Niri Arambepola, Claire Gott and Athena Livesey from WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff; Marina Parry from Cancer Research UK, University of Manchester; and Mary Akangbe from the NHS were among 100 new Rising Stars created by WeAreTheCity for 2017 and enjoyed their night in the spotlight.

The five are proud winners in the Science and Engineering category, sponsored by 3M, and joined the category winners from other areas such as banking, construction, education and academia, sport and technology for the awards event which was compered by BBC newsreader Jane Hill with entertainment provided by a gospel choir.

Niri, Claire, Athena, Marina and Mary beat tough competition to be named as the Science and Engineering Rising Stars as the various awards attracted more than 1,250 entries. These were assessed by a panel of 33 independent judges and whittled down to 200 shortlisted entries that went through to public voting.

Mary is a specialist practitioner in minimally invasive surgery at King’s College Hospital NHS Trust and was selected as a Rising Star for her role founding the Zenith Global Health Awards that recognise and celebrate the dedication and commitment of healthcare professionals working at the coal face.

Said Mary: “I do a lot of training and mentoring in laparoscopic surgery, both here and across Africa, and plan to expand on this to build an army of future Rising Stars. Winning this award will definitely help me progress further along my career path. I have been inspired to do more and be more.”

Marina also works in health care as a postdoctoral research fellow as part of the Molecular Oncology group at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and was recognised for her ground-breaking research in the field of genetics associated with blood cancer and prostate cancer.

Claire is a senior civil engineer for WSP and is also the co-founder of a charity supporting sustainable development in rural Cameroon. She was awarded an MBE for her services to civil engineering and her charitable work in Cameroon, which she started in 2009 while studying at Southampton University.

Niri is a senior structural engineer at WSP and has worked on a number of high profile projects including the Shell Centre in central London. She is also co-founder of the Structurally Found competition - a photo treasure hunt designed to tell the general public about the amazing engineering that surrounds them.

Athena also works for WSP as a principal engineering geologist and has contributed to a number of award-winning infrastructure projects around the globe. She is passionate about encouraging young people and championing young professionals and does this through her work as a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassador and as the UK national chair of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) Progress Network.

Welcoming the Rising Stars and their sponsors to the awards event, managing director of WeAreTheCity, Vanessa Vallely, said: “While we celebrate the achievements of these amazing change agents and reward their triumphs, it is important to acknowledge that there is still work to be done if women are to reach their true potential.

“Despite 2017 being a year where there are record numbers of working women, so few are progressing into senior management positions. For this reason, we want to focus on women in the early stages of their careers and give them the support and encouragement they need to reach the top.”

The Times and The Sunday Times are the headline sponsors of the 2017 awards and managing director of Times Newspaper Ltd, Chris Duncan, also spoke at the event. He said: “We are excited to be part of this unique awards programme that shines the spotlight on the achievements of women across so many different industries. We need to make sure that women have the opportunity to progress in their own style.”

3M Research and Development director, Wynne Lewis, presented the awards to Niri, Claire, Athena, Marina and Mary on the night.

Said Wynne: “We are proud to sponsor the Science and Engineering category as it is vital to encourage young people, and young women in particular, to forge careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics related sectors. They are inspirational role models for us all.”

WeAreTheCity is an online forum that provides free careers advice and launched the prestigious Rising Star awards in 2015 to showcase the pipeline of female talent in the UK across 22 different industries and professions.

Find out more about 3M

Read WeAreTheCity’s event report