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ICE Community blog

'You don’t need to be a superhero to get a Fellowship!'

Date
16 January 2025

Sam Uren, an ICE Fellow since 2018, believes that perfectionism shouldn’t put people off from applying for qualifications.

'You don’t need to be a superhero to get a Fellowship!'
Sam Uren is engineering director at SLC Rail

I was one of only three women out of a group of 35 people in my year studying civil engineering at Aston University.

After that, I went to work for Mott MacDonald, becoming the only graduate in my year to be taken on by the company’s Birmingham office.

Working around family life

I left my role at Mott MacDonald after having my second child.

I decided to freelance to give me the flexibility to keep working around family life, and I became a Chartered Civil Engineer in 2002.

This enabled me to keep my career on track. I grew my confidence working on projects such as the West Midlands Resignalling Project for Network Rail and the Bromsgrove Station relocation for Centro.

I became the engineering director of SLC Rail after working freelance with the business. Today, I’m in charge of engineering, HR, marketing and communications.

SLC Rail is a West Midlands-based SME which helps third parties deliver rail projects. I love the impact we make on projects and the local community.

Challenging personal perceptions

Before going for an ICE Fellowship, I’d always thought that it was for older men heading for retirement or people hailed as ‘inspirational’.

I didn’t think it was for an ‘ordinary’ person like me who, at that point, worked part-time for an SME and had two children and a hectic personal life.

However, seeing others in my peer group gain ICE Fellowship made me think that I could achieve it, too.

The idea that you must be a superhero to become an ICE Fellow can be exhausting and make you feel like you’re somehow not enough.

I’m sure it puts many people off from applying, so that’s why the ICE Connects: Women in Fellowship initiative is fantastic.

Gaining confidence by meeting others

Through the network, I’ve met quite a few women in my region who’d considered becoming an ICE Fellow, but didn’t feel confident enough to mention it in front of their peers.

I think that some women are more likely to share their vulnerabilities with others who understand what they’re going through, so it’s an important initiative.

Chartership vs Fellowship

One of the proudest moments in my career was achieving my Chartership – it took around 12 to 18 months of hard work.

With this in mind, taking on an ICE Fellowship application can feel like it will be another big undertaking in an already busy life.

But in comparison to Chartership, it’s fairly straightforward!

If you can be clear about which Fellowship attributes you can showcase, then the application could be done in a day!

There’s not usually an interview for Fellowship, so you will need to be able to explain on paper some of your own successes and those of your team.

Picking your sponsors is also critical.

They might be someone you work with now, someone you used to work with years ago, or even a Fellow from another institution, such as the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Stepping outside your comfort zone

One of the biggest things that’s helped me in my career is the realisation that you don’t have to be perfect.

Many people have imposter syndrome, and it can make us afraid to step out of our comfort zones for fear of failure.

However, you can’t fail in this application process.

If you don’t pass the first time, you’re invited to go away and think some more or defer for a few years.

Overall, I’d say it’s quite a gentle process and the attributes are broad enough to allow you to find at least one that sits well with you.

Greater voice

Becoming an ICE Fellow has increased my self-confidence because my ideas are validated.

I feel that I’ve been given more voice and that’s a great honour because it means that I can also lift other women.

I’ve recently helped a colleague through the application process and it’s wonderful to see how she’s grown.

To anyone thinking about applying, I’d encourage you to give it a go.

Learn more about becoming a Fellow

  • Sam Uren, engineering director at SLC Rail