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Since graduating with an MSc in Mechanical Engineering in 2017, Jasmine has worked as a Project Management Consultant in the automotive industry. She is now the founder and director of Inquilab, a workplace culture consultancy that helps organisations build fairer, more fulfilling workplaces.
"The best thing about Queen Mary is the people"
The best thing about Queen Mary is the people - that includes lecturers and students. I was supported academically and encouraged to push my thinking, but I also made friendships that have lasted well beyond university.
Living five minutes from campus, our house became the social hub for a large and diverse group of friends. We hosted study sessions, barbecues, nights in, and nights out. It was the first time I had been surrounded by people from so many different backgrounds, and it opened me up to new perspectives, new traditions, and new ways of seeing the world.
Since graduating, we have continued to celebrate each other’s milestones across borders. I have been to a wedding in Mexico, one in Turkey, and have another coming up in France. I have also visited friends in Norway and Sweden. The friendships I made at Queen Mary have become a lasting part of my personal and professional life.
My favourite memory
One of my favourite memories is working with a robotic swarm for my dissertation, titled “Autonomous Organisation of Objects by a Homogenous Robotic Swarm.” The goal was to programme a group of simple robots to use infrared sensors to identify objects by size and organise them accordingly.
I got to spend my afternoons in the newly built robotics lab, experimenting with code and using Lego bricks to simulate the sorting process. After weeks of research, trial and error, and late-night debugging, I finally watched the robots successfully carry out the task. The moment where everything came together and the robots worked exactly as expected was so satisfying.
"It gave me the confidence to walk into rooms where I was often the youngest, and sometimes the only woman, and still hold my own."
One of the moments that helped build my confidence was a group project for the Materials Selection for Design module. We worked on a real-world challenge set by an external organisation and presented our findings not only to our lecturer, but also to the client and a lecture theatre full of students. It was nerve-wracking at the time, but it gave me a real boost in terms of public speaking, presenting technical ideas clearly, and stepping up under pressure.
Studying Engineering at Queen Mary helped me build the skills that really shaped my career: problem-solving, critical thinking, and the ability to communicate clearly in high-pressure environments. It also gave me the confidence to walk into rooms where I was often the youngest, and sometimes the only woman, and still hold my own.
My proudest achievement
My proudest achievement is leaving behind a successful career to build something that feels purposeful and aligned with my values. I could not find an organisation that fully reflected what I believed in, so I decided to create one myself.
I am learning something new daily, and I have had to figure out how to build a brand, design services, develop a sales and marketing strategy, and grow a business from the ground up. I’ve had to trust my instincts, ask for help when I need it, and back myself in ways I never have before.
I don't have all the answers yet, and I do not know what the future looks like for Inquilab, but I am proud that I had I had the courage to take the first step.