Becoming a Fellow of the RAEng: an honour and a responsibility
Catherine Ramsdale, Pragmatic Semiconductor’s SVP Technology, was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering – one of the highest national honours an engineer can receive. Here, she considers what the role means to her and how it guides her actions within the workplace and beyond.
For an engineer, being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is a huge honour, and represents an unequalled level of validation and recognition … but it’s also a significant responsibility.
The role of a Fellow is to promote the charitable aim of the Academy – or, as the guidelines put it, to promote, “the pursuit, encouragement and maintenance of excellence in the whole field of engineering to useful purpose in order to promote the advancement of the science, art and practice of engineering for the benefit of the public.”
For me, that means fostering an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects amongst the next generation of engineers. Within the workplace, it means creating a collaborative engineering community with the diverse perspectives needed to drive inclusive innovation.
The power of diverse perspectives
I’m an ardent believer in the power of diversity. It’s clear to me that knowledge and experience gleaned from different backgrounds leads to improved problem-solving and better outcomes.
However, it’s incumbent on those of us that are well established in our professions to support the next generation in effective, equitable collaboration, creating safe environments where everyone can thrive, without bias or presumption.
Key to this is effective communication. Most mistakes and inefficiencies arise from a mismatch in expectations. With this in mind, I promote a management style of positive intent, working on the assumption that people take pride in doing a good job and want to do their work well. When you assume the best of each other, it becomes clear that no one is setting out to annoy their team or complicate matters in hand – they just have different expectations, a different perspective or are missing relevant context.
Assuming positive intent allows us to think about others’ thought processes and seek alignment, encouraging input from all stakeholders to work through challenges step by step. And the taste of success is amplified when it’s underpinned by effective teamwork. There’s no greater feeling than, “We did it!”
Celebrating diverse engineering excellence
At Pragmatic I’m fortunate enough to work with a range of inspirational engineers from all backgrounds on pioneering work that requires broad, cross-discipline collaboration. Their multi-faceted perspectives are intrinsic to the novel – often highly creative – ways we work to resolve technical challenges. As we celebrate the successes, it’s important to acknowledge the value derived from that diversity of thought.
It’s also important to showcase the contributions of up-and-coming engineers; they are the ones who will be solving the problems of tomorrow, passing on their knowledge and experience in their turn.
I’ve long been an advocate of STEM outreach, running science clubs with local schools, volunteering as a STEM ambassador and encouraging work experience placements and internships within Pragmatic. As it approaches its 50th anniversary in 2026, the RAEng’s Fit for the Future campaign aims to ensure that the Fellowship represents the full breadth and diversity of engineering excellence, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background or route into the discipline. I believe that this diversity is an intrinsic part of engineering success and, as a newly appointed Fellow, I’m thrilled that I can support the Academy to achieve that goal.
