By Taiye Olayemi and Olamide Akintunde
Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Lagos Chapter, has urged senior and retired engineers to mentor younger professionals to sustain excellence and inspire resilience in engineering.
Its Chairman, Dr Atinuke Wuraola Owolabi, made the appeal on Wednesday at the association’s 2025 Annual General Meeting, Awards and Election, held at the APWEN Lagos Resource and Innovation Hub, University of Lagos.
“Mentorship is at the heart of our progress.
“We encourage our senior and retired members to stay actively engaged with younger professionals because their wealth of experience is invaluable to building confidence and resilience in the next generation,” Owolabi said.
She noted that APWEN Lagos had impacted hundreds of young female engineers through its mentorship and capacity-building programmes, including the SheEngineers Consultancy Apprenticeship Programme (SECAP).
According to her, SECAP has empowered 200 young female engineers and reached more than 1,500 girls through STEM education.
Owolabi highlighted that the newly inaugurated APWEN Lagos Innovation and Resource Hub at UNILAG was one of the chapter’s achievements, serving as a platform for collaboration, mentoring, and knowledge sharing between senior and younger engineers.
“As part of bridging the classroom and real-world experience, we organised site visits to Schneider Electric, Greenpeg Engineering, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office, and other leading organisations. We guided career paths, created apprenticeship opportunities, and expanded our student chapters across UNILAG, YABATECH, and LASU,” she said.
The outgoing chairman also listed other milestones, including training members in AutoCAD and digital manufacturing, cybersecurity workshops, and the SHEnovation Hackathon, which attracted over 100 submissions.
She added that the chapter’s membership base had grown by more than 120 new members, with stronger student-to-professional transitions to ensure sustainability.
Owolabi, who handed over to new executives at the AGM, expressed confidence that the chapter’s initiatives would continue to expand opportunities for young female engineers while promoting innovation and leadership in the industry.