Star Fresher Up For National Award

A Downing student is over the moon after being nominated in this year’s Women of the Future awards.

Seri Guobadia, a fresher at Downing, is in a field of four going head to head in the Young Star category. Twelve months of mentoring from a senior Cisco executive is up for grabs for the winner, as well as the obvious reputation boost.

The awards themselves celebrate high achieving women aged 35 and under in various indsutries, with ten categories overall. Big names up for awards include the editor of the Huffington Post UK, Carla Buzasi, and Sophie Turner Laing, managing director of Sky Entertainment.

Engineering student Seri was nominated by her old school – Wycombe Abbey – after coming over from a school in Nigeria a few years ago. As well as being picked for her top notch academic record, Seri also caught the judge’s eyes for making an inventive water purifier.

The purifier

The creation uses filters to make it possible to easily transport water without risk of contamination, and is also designed so that it can be produced and shipped cheaply.

Speaking to The Tab, Seri said: “I’d love to win, I’ve already got so much publicity from being shortlisted, which I hope will give me the contacts and support required for me to develop my project further and eventually make it into a distributable product.

“Going back and forth to Nigeria, I see the difference that the  simplest of technology can make in a person’s life.

“I’m also hoping to use my purifier as the basis for my fourth year engineering project. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give it up!”

The invention can make even the Cam safe to drink

CUSU Women’s Officer Ruth Graham declared it “an incredible achievement” for the Downing fresher to be nominated. The results will be announced at a gala dinner and ceremony at the Marriott in Grosvenor Square, London next month.