“It is vitally important to have a national platform for these ‘role models’ in order to help inspire more youngsters to study Electronics and to pursue careers in the sector.”
Stew Edmondson, CEO, UKESF

The UKESF is delighted to report that the recently released EW BrightSparks list for 2020 includes one current and two graduated UKESF Scholars. It is always heartening when Scholars receive public recognition, and the UKESF is extremely proud of the quality and high calibre of the students that join our undergraduate Scholarship Scheme.

The EW BrightSparks programme is run by Electronics Weekly in partnership with RS Components, and aims to highlight the brightest young electronic engineers in the UK. The three UKESF Scholars being celebrated this year are:

  • Yanislav Donchev is a current UKESF Scholar (2018–20), studying at the University of Southampton and sponsored by Qualcomm Technologies. He was also the UKESF’s Embedded Systems Competition winner in 2019. Yanislav made the BrightSparks list for a variety of achievements, including an air-drumming device he created at university, a new display signal emulator he built as part of an internship, and the incredible outreach work he has undertaken as a UKESF Scholar (giving lectures, running activities for young students and programming robots for competitions).
  • James Imber was a UKESF Scholar from 2010 to 2012; he studied at the University of Southampton and was sponsored by Imagination Technologies. Now a Senior Research Engineer at his sponsor company, James made the BrightSparks list for his contributions to 20 patent applications (several of them granted), excellent team-player work ethic and involvement in his employer’s STEM outreach programme (including visiting local schools to talk about his engineering experiences).
  • Dominic Lane was a UKESF Scholar from 2010 to 2014; he studied at the University of Surrey and was sponsored by API Technologies. Now a PhD student at Lancaster University, Dominic made the BrightSparks list for becoming the most experienced user of the Quantum Technology Centre cleanroom in Lancaster, overcoming many obstacles to refine his research, and has demonstrated exceptional abilities and experimental skills as both an engineer and researcher in order to fabricate highly complex devices.

Congratulations Yanislav, James and Dominic!

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