Head of design at Birmingham New Street station takes home top gongs at European awards ceremony: Carol Stitchman receiving her award from Katy Dowding of Skanska - Copy

Thursday 26 May 2016

Head of design at Birmingham New Street station takes home top gongs at European awards ceremony

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A prominent figure in the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street has been recognised as one of the leading women in construction and engineering in Europe.

The important role of women in the construction and engineering industry was recognised at the Europe-wide Women In Construction and Engineering (WICE) awards in London last week.

Carol Stitchman, from Network Rail, lead the design for the station redevelopment and won the Best Woman Architect award. She was also the outright winner of the evening taking home the Most Distinguished Winner award as well.

More than 100 finalists entered the including engineers, construction managers and lawyers.

After picking up her awards, Carol Stitchman said: "Winning these awards has made me immensely proud to be recognised as one of the leading women in the construction and engineering industries. It is very important to me to act as a role model to other women as well as well as raising the profile of the rail industry.

"Working on a major refurbishment project such as Birmingham New Street is a challenging and rewarding experience and I would encourage every woman working in the construction industry to be proud of their achievements - no matter how big or small - and to enter these awards. It's not just about winning but working together, sharing experiences and celebrating success."

Supporting Carol’s achievements, comments from the judges praised her ‘exceptional ability to maintain the project concept and deliver the vision' and she 'clearly had an enormous, positive impact on an important and successful project’.    

The redeveloped Birmingham New Street station opened in September 2015 after a £750m transformation. It forms part of Network Rail's Railway Upgrade Plan which is providing passengers across Britain with a better, more reliable railway.

Notes:

Photographs of Carol Stitchman receiving her awards courtesy of www.paulgrace-eventphotos.co.uk.

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