Dr Aakeen Parikh is a mechanical engineer with a background in research, design, sustainable technologies, and social impact. She currently works as the Project Manager for the Vehicle Future Hub at Imperial College London. Aakeen discovered engineering through her passion for product design, and she has worked on numerous projects over the years. Aakeen is passionate about increasing diversity, access, equality, and retention of women in engineering. She is on the advisory board for education charity Project Access and is an ambassador for the Queen Elizabeth’s Prize for Engineering. In 2024, Aakeen was awarded the WISE100 Women in Enterprise award as the ‘Equality and Empowerment’ Champion. 

Alongside her current roles, Aakeen is the founder and director of The Minazi Impact, a social enterprise dedicated to promoting sustainable development and reducing global inequality through engineering and design. Minazi’s most notable project, the Banana Fibre Sanitary Pad project, involved designing reusable sanitary pads with an absorbent core made from waste banana fibres. The project won the 2023 RSA Catalyst Award and further recognition at the Ripple Effect Conference 2024. This project demonstrates a viable, alternative, sustainable future pathway for sanitary products, whilst creating economic growth and upcycling agricultural waste. Read more here: https://theminaziimpact.co.uk/

This is a great conversation that I know you will love. So grab 50 minutes of 'me time' and listen to Designed for Life—In Conversation with Dr. Aakeen Parikh.

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