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Laila Al-Madhagi

    • About Me:

      My name is Laila. I have just moved to the North East from Reading. I am an information analyst with a degree in Chemical Engineering. I love reading, cooking, hiking and theme parks ^_^

    • Read more

      I came to the UK more than 10 years ago as a student. I have done my Bachelors and PhD at the University of Leeds. During my time at Uni, I have spent some time at Diamond Light Source (UK’s only synchrotron radiation facility). I speak Arabic and English and I love reading in both languages. Although I do not enjoy eating desserts, I enjoy making them. I also enjoy cooking and I always try new recipes. I like hiking, I tried to do the Thames Path but did not get a chance to complete it before my move to the North East. I am also an adrenaline junkie to an extent. I have bungee jumped, paraglided and skydived. Going to a theme park is my favorite type of activity.

    • Read more

      I work for Johnson Matthey which is a specialty chemicals and sustainable technologies company. The company is multinational with operations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. I am part of the technology forecasting and information team. My team provides information ranging from news and market data to company analysis, patent and scientific searches and technology evaluations. We work with both the scientific and business teams at the company.

      Working as an information analyst requires a lot of information searching using different resources, data analysis and reporting-writing. The information could be news, insights on competitors, market information, patents, scientific publications, reactor designs… etc.

    • My Typical Day:

      I start work at 9. I usually start my work day with a cup of coffee and news posting for colleagues to read. Then I work on whatever project I have going on, some of these projects are short term (take hours to finish) and some are long term (take weeks or months to finish). My work requires a lot of information searching and analyzing. It is like trying to solve a puzzle. I finish work at 5.

    • Read more

      My day would usually start with news posting. I am assigned a couple of topics which are of interest to my company. I will look for interesting news and post them for colleagues to read. After that, I check the list of projects I have. These projects vary from finding information on a competitors or customer or a specific market to finding information on a specific technology. The resources I use would vary depending on the type of project. Some of the resources I use are available for free and easy to use and some require a subscription and need training. During the day, I will sometimes have meetings with my team or my clients to discuss the projects I am working on.

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I would like to use the prize money to run some STEM activities for refugee kids in the North East.

    My CV

    • Education:

      School: Azal School Yemen

      A-levels: University of Leeds

      Bachelors and PhD: University of Leeds

    • Qualifications:

      A-Levels: Mathematics A, Physics A, English A (2012)

      First Class (1) undergraduate Bachelor’s degree in Energy Engineering from the University of Leeds (2015)

      Ph.D in Chemical Engineering, University of Leeds (2020)

    • Work History:

      Intern in Oil and Gas Field (2013)

      Summer undergraduate research student at the University of Leeds (2014, 2015)

      Arabic teacher (2019)

      Translator (volunteering) (2019)

    • Current Job:

      Information Analyst – Technology Forecasting and Information – Johnson Matthey

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        Curious Data Analyst

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        Mathematician

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        Only a couple of time doing scientific experiments

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Cairokee

        What's your favourite food?

        Fries

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        To always be true to myself, to be able to sing, to be able to take care of plants -_-

        Tell us a joke.

        Why do bicycles fall over? because they are two-tired

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