Bentley Motors Concludes Third Edition of Extraordinary Women Initiative with UK and Qatar Students at Crewe Headquarters

25.06.2024
  • UK and Qatar university students spend a week at Bentley’s Crewe headquarters
  • Three-month programme includes one-on-one mentorship with inspirational female Pioneers
  • Pioneers include Sara Davies MBE from BBC One’s Dragons’ Den, and Arab Women of the Year Awards winner, Dr Noora Fetais Al Marri

(Crewe, 20 June 2024) The third edition of Bentley Motors’ Extraordinary Women initiative concluded with UK and Qatar university students spending a week at the luxury car brand’s headquarters in Crewe. They engaged with Bentley experts, toured manufacturing operations, and tackled individual tasks.

Aimed at nurturing future female leaders, the 2024 Extraordinary Women programme provided three months of one-on-one mentorship from influential Pioneers in technology, engineering, design, and business.

Students were selected through a structured process focusing on these fields. Participating universities included The University of Doha for Science & Technology in Qatar and the Universities of Bath, Loughborough, and Manchester Metropolitan in the UK.

Noora Al-Hajri from The University of Doha for Science & Technology shared:
“This experience has been life-changing. I’ve gained invaluable knowledge that will impact my personal and professional growth significantly. Learning from mentors in both Qatar and the UK has broadened my horizons. Visiting Bentley’s headquarters was awe-inspiring.”

The carefully chosen Pioneers offered their expertise generously. In the UK:

  • Sara Davies MBE (Crafter’s Companion founder) mentored business students.
  • Cecilia Harvey (Tech Woman Today founder) guided technology mentees.
  • Titi Oliyide CEng MIET (Senior Process Safety Engineer) supported engineering participants.
  • Ilse Crawford (Studioilse Founder) assisted design-focused students.

The Qatari Pioneers included:

  • Muna Al-Bader (Qatar’s UNESCO art ambassador), who mentored design enthusiasts.
  • Dr Noora Fetais Al Marri (Arab Association for Cyber Security President), offering guidance in technology.
  • Dr Hanan Farhat (Qatar Association for Women Engineers founder), supporting engineering mentees.
  • Dr Buthaina Al Ansari(Tamkeen Training senior advisor), mentoring business aspirants.

      Bentley Motors’ Board Member for Human Resources Dr Karen Lange remarked:
      “Each year sees our Extraordinary Women programme grow stronger thanks to our dedicated Pioneers. Meeting such talented young women fills me with optimism for their futures.”

      The Extraordinary Women initiative launched in 2022 across the UKand Middle East engagingstudentsfromthe UAE Saudi Arabia,andtheUK.ItispartofBentley’scommitmenttodiversity,equityandinclusionunderitsBeyond100strategyencouragingwomentopursuecareerinSTEMandautomotivesectors.

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