Nusayba Abaas

civil engineering degree apprentice, Balfour Beatty

Expertise

Construction, Project Management

Location

United Kingdom

My highlights

ICE President’s Future Leader 2023/24

Volunteer technician at Science Museum

Promoting civil engineering and apprenticeships

A day in my life

The first thing I do when I get into the office is make myself a cup of tea and a quick breakfast - I can’t get through my day without this!

I then check my emails and my calendar to see if I have any meetings on for that day so I can prepare.

Regular meetings I have are with a third-party company (other companies we work near), or one of our construction teams to relay any information they need.

I’m currently working in the consents management team to gain experience in the discipline.

In this role I’m onsite regularly to see if the works are progressing safely near any stakeholder assets.

Being onsite is always interesting and I always try to find any good or bad practices happening to make sure we’re aware of them.

Being a civil engineer means that you are building the future in terms of infrastructure, but it’s also helping to build other people.

Which individual project or person inspired you to become a civil engineer?

The architect Zaha Hadid. To be able to work with such intricate and amazing designs and bring them to life must’ve been such a challenge but also something so rewarding.

We asked Nusayba…

What about being a civil engineer gets you out of bed each morning?

The variety of work I do. Every day is different, and you get to make a real difference in the world.

What’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?

That being a civil engineer isn’t just about the engineering part.

Being a civil engineer means that you are building the future in terms of infrastructure, but it’s also helping to build other people.

It's about going to schools and ensuring that young people are aware of the opportunities that exist within civil engineering for them.

I would recommend a career in civil engineering because…

No day will be the same. There are always new challenges to face and something that needs to be done, so you’ll never be bored.

Which civil engineering project (past or present) do you wish you’d worked on?

The great Library of Alexandria, one of the most beautiful libraries I’ve ever seen with so much history surrounding it. To have a hand in the building or rebuilding of it would be so fascinating.

Name one civil engineering myth you’d like to bust.

That ‘civil engineers aren’t creative’. Just because the job isn’t creative in the traditional artistic sense, that doesn’t mean you won't be required to be creative and think outside of the box all the time.

What’s the biggest/most complex thing you’ve made out of Lego? How long did it take you?

This was probably a lot smaller than I remember but it was a two-storey house I built for my dolls when I was seven years old.

Complete this phrase: I’m a civil engineer, but I’m also …

An artist. I paint, crochet and draw. If you see me around, you may catch me in one of my own crochet projects.

Anything else? i.e. personal causes, hobbies

I enjoy coding, Python is my go-to, but I'd love to learn other languages – one being JavaScript so I can develop my own apps.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a library and research centre in Alexandria, Egypt inspired by the Classical Library of Alexandria, the first international library. The ancient library flourished for nearly 600 years before its destruction in 272AD.