The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has honoured two graduates from Leeds Beckett University with prestigious awards.
Stavroula Giagkou, 30, has been awarded the ICE Student Prize, a national award given to the best civil engineering student at each university offering relevant, recognised qualifications. Miss Giagkou, who lives in Huddersfield, studied for five years part time for a BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering before graduating, not only with a first class honours degree, but also the highest mark in her cohort. Stavroula was awarded a certificate of merit and £250.
Shafakat Bashir, 24, received the ICE Yorkshire and Humber Student Prize, having achieved a first class honours degree in civil engineering, with the highest mark of any full time student in his year. Halifax resident Shafakat is going on to study for a Masters in Chemical Engineering. The ICE Yorkshire and Humber Student Prize is awarded at universities in the region, and comes with a certificate of merit and £50.
The ICE, which presented the awards, has thousands of members across Yorkshire and the Humber, for whom it provides continuing professional development, as well as acting as a voice for the civil engineering profession. Members range from students and apprentices at the start of their career, to world renowned professionals at the top of their field.
Josie Rothera, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at Leeds Beckett University and an active member of the ICE, said: “Stavroula is a very hardworking and conscientious student who has consistently performed well throughout her studies. She has an exuberant personality, always enthusiastic and willing to learn, livening lectures with her perceptive questions. She supported her degree initially in the service industry, but has since secured herself a career in structural engineering, coupled with her fantastic education achievement.
“Shafakat is a determined and dedicated individual who has completed his three-year undergraduate degree with diligence. He is also highly commended for his dissertation on “The effects of microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) on the permeability of lacteritic soils”. Shafakat is clear as to his future career and has chosen to undertake a masters’ degree.Shafakat will no doubt excel in his future studies and career.
“Stavroula and Shafakat join hundreds of other civil engineering students graduating from Yorkshire’s universities this summer, all of whom have the opportunity to go into one of the most socially useful and rewarding careers there is.”