A STUDENT from Pakistan has made it her career goal to play her part in helping to solve her country’s energy crisis, whilst being supported by the University of Chester’s Eco-Innovation Cheshire and Warrington project.
Mubashra Latif, aged 30, from Lahore in Pakistan and studying for her PhD at the University of Chester, is based at Thornton Science Park in Cheshire, within the Faculty of Science and Engineering, where she is investigating alternative feedstocks to turn into energy.
During her three year PhD studies, Mubashra will be exploring how businesses could use special on-site biomass energy converters (units) to generate clean power, cut their power bills and heat their own premises.
She will be trialling a range of feedstocks, including animal and agricultural matter, to generate combined heat and power (CHP), with the aim of discovering which feedstocks work best to create electricity and heat (and therefore redirecting it from landfill).
Mubashra hopes that she can also eventually use her research and energy expertise to benefit her home country Pakistan, where one third of the population lacks the access to electricity which has become a basic life necessity in the 21st century.
Mubashra said: “I am really excited about this project. PhD research can sometimes remain as a thesis, so I feel very lucky to be somewhere where my research will be implemented into the real world to solve real world problems. And not only will I get my PhD, but this research project is also giving me hands-on experience of working for Arensis – an internationally recognised British-based German energy company. I am hoping that in the future my PhD will stand out on my CV, from other PhD candidates, because of the practical industrial experience that I will have achieved too. Also, Pakistan lacks energy specialists so I hope eventually to go home as an asset to my country, to be part of international projects going on in Pakistan that are internationally funded.”
Mubashra says she is also keen to continue working with Arensis, if possible, as it looks to expand internationally.
Peter Eaton, UK Technical Sales Manager at Arensis, is already impressed with Mubashra’s dedication to the project.
Not only is Mubashra excited about working on a project of potential international importance, she is aware that, with her engineering degree, she is among less than one per cent of the female population of Pakistan – and, in the future, she is keen to share her knowledge and encourage other girls and women to consider engineering as a career:
To find out more about the Eco-Innovation Cheshire and Warrington project, please contact: [email protected] or phone 01244 567370.
