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In most countries, women still represent less than 20% of the engineering workforce in industry and academia. Organised by the EDI committee, the DS launched a series of online talks in 2024-25 to encourage women to explore opportunities for careers in engineering, fostering diversity, innovation, and equality in the field. Women from academia and industry describe their experiences and efforts to encourage more women to pursue an engineering degree and subsequently enter engineering leadership. These talks are motivated to inspire change and provide insight into creating inclusive environments.
A new stream of episodes has been recorded for 2026, and will be released every Wednesday for the next few weeks, starting with a panel discussion, which is now available below.
Episode 6 Speakers: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lucienne Blessing, Dr.-Ing. Sabine Muschik, Carolyn Conner Seepersad, and Malin Hane Hagström
Title: Discussion Panel on Women in Engineering
Abstract: The Design Society continues its talk series on “Women in Engineering” with a panel discussion featuring several of our previous speakers. The panel brings together two senior female industry experts—Dr Sabine Muschik (Trumpf GmbH) and Dr Malin Hane Hagström (Volvo Group)—alongside two senior female academics: Prof. Lucienne Blessing, recently retired from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and Prof. Carolyn Seepersad (Georgia Tech).
During the discussion, the panel reflected on the barriers and enablers they encountered throughout their careers, offering valuable insights, reflections, and perspectives.
These talks are open to everyone, and you're encouraged to share with colleagues and interested students. Five episodes have previously been released and are available on the Design Society website: www.designsociety.org/knowledge-base/resources/3
Episode 1 Speaker: Prof. Lucienne T.M. Blessing
Title: A woman on the move – a life of experiences in engineering design
The number of women studying engineering and engineering design has increased substantially over the last decades and is now showing some effect on the number of women with a career in academia or in public and private organisations. However, their percentage remains low. This lack of diversity (as with any other diversity dimension) has a clear effect on the solutions that are created to address the issues individuals, groups and society are facing. In the lecture I will reflect on my experiences in academia against this backdrop, highlight the lessons I learned, and conclude with some recommendations that – as part of this series - hopefully encourages and helps those at the beginning of their career to continue in this field and contribute to positive change in our society.
Episode 2 Speaker: Dr.Sabine Muschik, Head of Agile Management Ecosystems at TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
Title: Be brave and reinvent yourself! How a positive attitude can help counter the challenges of professional life in engineering
Careers and life do usually not go as straight as one might have imagined as a child. Especially as a woman in a male-dominated technical environment, one of the toughest challenges is probably to find the sweet spot where your own abilities and your professional life align, in a way which differentiates from others and paves the way in being confident and successful. Over time it is crucial to find the right balance between professional role, mental and physical health and the boundary conditions of private life. In this talk, Sabine looks back on her own career and reflects on how changes on either of these, such as a job change or having a baby, are opportunities for a fresh start or change of direction. She discusses how her ability and willing to reflect about her own strengths and opportunities in changed circumstances gave her the courage to continuously reinvent herself; and argues that this flexibility can be one of the main strengths of women in a technical environment to stay effective and confident.
Episode 3 Speaker: Prof. Carolyn Conner Seepersad, Woodruff Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Title: Unlocking Potential: Design as a Catalyst for Engineering Scholarship
My academic journey, like that of many colleagues within the Design Society, commenced with a strong foundation in design. My graduate studies were dedicated to the development of innovative frameworks and computational methods for engineering design. These foundational design principles have proven invaluable in my subsequent contributions to diverse fields. They not only inform design frameworks that are customized for these fields but also instill a designer's perspective when approaching scholarly inquiries. This presentation will explore concrete examples of how a grounding in design principles can serve as a catalyst for a wide range of scholarly pursuits within engineering.
Episode 4 Speaker: Dr. Malin Hane Hagström, PhD, Director Strategy and Sustainability Volvo Group Trucks Operations - Skövde plant, Gothenburg, Sweden
Title: Engineering with Empathy: Lessons from a Cross-Disciplinary Career
Malin Hane Hagström is the Director of Strategy and Sustainability at Volvo Group’s Skövde plant, leading a team of around 100 people. They oversee safety, environment, quality, and improvement systems, and coordinate strategic plans and research agendas. Malin Hane Hagström also serves on the Board of Directors at Skövde University. Previously, she managed a team of experts in manufacturing engineering, focusing on digital twins, flow simulation, digitalization, AI, and problem-solving. From 2018 to 2022, Malin Hane Hagström was a Senior VPS/Lean Coach and industrial PhD student at Volvo Group’s Powertrain production, developing and coaching the VPS/Lean system to world-class levels. She also contributed to strategy development for flow thinking and digitalization. Earlier roles include Manager of Operational Excellence Production Logistics, Director of VPS/Lean Governance, and Consultant Manager at Fortos Management Consulting. Malin Hane Hagström has a strong background in logistics and operational excellence, consistently driving improvements and leading teams to achieve strategic goals. Her academic background is organisational psychology and manufacturing engineering with a PhD in Systems Engineering Design.
Episode 5 Speaker: Dr. Katja Holtta-Otto, Professor of Engineering Design and Head of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Australia
Title: Using a difference as a strength
As a member of an underrepresented group, you will always stand out. It can feel like additional pressure since there is always a spotlight on you, and you cannot hide or blend in. Being different to the majority, however, can also help. It can sensitize you to see also other things differently, be more innovative. It can help create new research areas, change engineering education, how universities are led, etc. In this talk I will share stories across my career and hopefully help empower also others to take that spotlight that is on you and use that as a platform to help accomplish whatever you want.
