Sidney Black Memorial Engineering Award

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Throughout his life, Sidney Black was driven by his passion for engineering. This £500 annual award is given in his name to inspire new female engineers to achieve their full potential, to allow their career dreams to take them wherever they desire.

The Sidney Black Memorial Engineering Award is offered to a graduating female engineering student who has demonstrated a combination of academic achievement, personal attributes or a contribution to society/student life.

Eligibility

Open to female, graduating students at UHI, who have passed their BEng on any of our engineering programmes.

It’s easy to nominate yourself (or someone you know) for this award:

  1. Just let us know in one or two paragraphs (no more than 500 words) why you think you should win this award. This can be anything from academic achievement, struggling financially, ambitious career aims, requirement for start-up funding, etc.
  2. Send your nomination by email to advancement@uhi.ac.uk.
  3. Nominations will be judged after the closing date and the winner will be contacted shortly after.
  4. Closing date: 31 August 2026 (to confirm applicant has passed their BEng).

Winners of the Sidney Black Memorial Engineering Award

Sidney Black (1927 – 2018)

Sidney Black, black and whiteSidney Black

The son of Polish and Russian immigrants, Sidney left a heavily bombed Liverpool to train, at HMS Collingwood, as one of the first ever Petty Officer Radio Mechanics. He served in this capacity on HMS Norfolk, the Royal Navy’s flagship in the Indian Ocean, before returning to a career as Test Engineer, for Pye’s new black and white television studio equipment. This was followed by a role as Vision Engineer with the nascent ABC Television studios, and then as Electronics Engineer for Marconi, maintaining the Canadian Arctic Military Listening stations. From 1960 to 1980, Sidney worked for the Department of Overseas Development as a Radio Installation Engineer, installing radio stations across Africa, before returning to the UK where he worked as an Electronics Technician until the age of 91.

a student sitting and smiling

2025 Winner, Neave Anderson

"Winning this award has given me an overwhelming sense of pride to be a woman in Engineering. I could not be where I am today without the support of all the lecturers who have shared their knowledge and experience with me throughout my studies. I would also like to extend a special thanks to Lois Gray, who has kindly donated the award in memory of her father. Throughout my degree journey, Lois has not only shared her knowledge with me but also provided valuable guidance and support. As I begin the final year of my studies, this award has provided me with a big motivational and confidence boost. Going forward, I’m going to continue working hard so that in the future, I too may be able to support fellow Engineers on their journey."