[ONLINE] WORAN Land Lecture 2024

What is the Land Lecture?

WORAN held its first Annual Networking Event in 2019, just prior to the pandemic. The event has now been renamed the WORAN Land Lecture, in honour of Professor Ailsa Land, pioneer of branch-and-bound and computational OR, role model and mentor.

Join Us for the Online Land Lecture Event Building Change: A Life In Engineering

Dame Dervilla Mitchell DBE, FREng, FIEI in conversation with Rosemary Byde

Introduced by Gilbert Owusu, President, The OR Society

This year, we are privileged to host Dame Dervilla Mitchell CBE, FREng, FIEI, as our distinguished Land Lecturer. Dervilla has long been recognised as an exceptional role model in engineering, and an exceptional supporter of other women in STEM.

From the girl who was afraid to ask questions at university in case she looked stupid, to holder of some of the biggest jobs in engineering, Dervilla’s trajectory is inspiring. She will be bringing her inimitable mix of relatability, clarity of perspective and empathy to the discussion of the human factors – career choices, resilience, courage, and ‘finding the time’ – and the bigger questions, including shifting the gender balance and decarbonising the economy, that affect us all.

Dervilla has recently stepped down as joint deputy chair of the Arup Engineering Group, a giant engineering company that has – in no small part thanks to Dervilla – an exceptionally high proportion of female engineers amongst its staff. Dervilla’s remarkable career includes Head of Design Management for Heathrow Terminal 5, and work on the London 2012 Olympic Village, the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and a number of other prestigious engineering projects.

For some years she served on the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, where she championed the use of computational modelling across the economy; and she is currently Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s decarbonisation working group.

Dervilla is a mother of three and beyond her professional roles she has been involved in her community acting as governor at two different schools, a trustee of a local alms house and helping with the brownie pack on occasions.

Dervilla will be in conversation with Rosemary Byde, head of People and Supply Chain Data and Analytics at NatWest Group. Rosemary is passionate about the ways in which STEM practitioners can be a positive force for change in society, and in learning from the experiences of people outside our direct networks.

There will also be plenty of opportunity for audience question and comment.

The WORAN Land Lecture has the specific remit of inviting an eminent female guest speaker, to talk on topics that have particular resonance for women and for anybody who is concerned about female representation in OR and analytics; and to inspire, inform and support by making women visible as role models and contributors to science, exploring issues affecting women, and ensuring that women’s voices are heard. It is named in honour of Professor Ailsa Land, pioneer of branch-and-bound and computational OR, role model and mentor.