A Birmingham City University student is celebrating after landing a £1,000 scholarship intended to get more women into science- and engineering-based professions.

Ria Rana has been awarded the funding by Meridian Lightweight Technologies UK (www.meridian-mag.com), which is the world’s largest producer of magnesium components.

The 19-year-old entered a competition that invited students to write an article outlining the importance of magnesium for the future.

The entrants were then interviewed about their vision for magnesium use, with Mechanical Engineering student Ria emerging as the winning candidate.

She said: “I am excited to have won this scholarship and to receive an opportunity to work with Meridian. I would simply love to go on to work in an industry that I have a passion for.”

Birmingham City University (www.bcu.ac.uk) has a long-standing relationship with Meridian; this has seen research carried out into how the material could be used by luxury-car makers and the aerospace industry.

The idea for the scholarship came from conversations between the university’s Institute for Sustainable Futures and Meridian, which revealed a shared ambition to increase the number of women going into engineering-based professions.

Kellie Easton, human resources manager at Meridian, said: “Getting more women into engineering has an important role to play — not just in diversifying the industry but also in ensuring that we have the number of skilled workers we need to support the economy.

“We are delighted to be able to provide this scholarship, and we are looking forward to welcoming Ria to our foundry to give her some real insight and hands-on experience.”