Name: Elisabeth Eweka
What I do: I’m the founder and CEO of ENGRL – Girls in Engineering – and also a principal digital consultant in the building services industry. ENGRL is a digital platform dedicated to inspiring girls to explore engineering careers through education, storytelling and mentoring. What started as an idea has grown into a global community of over 150,000 young people across social media, where we help girls understand what engineering is, how to access it, and why they belong in the industry.
Why I got into the property industry: I actually got into the building services industry by mistake. When I was in sixth form, I studied art, maths, psychology and business. I was really good at art and really good at maths, so I kept Googling careers that combine the two. This was before AI, so the two careers that kept coming up were architecture and engineering. Architecture looked really long (about seven years) and engineering also happened to match my initials, EE. So I went with engineering!
How I did it: I took the traditional route into engineering. I studied design engineering for my undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham, then completed a master’s degree at UCL in engineering for international development. During my undergraduate degree, I completed an internship at an international building services consultancy, and later returned there for a graduate role.
My first proper job: Graduate technology engineer.
My first big break: Working on a major football stadium during my internship. Being involved in such a large and complex project early on really opened my eyes to the scale and impact engineering can have.
My inspiration(s): Definitely my mum. She’s been a teacher for over 25 years and I think that’s where my passion for educating and guiding young people comes from.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: Confidence in expressing my ideas and thoughts. I’m naturally quite introverted and shy, so learning to speak up and share my perspective has been a big personal challenge.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: Starting ENGRL in June 2024. Within five months we reached 50,000 followers, and within 10 months we had grown to over 100,000. Seeing young women and girls become excited about engineering because of something I created has been incredible. I’ve also been recognised by organisations such as UN Women UK for Outstanding Contribution to Gender Equality and named among the Top 100 Influential Women in Construction by CITB.
The biggest misconception people have about the property industry: That you have to be extremely good at physics and maths and that it’s not creative. In reality, the industry is incredibly creative – we’re literally designing and shaping the environments people live and work in.
My biggest bugbear about the industry/the one thing I would change about the industry: Lack of gender balance. Many young girls don’t fully understand what careers in property and construction involve, and because they don’t see people like themselves in the industry, they struggle to imagine fitting into it.
Why I’m so passionate about DE&I: As a young black woman from South London, I understand the barriers that can exist when entering industries like engineering and construction. Many girls simply don’t see themselves represented. I’m passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion because I want young girls to know that they absolutely belong in these spaces.
Why I’m so passionate about ESG: Being born and raised in London, sustainability is something that’s very close to my heart. We’re responsible for preserving and improving the cities we live in, and ESG is critical to making sure the built environment works for future generations as well as for us today.
Where I’d like to be in five years’ time career-wise: In five years, I’d love to be in the decision-making rooms – working with government and industry leaders to encourage more girls and women into engineering, STEM and construction. I’d also love to have personally helped over one million young people explore careers in engineering.
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: Michelle Obama. She’s done incredible work supporting and empowering young people, and I’d love to have that kind of impact in the UK. I also feel like we’d just get along really well!
What I do in my downtime: I absolutely love love love art. I enjoy visiting galleries, creating vintage-style pieces, and anything creative really. I love pottery, painting, drawing – anything artistic.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: Something creative – maybe an artist, ceramic maker, fashion designer, designing wedding dresses or interior designer.
My advice for someone just starting out: Be confident in who you are. The property and construction industry is about designing spaces for people, so the people working in the industry should reflect the diversity of society. Have your long hair, wear bright colours, keep your piercings – be yourself.
My motto/mantra: I can do anything I put my mind to.
If you’re a student curious about engineering, someone working in the industry, or an organisation that would love to support the work ENGRL is doing, follow @engrl.co on Instagram and TikTok or email elisabeth@engrl.com.
