Bridging Beyond Boundaries: Engineering Your Own Path

Growing up as a minority in an area with limited representation can make career aspirations feel distant or unrealistic. In this talk, Iqra Hassan, Graduate Bridge & Civil Structures Engineer, shares his journey as a proud Bengali from Wales navigating the challenges of identity, belonging, and opportunity.

Iqra reflects on the hurdles how he found his place in bridge engineering, and why resilience, self-belief, and community matter just as much as academic success. His story is a powerful reminder that even when your environment doesn’t cater for you, it is still possible to shape a future that does.

This talk aims to inspire the next generation of students—particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds—to see themselves in engineering and to believe that their differences are not barriers, but strengths.