International Women in Engineering Day – Alice Parish Matheson

26th June, 2020

To continue our celebration of ODE Group’s female engineers for International Women in Engineering Day, Alice Parish Matheson, a Senior Process Engineer, discussed her role as an engineer at ODE.

What is an engineer to you and why did you want to become one?

An engineer is someone who develops solutions to solve technical challenges.

My favourite subjects at school were Maths and the Sciences. When researching university courses, these subjects were prerequisites for engineering degrees. I was drawn to Chemical Engineering in particular because of the opportunity to innovate – to develop and design processes to create products and materials for a broad range of industries.

What opportunities have you had through your work at ODE?

Prior to ODE, the majority of projects I had worked on were hydrocarbon-based. ODE has given me the opportunity to work on a number of renewable studies and projects, developing and optimising energy solutions for the future. Being able to work on projects that will enable the UK to significantly reduce its carbon emissions gives me pride in the work I do; it has been a very valuable experience for me.

At ODE, I have also had the opportunity to be closely involved with the delivery of projects for several UK gas terminals. Being able to easily visit sites has given me a good understanding of some of the challenges on the ground without having to travel halfway around the world!

What was a stand-out moment of your career?

Working up from a junior level to my current position as Senior Process Engineer has steadily given me more responsibility and it is rewarding to now help train and develop younger engineers as they progress their own careers.

Personally, becoming Chartered a few years ago was great recognition of all the hard work invested in four years of University study and career experience. I now feel very confident in my role and look forward to what the future might bring!