Driving change for women in STEM. Challenge accepted.
From studying Materials Engineering at The University of Manchester to becoming Materials Engineering Manager at McLaren Automotive, Ella Podmore has built a career defined by innovation, resilience, and impact.
Now, she's giving back to the University by volunteering her time to inspire the next generation of engineers – particularly women entering male-dominated fields of STEM.
When Ella arrived at Manchester to study a master's in Materials Engineering, there was a noticeable lack of women. But she likes to face challenges head-on – not only succeeding in a male-dominated industry, but actively reshaping it for the next generation of female engineers.
"We need diversity in order to provide diverse solutions. In the UK, it’s a really exciting time for manufacturing and engineering. Now, I feel like I have a duty to come back to the University and encourage students in STEM to realise the potential that they have."
While at Manchester, Ella applied to McLaren Automotive for her placement year. They didn't have an existing materials division, but the University encouraged her to go for it regardless. While there, she identified a problem McLaren was having with corrosion and asked them to create a permanent role for her if she could solve it in her final year. A year on, McLaren didn't just give Ella a job – they created an entire Materials Engineering Department for her.
Today, as the Materials Engineering Manager at McLaren Automotive, Ella is responsible for all materials-related investigations on McLaren's luxury supercars, with experiments focusing on how to make the materials lighter and the cars faster.
Ella loves the opportunity to come back to the University. Her volunteering has taken many forms: guest lectures, mentoring sessions, International Women's Day talks, open day panels, and even bringing a McLaren supercar onto campus.
She does all this to help students realise their potential and expand their horizons in fields of science and engineering. For students, these moments are transformative – they see what’s possible, and they see themselves represented. Her outreach has already transformed lives, with students choosing Manchester or a different career path after hearing her speak.
Mariyam, one of the students she's inspired, explains how Ella's volunteering has made a difference to her: "What fascinated me about Ella was that she's in a male-dominated industry on two levels really – with McLaren being in the automotive industry, and being in materials engineering.
"Speaking to her really broadened my understanding of where a chemical engineer or materials engineer or a scientist could work. There's so much more to engineering than just the fundamentals, and it opened my eyes as to how you can apply it in the real world."
Join our community of alumni volunteers and see the impact you could make.