Sandra’s first visit to WMG offered an insight into the power of innovation, industry collaboration and applied research in driving economic growth.
It also allowed her to fulfil one of her passions in hearing from young people, including students involved with Warwick Moto and Warwick Racing - two of WMG’s flagship student projects. She had the opportunity to learn about the incredible work they are doing to design, build, and race cutting‑edge vehicles for European engineering competitions, including Formula Student and MotoStudent.
Sandra’s second visit, to the Faculty of Arts, offered an insight into the history and overview of the building and the faculty, as well as a tour to explore the department’s collections and exhibitions.
Sandra also met Design Studies students and Faculty of Arts representatives. She got to explore their work, creativity, critical thinking and real-world applications in action, as well as being given an insight into VR and CreaTech.
She said: “It has been a privilege and an inspiration to spend so much time at the University of Warwick, hearing from the amazing staff and the incredible students.
“The wonderful part about being president of the Chamber is meeting the people who are driving forward our region for the future and these two visits absolutely underlined that.
“I am a big believer in collaboration and creativity being at the heart of business and the regional economy and I could see that in abundance here at the University.
“And, as for the young people, I was absolutely mesmerised by their work and the way they represented themselves, their fellow students and the University as a whole. What an inspiration!”
Jane Webb, Head of the School for Cross Faculty Studies, said: “Sandra met with our second-year design students and our creative technologist and asked them some really pertinent questions.
“It was great to see the discussion between them, which explored some of the ways that we are using design to imagine both the past and the future.
“Sandra's presence and interactions were a great example of the role that the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce plays in connecting the work we do at the University with the region, and Sandra herself carefully heard the aspirations of our students and offered them a great example of leadership.”
Katie Andrews, Mechanical Engineering student and Chassis Team Lead at Warwick Racing, said: "Meeting Sandra was a great experience. It was a fantastic opportunity to talk her through our Formula Student car and explain some of the engineering behind the design, including the key systems and decisions that go into building and running the car.
“It was inspiring to see a woman in a leadership role at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce who is so interested in supporting and promoting women in engineering.
“Being able to discuss the technical details of the project with someone in her position was really rewarding, and it was great to see such genuine interest in the work our team is doing."
