Being awarded the Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) by UKRI this year has created many opportunities for myself, CATAGEN and the motorcycle industry. The award has allowed me to focus specifically on tailpipe emissions for the motorcycle industry and understand the impact of new legislation to reduce these emissions on a global scale. Challenges such as precious metal costs and everchanging market conditions with stricter emissions standards means there is massive disruption taking place in the sector.
The FLF award allows me to pursue development opportunities and as an engineer grow my leadership skills. This year I’ve received coaching in leadership and communication styles which has helped when dealing with OEMs globally. I’ve had the opportunity to complete an online course through MIT in leadership principles for engineers, focusing on organisational strategy and capabilities, negotiating and applying influence, navigating culture and networks and discovering and implementing my leadership strengths. I have also been able to widen my scope by completing a Fundamentals of Finance course.
Looking ahead to 2022, I want to use this learning to build a motorcycle consortium to enhance my research and disseminate the results and findings to leading motorcycle OEMs. The CATAGEN Motorcycle Emissions Control Consortium will allow us to focus on current industry challenges, such as, OBD-II (On-Board Diagnostics), PGM (Precious Group Metals) Optimisation, OSC (Oxygen Storage Capacity) mapping and catalyst packaging.
I start 2022 with a trip to MIT in Boston to take part in an Entrepreneurship Development Program, that will allow me to evaluate new opportunities in net zero technologies for CATAGEN and bring them to life in an ever-changing world. All part of CATAGEN’s purpose “to clean and decarbonise the air”.
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