Fourth year Civil Engineering student Anna Komendantskaya has won a prestigious Engineering Leaders Scholarship from the Royal Academy of Engineering. Anna founded and led a biomaterial research project, BioBlocks, and has a strong focus on environmental and ethical issues. In future, she hopes to focus on disaster relief engineering and advocacy.The competitive scholarship scheme supports undergraduates who display the potential to become leaders and innovators in engineering and who want to become leadership role models for the next generation of engineers.I’m thrilled to have been awarded the Engineering Leaders Scholarship! The funding has already allowed me to do incredible things, such as visiting the London office of PLP Architecture, the partner organisation which works with the research project I founded – as well as travel to Germany for a summer school on agrobiodiversity. These experiences have been instrumental in shaping my world view and giving me an idea of what I want to do in my career.Using the network available to me through the Royal Academy, I’d like to promote the Engineering Leaders Scholarship more to universities in Scotland and the North of England, so that voices from these areas, as well as lower-income and more rural backgrounds, can have a stronger presence within the Royal Academy of Engineering.Anna KomendantskayaELS scholars receive £5,000 to be used over three years towards career development activities, alongside an accelerated personal development programme including dedicated training, networking events and the support of a Royal Academy Mentor.Related linksEngineering Leaders Scholarship This article was published on 2025-11-05
