 May 2016 04:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online, Europe and the Middle East, South Asia & UK DAB/Freeview only
- Mon 23 May 2016 05:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East Asia
- Mon 23 May 2016 06:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia
- Mon 23 May 2016 12:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Mon 23 May 2016 18:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Mon 23 May 2016 19:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 28 May 2016 23:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except Americas and the Caribbean & News Internet
- Sun 29 May 2016 00:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia
The best of The Conversation
Enlightening, inspiring, revealing: Some of our favourite Conversations so far
100 Women
Global experience on image, work, relationships, equality, migration and working lives
Podcast
-
The Conversation
Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives