Sidney Black Memorial Engineering Award

content

Throughout his life, Sidney Black was driven by his passion for engineering. This £500 annual award is given in his name to inspire new female engineers to achieve their full potential, to allow their career dreams to take them wherever they desire.

The Sidney Black Memorial Engineering Award is offered to a graduating female engineering student who has demonstrated a combination of academic achievement, personal attributes or a contribution to society/student life.

Eligibility

Open to female, graduating students at UHI, who have passed their BEng on any of our engineering programmes.

It’s easy to nominate yourself (or someone you know) for this award:

  1. Just let us know in one or two paragraphs (no more than 500 words) why you think you should win this award. This can be anything from academic achievement, struggling financially, ambitious career aims, requirement for start-up funding, etc.
  2. Send your nomination by email to development@uhi.ac.uk.
  3. Nominations will be judged after the closing date and the winner will be contacted shortly after.
  4. Closing date: 31 August 2025 (to confirm applicant has passed their BEng).

Winners of the Sidney Black Memorial Engineering Award

Sidney Black (1927 – 2018)

Sidney Black, black and whiteSidney Black

The son of Polish and Russian immigrants, Sidney left a heavily bombed Liverpool to train, at HMS Collingwood, as one of the first ever Petty Officer Radio Mechanics. He served in this capacity on HMS Norfolk, the Royal Navy’s flagship in the Indian Ocean, before returning to a career as Test Engineer, for Pye’s new black and white television studio equipment. This was followed by a role as Vision Engineer with the nascent ABC Television studios, and then as Electronics Engineer for Marconi, maintaining the Canadian Arctic Military Listening stations. From 1960 to 1980, Sidney worked for the Department of Overseas Development as a Radio Installation Engineer, installing radio stations across Africa, before returning to the UK where he worked as an Electronics Technician until the age of 91.

Chloe Dunnet

2024 Winner, Chloe Dunnett

“I am honoured to receive this award, and I would like to extend a special thanks to Lois for all the support and encouragement throughout my degree. I was fortunate to undertake my studies while working as an Instrument Technician at Dounreay, where they excelled in promoting equality in a male-dominated workplace. However, I am not blind to the fact that the gender divide within the industry remains prevalent. This is why it is important that we continue to encourage and support women in the engineering industry, to strive towards a more equitable future with new perspectives.”