5 Fellowship myths, busted

“When I look back, I often think about how much sooner I could’ve applied to become an ICE Fellow,” says Melinda Lutton, assistant operations manager at Tonkin.

“In hindsight, I wish I applied over a decade before I did.”

To some, achieving the highest grade of ICE membership may seem out of reach, but is that really the case?

We spoke to the ICE Connects Women in Fellowship network to help us quash common myths.

1. You have to be really senior in your career

Before applying, Sam Uren, engineering director at SLC Rail, thought that Fellowship was “for older men heading for retirement or people hailed as ‘inspirational’”.

“I didn’t think it was for an ‘ordinary’ person like me who, at that point, worked part-time for an SME and had two children and a hectic personal life,” she says.

Despite her passion for professional development, it took Jo Chau a few years to summon the courage to apply.

Jo, a senior project manager at HS2, explains: “To be an ICE Fellow, I had the idea that you had to be director of a company and have white hair.

“That only changed when I started to meet other younger and female Fellows through the various networking groups and sessions.”

The truth is, as long as you have the experience and can prove it, you can become a Fellow, too.

Ciara Lappin, technical director at Doran Consulting, says: “Fellowship isn’t just something for the end of your career. Everyone should consider [it] as the natural next step in their career.”

2. The process is complicated and time consuming

“It’s an urban myth that ICE Fellowship is difficult to apply for,” says Isabel Coman, Transport for London’s director of engineering and asset strategy.

A lot of the women we spoke to found the process surprisingly straightforward.

“It was rigorous and required a great deal of thought,” says Nicole Paterson, chief executive at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. “But it wasn’t the three to four years I’d spent preparing for my Chartered Professional Review.”

One of the reasons for this is that your application is limited to a single side of A4 per attribute, requiring you to be concise.

“It can be difficult to condense your life experiences into the required number of words, but brevity is a skill that has to be learned,” says Christina Harrhy, leadership consultant.

But if you’re clear on how you meet the attributes, then “the application could be done in a day,” Sam believes.

3. You must fulfil all the attributes

When Jayne Geary, senior project manager at Costain, first looked at the 14 Fellowship attributes, she thought she wasn't ready to apply.

“Talking to the ICE regional director made me realise that I didn’t need to meet each and every attribute – I only needed to meet one or two,” she says.

For Patricia Carrillo, professor of strategic management at Loughborough University, demonstrating you meet them isn’t too different from answering exam questions.

She suggests making a list of ways you meet the attribute before writing out your application.

It can also be helpful to get others’ perspectives on which attributes to go for, especially your sponsors’.

“You may find that they’ll think that you’re stronger in different areas. Challenge your preconceptions about yourself,” says Teresa Frost, Cormac’s assistant quality manager.

Her advice to applicants: trust the process and in yourself.

“If you can meet the attribute, the rest is just paperwork,” she says.

4. The benefits don't outweigh the costs and efforts

Wondering what you get out of ICE Fellowship?

For Smita Sawdadkar, delivery lead at AtkinsRéalis, the benefits go beyond personal and professional recognition.

It opened “a world of new opportunities”.

“I find myself being invited to be part of global steering groups, forums, panel discussions and academia,” she says.

She’s also been sought after to help deliver mega-projects.

For others, it’s opened the path to the global stage.

One of them is Azhar Al-Qaissi, railway engineer and lecturer, who reached the membership grade while working at the Transportation Ministry in Oman.

“I wanted to be able to communicate with the community of civil engineers all over the world and to learn about new technological developments,” Azhar explains.

On a personal level, it can take away self-doubt.

Even as a Chartered Engineer, water engineering consultant Meshi Taka felt the need to justify her experience by how long she’d been in the field.

“Achieving Fellowship means you are simply recognised as an ICE Fellow. For women, particularly those from minority backgrounds, this distinction is significant,” she says.

Others highlight that becoming a Fellow adds weight to project tenders and allows them to get involved in national and global policy.

5. It's really hard to find sponsors

While it can be tricky in some parts of the world, support is available.

When Ghada El-Mahdy was applying, there weren’t any ICE Fellows in Egypt at the time, and only a few in the Middle East and North Africa region.

A professor of structural engineering at the British University in Egypt, Ghada relied on support from the ICE to source sponsors.

Sulo Shanmuganathan, chief engineer at New Zealand’s transport agency, had a similar experience. Luckily, she had colleagues and friends in the UK that could help.

If you meet your sponsor through your local ICE team or by joining networks such as ICE Connects, then it’s important that you involve them early in the application process.

That gives you time to build that relationship.

“My sponsors were also my mentors, and some still are today,” says Christina.

Help others aspire for Fellowship

Alice Chow, director of strategic development at Arup, shares advice for potential ICE Fellows: “step out of your comfort zone, learn from others, and tackle problems head-on".

But even if you’re doubting yourself, or unsure if it's worth it, it’s important to remember that it’s not just for you.

As Nicole says: “For people to be able to aspire to something, they must be able to see it.” 

Start your Fellowship journey