A YOUNG female engineer from Barrow has been shortlisted for the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Young Woman Engineer (YWE) of the Year Awards 2020.

Denize Ivy Pilarta, 21, is an Apprentice Non-Destructive Examination Engineering Technician at BAE Systems Submarines.

She is responsible for ensuring the structural integrity of submarines, working alongside technicians confirming critical components are free from unwanted defects.

As a passionate STEM ambassador, Denize supports many educational events including: World Skills Live UK and ‘The Road to Engineering’ hosted by BAE. She has been awarded ‘MAKE UK Engineering Apprentice of the Year: Rising Star National Winner’ for her dedication to continuously improve, and actively promotes the endless possibilities within STEM to young girls.

With three prizes to be won – the Young Woman Engineer (YWE) of the Year Award, the Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices and the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) Prize - Denize is up against five other finalists.

She said: “From an early age, it was evident that females are majorly under-represented in STEM professions; which motivated me to pursue a career where I could break all misconceptions of what it means to work within a male-dominated field. I am extremely grateful to be named a finalist for the YWE awards."

This year’s YWE Awards are being sponsored by BAE Systems, Boeing, BP, Collins Aerospace, Frazer-Nash, GCHQ, Leonardo, MBDA, Ofcom, RAF, Royal Mail, Teledyne e2v, Thales and Wiley.