When you’re 18 years old and contemplating moving across the country, the decision can feel overwhelming. For Bushra, an electrical engineering graduate, that leap of faith, supported by a crucial scholarship, transformed her life and positioned her career for ongoing success as a woman in STEM.
“When you’re young and making that big move all alone, it can be intimidating but, it’s also exciting,” says Bushra as she reflects on her decision to leave Bangladesh and her family for Australia. “I took a leap of faith."
That leap was made possible by Bushra’s commitment to her studies and the Abdul Kalam Engineering Scholarship, which provided a 50% subsidy for her engineering degree. “It gave me great financial assistance as well as a strong incentive to study as it was merit-based,” she explains. “With STEM subjects, especially in the first and second year, when you’re navigating life and getting to know all the technicalities of being in a new country as an international student, it’s tricky to manage a job and your studies – so the scholarship really allowed me to focus on my degree and keep those good grades.”
A strong community
Thankfully, Bushra’s parents fully supported Bushra’s goal of forging an independent path. “They were very supporting of the fact that I wanted to do something on my own and build my own career,” she says. “I had four great years studying at the University – it all happened at a formative time where you develop your personality, understand your strengths, and look at those areas of opportunity where there’s potential to grow further,” she adds.
These years at the University proved to be transformative for Bushra, both academically, professionally, and socially. “When you don’t know anyone in a new country, the friends and relationships you build can really make or break you,” she notes.
Despite a challenging course and a number of units that felt intimidating at first, Bushra made the effort to maximise every opportunity. “I tried to make the most of that time by joining different groups and helping to establish a Bangladeshi association group for those of similar backgrounds,” she says. “We were able to connect, share our thoughts, and help settle other students – we even celebrated cultural festivities together.”
When you're navigating life and getting to know all the technicalities of being in a new country as an international student, it's tricky to manage a job and your studies- so the scholarship really allowed me to focus on my degree and keep those good grades
Bushra Ahmed, Electrical Engineering graduate
Beyond the classroom
After graduating, Bushra applied for a number of roles before finally landing a spot within the graduate program at Telstra. “I don't even know how many applications I did, probably over 500,” she says. “It was very challenging and very competitive because they had close to 5,000 applicants, and from that, they only select 108 or so students.” Despite the competitive nature of the program, Bushra was fortunate to gain a spot as a graduate engineer before advancing through to a number of project management roles. “I worked as the Telepower national manager where I’d look after all the project management leads across Australia within the infrastructure space,” she explains.
Today, eight years later, she’s a delivery chapter lead managing a team of highly skilled delivery specialists, delivery leads, group scrum leads and senior program managers who each report to her.
Blazing the path forward
This success hasn’t come without its own share of challenges however, particularly as a woman in a male-dominated field. “I’ve worked in infrastructure, which is a very male dominated area throughout my career, where I’ll go to site for a project, and 99% of the time, I’ll be the only female there,” she says. “For stakeholder meetings it’s the same – I’m often still the only female, even now.”
Rather than being discouraged by these experiences, Bushra’s using each moment as motivation for change. “There’s definitely still a gap in terms of the numbers of women in technical areas of the industry, so to bridge that gap, we have to be what we want to see.”
To aspiring STEM students, her advice is both inspiring and practical. “If you’re passionate about things like maths and physics, or if you’re interested in coding or emerging technologies, then use that interest and start studying any STEM subjects,” she says. “You can build your skillset and your portfolio to enter an industry, and leverage those skills to go into another field later if you want.”
Ultimately, what drives Bushra to keep forging forward in her own professional journey is her belief that breaking barriers and doing what others perceive you may not be able to achieve is key to her personal and professional success. “It acts as a driver for me – I want to prove them wrong – I want to show them that I can absolutely do anything I put my mind to.”