Young civil engineer from Shropshire elected to council of global professional organisation

Serena Gough, 26, from near Newport, was up against other graduate candidates and was elected to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Council as the organisation's sole graduate member.

The ICE Council is advisory, but it has an essential role to represent the views of the membership to the trustee board. Her term commences on November 7 and will last for three years.

Serena says she would like to be considered a role model for other young women who are looking for a career in the male-dominated profession.

She is passionate about representing the interests and views of graduate members at the ICE Council. The ICE describes itself as a voice for civil engineers and those working in infrastructure to promote the importance of the work they do for society.

Serena added that she possesses both the experience and the expertise to negotiate appropriate improvements leading to positive change.

"I would also like to represent the graduate cohort and to increase public perceptions of civil engineering," she said.

An alumna of Newport Girls’ High School, Serena graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2019 with a first-class Honours Master of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering.

She has been working in Birmingham since her graduation for large civil engineering consultancy companies, where she specialises in urban highway and local road design.

She is currently a senior engineer in the urban highways team of Arcadis in Birmingham.

Her expertise covers active travel schemes, bus improvements, corridor and junction improvements and road widening schemes.

The ICE Council debates issues relevant to civil engineering and society to understand and recognise how the changing nature of civil engineering should influence the agenda.

It comprises 38 members from across the globe who are all in varying stages of their careers and are directly elected by ICE membership.

Alongside her work, Serena volunteers on the ICE West Midlands and International Early Careers Committees, where she held the role of chair of both committees concurrently last year.

Serena is also an advocate for increasing diversity in civil engineering and is a STEM ambassador, regularly speaking at events both in person and online.