Bentley Continues Its ‘Extraordinary Women’ Global Initiative with Student Visit To Crewe HQ

Bentley’s global ‘Extraordinary Women’ programme continues to expand with the next crop of extraordinary students, this time from the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, visiting Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, UK, as the final stage of its bespoke mentorship programme.

 July 5, 2023
The ‘Extraordinary Women’ programme is an ongoing initiative from Bentley that forms part of the British brand’s wider Diversity and Inclusion commitment under its Beyond100 strategy. The programme is designed to inspire the next generation of female talent from the fields of technology, engineering, design and business and encourage young women to consider careers in STEM and automotive.
In 2023, Bentley hosted four students from its partner universities in the UK - Loughborough, Bath, Warwick and Manchester Metropolitan University – as well as four from the Dar Al Hekma University in Saudi Arabia. While at the brand’s headquarters, they were able to go behind the scenes of Bentley’s manufacturing operations, meet with senior automotive leaders and pitch ideas to a panel of Bentley experts.
After participating in a thorough selection process earlier this year, the eight students were assigned a specially chosen mentor, known as a ‘Bentley Pioneer’, for regular engagements ahead of the week-long visit to Bentley’s facilities. In the UK, these Pioneers included: Amanda Levete, the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning architect; Megane Montabonel, product manager at Focal & Naim, Mishaal Ashemimry, aerospace engineer and founder of MISHAAL Aerospace, Noha Zagzoug.
Nada Hudaib Aljaid, who is studying at Dar al-Hekma University, said: ‘Participating in Bentley's “Extraordinary Women” programme has been a life-changing opportunity. I am so grateful for the mentorship and guidance provided by the many experts I have met, and for the truly unique opportunity to visit the company's headquarters. This experience has really ignited my passion for STEM and automotive, and has shown me the limitless possibilities that lie ahead.’