Highways engineer clinches top young professional award

Engineer Michal Nowinski has been crowned Future Face of Greater Birmingham.

Michal (pictured) picked up the award, sponsored by Aston University, alongside the Future Face of Sustainability award, sponsored by Squire Patton Boggs, during this year 's Faces Chamber of Commerce and Birmingham Young Professional of the Year (BYPY) Young Professional awards 2021.

The online ceremony was livestreamed from Chamber House in Edgbaston and hosted by Gemma Hill, presenter of the Heart West Midlands Drive Time radio show.

Returning as headline sponsors this year included Aston University and long-standing supporters of BYPY, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK.

Michal, aged 34, is a Polish-born highway engineer working for Arup 's Midlands office, a world-class firm of designers, planners, engineers, architects, consultants and technical specialists working in the built environment.

In 2011, Michal completed a first-class degree in civil engineering at the Silesian University of Technology in Poland, where he also received scholarships for his final years of study.

As his first role in the industry, Michal began working for international construction engineering company, Egis, in 2009.

Moving to the UK in 2016, Michal became a chartered engineer in 2021 and has developed his role at Arup to include holistic assessment, highway design, 3D modelling and road safety audits.

Working on a range of rewarding projects that focus on sustainable improvements, Michal has been engaged in both managerial and technical roles on phase 2a of HS2.

Outside of Arup, Michal has taken part in Birmingham City University 's Career plus mentoring programme as a professional mentor and has been involved in a series of university events to help students navigate the prospects of a career in the civil engineering industry.

He has also been tutoring at the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Continuing his work in Arup 's Lenders Technical Advisory team, Michal wishes to continue implementing sustainable highway practices and advance that work in collaboration with other global organisations.

He is also looking to complete his master 's degree in Construction Engineering at Cambridge University and a PMQ APM qualification in managerial abilities.

Michal has also served on the Future Faces executive committee since 2020.

Anjum Khan, director of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), chaired this year 's judging panel, which included Michelle Adams from Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP, Byron Carnegie of JAMAYA, Joanna Drinkwater from Grant McKnight, Councillor Brigid Jones of Birmingham City Council and Mark Smith from Aston University.

Anjum commented: “The applications for this year 's awards have really highlighted the amazing range of young talent that this city has to offer.

“Michal 's professional and personal achievements positioned him perfectly as the Future Face of Greater Birmingham and I can 't wait to see where his career goes from here. ”

Other winners of this year 's awards included:

Future Faces Apprentice of the Year

(Sponsored by WM International Customs Agency)

Dylan Pickin, ValYou Recruitment

Future Face of Arts and Culture

(In partnership with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity)

Alex Nicholson Evans, Birmingham Museums Trust

Future Face of Charity and Social Enterprise

(Sponsored by Wright Restaurants t/a McDonald 's)

Neelam Heera, Cysters

Future Face of Entrepreneurship

(Sponsored by EY)

Davies Okeowo, Birmingham Enterprise Community

Future Face of Finance

(Sponsored by HSBC)

Naomi Campion, Bibby Financial Services Limited

Future Face of Industry

(Sponsored by Inspired Energy)

Yung-Yu Lau, Jacobs

Future Face of Legal

(Sponsored by Mills & Reeve)

Baljinder Singh Atwal, West Midlands Police

Future Face of Public Sector and Education

(Sponsored by Open College Network West Midlands)

Dr Daniel Cash, Aston University

Future Face of Retail and Hospitality

(Sponsored by The Black Pounds Project)

Ineta Svedaite, Fazenda Rodizio Bar & Grill

Future Face of Sales, Marketing and Communications

(Sponsored by Notepad)

Hannah Montgomery, Golddust Marketing

Future Face of Technology and Innovation

(Sponsored by RSM)

Karl Nicholson, Synaptek

Future Faces Champion 2021

(Sponsored by Common Purpose)

Yung-Yu Lau