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  • This is the website of EurIng Dawn Bonfield MBE FREng CEng FIMMM FICE HonFIStructE FWES HonDEng
    I am President of the Commonwealth Engineers' Council, and one of the UK representatives and Board Member of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations. As Professor of Practice in Engineering for Sustainable Development at King's College London, I work to embed sustainable development in engineering education and Higher Education more broadly, and I also teach a Masters and Degree Apprenticeship module in Professional Engineering at Aston University in my role as Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering. I am Founder & Director of Towards Vision, a Company which works towards a vision of diversity and inclusion in engineering, and founder of the Magnificent Women social enterprise which celebrates the history of women in engineering, and uses our inspiring heritage to encourage the next generation of engineers. I am Past President and former Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society, and founder of the International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), which takes place on 23 June annually.
    I am a materials engineer by background and spent many years working in the aerospace industry on composite materials. At the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) as Deputy Chair of the Women in Engineering Committee I focus on the application of engineering and technology to address the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular emphasis on addressing the disadvantages faced by women. I have recently been a member of the Engineering Design T level Panel developing the content for the Engineering Design & Development T Level.
    Other roles:
  • Visiting Professor at Bath University in the Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
  • Member of the Royal Academy of Engineering Education and Skills Committee: the Africa Engineers Steering Committee; the Ethics in Higher Education Steering Group; and the Sustainability in Higher Education Steering group
  • Member of Research England's UKRPIF Advisory Board
  • Member of UKRI EPSRC EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Strategic Advisory Network (SAN); 
  • Member of IOM3 Sustainable Development Group
  • Court member at Bath University
  • Member of the Engineering Professors Council (EPC) Ethics Case and Sustainability Advisory Groups
  • Judge and panel member on a number of competitions and grant funds including Equal Engineers; Growing Business Awards; UKRPIF; Collaborate to Innovate
  • IOM3 Outstanding Contribution to EDI Award 2024
  • Included in Forbes Academic Influence Top 35 Influential Women in Engineering, 2021
  • Named number 2 in the Inclusive Boards Financial Times Top 100 Influential Women in Engineering list in 2019​
  • I published the Top 100 Historical Women in Engineering List in 2019​​
Please take a look at the Towards Vision website and get in touch if you would like to contact me about inclusive engineering.
If you are interested in working with me to bring Inclusive Engineering to your business, please get in touch.

Biography Dawn Bonfield MBE FREng CEng FIMMM FICE HonFIStructE FWES HonDEng
Dawn Bonfield MBE FREng is Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at King's College London working with young people on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals as entrepreneurs. She has been Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering at Aston University since 2017, and is the Founder & Director of Towards Vision, a not-for-profit which works towards a vision of diversity and inclusion in engineering. She is Past President and former Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society (WES). Dawn is Deputy Chair of the Women in Engineering Committee of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations working on the application of engineering and technology to address gender inequality globally. Dawn has recently been a member of the Engineering Design T level panel, and serves on a number of educational committees promoting engineering and engineering education. She is founder of the social enterprise ‘Magnificent Women’ which celebrates the history of women in engineering, and she was the founder of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) which takes place on 23 June annually.
A materials engineer by profession - having studied Materials Science at Bath University - Dawn has worked at AERE Harwell, Citroen Research Centre (Paris), British Aerospace (Bristol), MBDA (Stevenage), and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (London).
Dawn received an MBE in 2016 for 'Services to the promotion of diversity in engineering', and in 2015 Dawn won a WISE Award and an Association Congress Award for the INWED campaign, and in 2016 she won the SEMTA award for Diversity in Engineering. In 2016 she was a finalist in the GEDC Airbus Global Diversity Award, and in 2017 she won the Women's Business Council STEM 'Starting Out' award. In 2019 she was named as number 2 in the Inclusive Boards Financial Times Top 100 Women in Engineering List, and in 2021 was in the Forbes / Academic Influence Top 35 Global Influential Women in Engineering List. In 2024 she was awarded the IOM3 Outstanding Contribution to EDI Award.

Please read my blogs and twitter feed (@dawnbonfield) for an idea of my work and thoughts, and please contact me if you have any comments or suggestions.