International Women in Engineering Day takes place this weekend, on Sunday. The theme for International Women in Engineering Day 2024 is Enhanced by Engineering, so the focus is on women who have enhanced by engineering “people’s everyday lives and are helping to build towards a brighter future”.
SL Controls is an engineering company. The majority of our customers are in the life sciences sector, so we work with some of the world’s largest medical device and pharmaceutical companies, i.e., companies that develop and manufacture products that diagnose, treat, and transform the lives of patients.
We asked some of the women in SL Controls their thoughts on working for customers in the life sciences sector.
Part of Something Bigger
Nav Dharni, Project Manager: “Sometimes we look at these medical device companies or pharma companies and we’re just familiar with the big names, the brands, and the products. I think it’s really nice to see everything that happens in order to get that product out, that journey of understanding the industry better.
“Although we are not directly involved with patients or the customers who are buying the products, it’s nice to see you are involved in helping people and advancing technologies within the health sector. It’s nice to know you are part of something bigger.”
Saoirse Kearse, Software Quality Engineer: “I’d say the best thing about working in the life sciences sector is the fact you can impact people’s quality of life in a positive way, especially when they badly need it. It gives you that satisfaction that you are actually benefiting people.”
Privilege
Deirdre Loughlin, Quality Lead: “Although I am not an engineer, it is a privilege to be part of a company that helps make products that enhance people’s lives. Every day our engineers are working to make people’s quality of life better which is something to be really proud of.”
Blessing Nwachukwu, Systems Engineer: “Listening to the problems and finding digital solutions that can solve the problems – it’s the ever-evolving solutions that we work on and develop for our customers. The solutions enable creativity and innovation, and they are always intriguing.”
Jisa Varghese, Systems Engineer: “… what I find most rewarding in working with life sciences clients is the seamless integration of technology and pharma. It is interesting to develop new tools and applications as this field is constantly evolving and has lots of potential. It is also exciting as there are different varieties of technologies I get to work with.”
Diane Maher, Systems Engineer: “Knowing I’m making an impact in an important sector [is the best thing about working in the life sciences sector]. I know I have to maintain a high level of accuracy and detail and I like practicing this every day by default.”
Connecting the Dots
Shauna Ryan, Director of People and Culture: “One of the really enjoyable things about my role is getting to talk to our employees about the work they do, the projects they work on. They have a passion that is infectious and inspiring. It is a passion for the technologies they work with and the problems they are resolving – of course, they are engineers. But there is also a passion for the fact we operate within the life sciences sector.
“We don’t manufacture or develop medicines or medical devices at SL Controls. What we do is improve manufacturing processes. That work helps our customers get their healthcare products to a greater number of patients around the world. Connecting the dots between those products and the work I do in human resources or the work our engineers do on a pharmaceutical production line gives me a real buzz. It’s rewarding.”
