S B A 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 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