Mumbai: Indian-origin data scientist Smital Dhake (26) has been honoured with the prestigious UK’s Rail Staff Awards 2023 in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ category.
The award ceremony held in Birmingham, celebrated Smital’s exceptional contributions to the rail industry.
The 26-year-old scientist joined the rail industry in July 2022, is the first and only data scientist at Alstom, the UK and Ireland’s leading supplier of new trains and train services.
Smital was born in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. She began her educational career at Watford Grammar School in England. Her passion for science and technology led her to pursue higher education at King’s College London.
According to Lorna Richardson, Head of Customer Engagement at Alstom, Smital established collaborative relationships achieved IRSE competence and delivered safety-related works in record time.
Smital says, she was inspired by her grandparents to work hard and her ambition is to continue to develop and apply her skills to contribute to developing engineering technologies.
The young scientist is also described as an enormous inspiration to young women who are thinking of pursuing a career in science and technology.