Meet Nicky Ng | Inspiring Women in Engineering

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I am a graduate in the 2020 Graduate Program and I am currently in my first rotation in Sydney Trains ESI RSMD. My background is Mechatronic Engineering and I graduated last year with a double degree in Mechatronics and Biomedical Engineering. So far in my placement I have gained a lot of onsite/depot learning experiences that complement the office work I do well. The projects I am working on at the moment have really utilised my university studies and I enjoy that there is a good learning curve in the placement.

A few projects I am involved in include upgrades and modifications to the OSCar train fleet (smoke detectors, HVAC filters) and Xplorer/Endeavour trains. I am also involved with the Brakes unit in RSMD and have been actively participating in their test runs as part of their brakes modification projects.

2. What's your proudest moment?

My proudest moment at work would have to being involved in system modification projects to change components on the fleets for improvement. Currently I’m working on a project with the Train Control and Communications team that will have mechanical design and electrical wiring components that I will need to create and change. I am going to be involved with the trial and test plan phase and documentation for the same project which will be exciting to see and roll out soon.

I am also working with the Mechanised Track Patrol Vehicles to do a hinge skirt rollout for easier maintenance access. What is cool about this project is that the MTPV are not passenger fleets which is exciting as it isn’t something you can see every day on the platform.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

If you are still in high school I think it is the perfect time to add a couple of hobbies to work on at home after school, especially if you are interested in STEM. If you really want to learn more about electrical circuits for example, it will be a great time to ask your parents or watch youtube videos on basic electrical circuits and probably Arduino. If you are into programming more, there are a lot of tutorials online that are free to learn more about Python for example and how to compile and write basic programs.

For me personally in high school I liked science and mathematics more than English so I had an idea that it was something I would pursue seriously at university. I remember being involved in Robogals when I was in high school so I always had it in my mind that it would be the type of engineering I wanted to pursue at university.

If you are currently at university doing a different degree and always thought about switching to engineering, I would say it is better to switch or try out a few subjects before you graduate in another degree you are not too certain about. Definitely try to talk to friends, family, other friends of friends that you know about engineering if you want to build a future career in a particular stream that seems interesting to you to see if it will be a good fit for yourself. I think personal interest is more important for your career than how much money you will make with a particular degree or if you are studying because of other people’s suggestions.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

Starting with STEM at a younger age will help encourage more women and girls to make informed decisions about subjects they like studying in high school and university. Exposure to maths and sciences in high school through site visits, coding classes, making basic circuits and university open days would help encourage women to see what engineering is about and learn what engineers do. I think there is an unsaid assumption that girls and women shy away from STEM subjects as some people or maybe themselves may say that maths and sciences are hard to learn and study and they might lack confidence to try out new things.

The workplace environment will have a big influence on everyone’s careers and it is good to see that Transport is flexible and advocates for employees from diverse backgrounds. In engineering through university and in the workplace it will not be uncommon to have a high gender imbalance due to the slow but steady changes encouraging women to study engineering. As it changes at the moment, I think that representing women as role models through buddy programs and communities will help to create a strong basis to facilitate their career as they will have someone to relate to. I think this is something everyone should consider if a team is quite male dominate

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

I like matcha flavoured food/drinks (especially if it’s strong) and I have a small but growing Gudetama collection. I also speak English, Cantonese, some Mandarin and Korean.