About Dr. Freeha Azmat
Finalist in ‘Digital & Tech’ Category of 2021 Asian Woman of Achievement Awards
I am Senior Fellow of UK Higher Education Academy (HEA) and Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA) Alumna.
I grew up in Pakistan where my family was all teachers or medical doctors but my interests lay more in maths and engineering. It was challenging because engineering is seen as a male profession back home, therefore I had to think very carefully about the academic path I chose. I opted to study for a degree in Information and Communications Systems Engineering at the National University of Sciences and Technology (Pakistan) where I have been awarded a Merit scholarship over four years. After university, I was lucky enough to win a fully funded scholarship sponsored by Higher Education Council (HEC) which enabled me to undertake a master’s in computer science at Leicester University (UK). As a single female, I had to work really hard again to convince my family that it was the right decision to allow me to go to the UK to study.
Other than some family in Cardiff I knew nobody here in the UK. I got my head down, worked hard, and received the Best Student award overall on my course and the Best Theoretical/Research Project award for my dissertation. After my master’s degree, I worked at Bahria University Pakistan as a senior lecturer for three years and presented my research publications in California, Singapore, and Canada. This then paved the way for a Ph.D. at the University of Warwick funded by the Chancellor’s International Scholarship (CIS) scheme, where the Warwick CIS scholarship was only awarded to only 17 people across the globe in 2013.
While studying for my Ph.D. I was an undergraduate lecturer at another local university and also collaborated with Monash University (Australia) by arranging summer school in machine learning. I’m very aware that I’ve done things differently, which helped me secure a position as an Assistant professor straight after my Ph.D. I led the design and development of BSc and MSc Degree Apprenticeship programs in Digital and Technology Solutions (DTS) and collaborated with top-tier organizations including Jaguar Land Rover, Goldman Sachs, Thales, Dyson, and Man Group. I am a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA) and now working as Course Director for the MSc in DTS degree program. Then, I was promoted to Associate Professor after five years at WMG and was Fianlist for the 2021 Asian Woman of Achievement Award which is an award given to remarkable women in the UK making difference in society.
I am an elected member of the University of Warwick’s Senate and have received the 2018 WMG Star Award for Contribution to Undergraduate Education and the 2022 WMG Star Award for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.
I have been awarded the Lord Bhattacharyya Family Trust early career research scholarship worth £100K to support a Ph.D. student in engineering education who will analyze the learner journey from school to college to identify the facets that can attract young students towards engineering as part of £2.5 million Lord Bhattacharyya Engineering Education Programme (LBEEP) supported by Royal Academy of Engineering. I have been awarded funding of around £400k in different national and international projects. More info on projects, insert link to the tab
I have worked closely with WMG Automation Systems Group (ASG), to develop a roadmap and strategy for how Digital manufacturing technologies will be taught in the future where the pedagogy methods will be investigated which can equip engineers with not only disciplinary knowledge and skills but also excellent methodical, social and personal competencies to meet multi-perspectival demands of society and businesses.
I have organized the 2020 international conference on industrial informatics, 2021 International conference for women engineers and scientists and bridging the industry academia gap conference in 2022. She is on the board of governors of WMG Academy for young engineers and external examiner at king’s college London and Aston University.
I am passionate about girls’ education and has received the ‘2022 WMG star Award for Equality, diversity, and Inclusion’. I believe girls’ education plays a vital role in developing sustainable and resilient communities.
Receiving 2022 WMG Star Award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Presentation in SEFI Conference
WMG Academy for Young Engineers Open day