QuEEn’S B’dAY HONOU ENGINEERING A BETTER WORLD

Dr Marlene Kanga, AO

Distinguished service to engineering, particularly as a global leader and role model to women, to professional organisations, and to business

Marlene Kanga’s call to action is simple: if you want to change the world, become an engineer.

In an extraordinary recognition of her entrepreneurship, advocacy for women in STEM, and leadership at some of the largest engineering and technology organisations, Dr. Kanga has been appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

Significantly, there were no female engineers who received an AO between 2017 and 2021.

“Less than 40 percent of Australian honours are made to women and an even smaller percentage to engineers and to Indian-Australians,” explained Kanga, who is passionate and outspoken about all three important aspects of her identity.

“This recognition is very important, especially as a role model for young people and for women and girls, who want to consider engineering as a career and make a positive difference to our world.”

She added, “It is also important for Australia, to recognise the important contributions that overseas-born Australians can and are making. Our economic future and wellbeing depend on making the best use of all of Australia’s talents and intellect and to enable an

Ravi Inder Singh Nijjer,

For Ravi Inder Singh Nijjer, a 62year career in shipping continues to steam ahead to this day.

Starting as a Merchant Navy official in India in 1960, he has now been felicitated with Australia’s AM honour as environment where everyone can be the best they can be. Especially in engineering and technology, Australian engineers can lead with the implementation of solutions to address climate change, the energy transition, and the more efficient use of our mineral resources.”

An alumnus of IIT Bombay and Imperial College London,Dr Kanga has already been the recipient of the Member of Order of Australia (2014). Her glittering career includes a long list of awards and leadership positions in government, private as well as not-for-profit organisations.

She has been named in Top 100 Women of Influence in Australia and the Top 10 Women Engineers in Australia.

The feisty high achiever and gender equality champion sees this latest recognition as a “beginning” that will enable her to lead and drive forward more initiatives, and to have a voice in the important discussions and decisions that need to be made to secure Australia’s future.

She is particularly keen to grow even stronger ties with India, where several exciting partnerships are already yielding robust equations. “For example, IIT Bombay, where I studied chemical engineering, has a research partnership with Monash University where students can earn a PhD at both institutions. The Australia India Science Research Fund co-funded by both countries has also been running for several years,” she noted.

The greatest opportunities, Dr. Kanga believes, are in commercialising research and forming successful business partnerships. “A recent Global Leaders Forum hosted by the Australia India Business Council, focussed on how businesses can collaborate, especially in products and services using advanced technologies. There are thousands of start-ups and many unicorns in India. Australia could learn from these successful entrepreneurs, especially through its Indian diaspora,” she stated.

Dr. Kanga’s own company iOmniscient Pty Ltd is already working with partners in India to implement advanced Artificial Intelligence for video technologies.

So, what is her mantra for success?

“Unfortunately, there is no fast track or escalator to the top. Many new arrivals from India will, no doubt, find it difficult to settle in, find jobs and homes. It was not easy for me either, especially as a woman engineer; this was a rarity when I first arrived in Australia. It’s important to recognise that Australia offers a lot of opportunities. Ensuring specific career goals and keeping them in mind, while seizing every opportunity, is important to get ahead and succeed,” she advises.

Looking back on her stellar career, Dr. Kanga remembers vividly how rare female engineers were.

“In fact, I was only the second female engineer employed by Esso Australia. Since then, the role of women and the recognition of their contribution has improved significantly in both countries. This is necessary for sustainable economic development. We simply cannot address the important issues of today if we leave out the contributions of half the brainpower of the country,” she reiterated. Delving back to where it all began for her, she recounted a particularly funny anecdote. “Armed with not one but two engineering degrees, both from world leading universities, I approached a local job centre and explained I had an MSc. The official replied, 'But have you done your HSC?' This was the start of my brilliant career in Australia!”

For Kanga though, there is still plenty of ground to cover.

“The recognition I have received will, I hope, open more doors and give me the voice that is needed to advance many issues. I am still climbing the mountain. There is a great deal to be done. However, the view from where I have reached is empowering and inspiring. And on my climb, I must acknowledge that it is a shared achievement and thank my husband and sons for their love, patience and support and for the many colleagues who have journeyed with me and provided their invaluable insights and advice along the way,” she concluded.

Usha Ramanujam Arvind

an international expert on maritime safety.

“It’s been quite an improbable life for a boy who grew up in landlocked Jullundur,” Mr Nijjer laughed. “In fact, that’s the name of my soon-to-be published book: An Improbable Life.”

The Bishop Cotton School educated Nijjer took to shipping because he “wanted to get away from Punjab and experience the world.”

He did, and then chose to call Australia home.

He was serving in Hong Kong in 1968 when he met his Australian wife. They moved to Australia in 1970 and he continued to serve on the seas until 1980.

Nijjer then moved to education, becoming lecturer then head at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Transport’s Department of Marine Transport.

In his role there, he rewrote the Masterclass I syllabus.

“I was enticed out of education and back into the centre of it all, when the shipping industry saw seven major accidents on Australian ships,” Nijjer recounted. “It was then that I began working on improving safety management systems.”

As part of his new role, he was sent to Japan to study their marine transport security. The report he wrote following that raised his profile considerably.

He would go on, in years to follow, to contribute significantly in the first use of GPS for maritime navigation, in Australian Marine Pilot Training, in Port Operations Safety Management Systems, and in Bridge Resource Management Training Systems.

He has been involved as consultant since the mid-1990s to the Australian shipping industry, and since 2004, internationally.

“I have travelled the world speaking at professional conferences and to students, and particularly enjoy these assignments in India.”

He continues to work full-time to this day.

It is no understatement to say that Nijjer