To mark the occasion of this year’s International Women in Engineering Day (INWED 2026), we sat down with LRDC Research Associate, Dr Rizwana Ahmad to discuss why she decided to pursue a career in engineering, her experiences of studying and working, and how she achieves a balance between her home life and professional commitments.
About International Women in Engineering Day
INWED is an annual initiative by the Women’s Engineering Society that started in 2014, initially in the UK, before becoming a global movement in 2017 with the patronage of UNESCO. INWED celebrates the outstanding achievements of women engineers around the world, promotes the opportunities created through engineering for future generations, and champions diversity, innovation and inclusion across the engineering sector. As the only platform of its kind, it plays a vital role in encouraging more young women and girls to take up engineering careers. This year’s theme is ‘Engineering Intelligence’.
Rizwana’s early interest in engineering
LRDC: Rizwana, your specialist area is optical wireless communication (OWC). What first sparked your interest in engineering and how old were you at the time?
Rizwana: I think my interest started much earlier than I realised, probably when I was around aged 9 or 10. My brother and I used to watch the Junkyard Wars series on the Discovery Channel, where teams built working machines from scrap materials under pressure. I remember being fascinated that people could take ideas and turn them into something real and functional. At that age I didn’t know what engineering was, but I knew I loved solving problems and building things. In fact, my brother and were always opening things up to see how they worked, like household appliances and once, even a video game! Looking back, that curiosity was the beginning of my journey into engineering.
LRDC: What, then, were your next steps towards realising a career in engineering and which subjects did this mean you had to concentrate on?
Rizwana: As I progressed through school, I naturally gravitated towards physics and mathematics, and later developed a strong interest in computers and programming. Physics helped me to understand how the world works, mathematics gave me the tools to model and solve complex problems, and programming showed me how ideas can be translated into something practical and impactful. Together, these subjects opened the door to engineering and eventually led me into communications and optical systems research. Again, looking back, they became the foundation for how I think, solve problems and approach research today, which is with genuine curiosity.
Rizwana develops her career
LRDC: Rizwana, you have a PhD in Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering Technology. Please tell us a bit about it, including the subject you chose and what your studies entailed.
Rizwana: My PhD focused on intelligent communication systems and explored topics including reinforcement learning, stochastic signal processing, optimisation and wireless communications. I was particularly interested in how communication systems can become more adaptive and efficient by learning from their environments.
As part of my doctoral research, I was awarded the Intel India Fellowship for my PhD proposal, which focused on applying reinforcement learning to hybrid LiFi–WiFi networks. At the time, the application of machine learning to communication network optimisation was still relatively unexplored, and only a limited number of researchers were working at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and wireless communications. That made the work both exciting and challenging, as it involved exploring new ideas and questioning conventional approaches. The research combined mathematical modelling, algorithm design and practical system-level thinking.
More broadly, my PhD taught me not only technical depth, but also persistence, independence and the confidence to pursue ambitious research questions.
Rizwana on joining the LRDC
LRDC: You successfully completed your PhD! Then what followed next?
Rizwana: Throughout my PhD, Professor Harald Haas was a huge inspiration to me. I followed his work closely and admired how his research translated innovative ideas into real technologies. Simultaneously while undertaking my own research, I was inspired by his vision of enabling new forms of wireless communication through light.
Then I was fortunate that an opportunity arose to join his team. The prospect of this felt like the realisation of a long-term goal. However, the transition wasn’t straightforward, as the global pandemic caused extensive delays in processing the relevant paperwork required to work in the UK. As a result, I wasn’t able to relocate immediately. So during that period, I worked remotely as a research consultant on a project with the University of Albany in New York, USA. In hindsight, that experience taught me adaptability and showed me that research collaboration can continue across borders even during uncertain times.
LRDC: And getting nearer to the present day, you joined the LRDC in April 2024 at the University of Cambridge?
Rizwana: I did, and that was a great feeling, to finally be part of Professor Haas’s team!
About Rizwana’s current work
LRDC: As a Research Associate with the LRDC, how do you typically spend your day?
Rizwana: No two days are exactly the same, which is one of the things I enjoy most about research. My time is usually a mix of meetings with collaborators, experimental work in the LRDC lab, analysing results, writing technical papers and project proposals, mentoring undergraduate and post-graduate students and, of course, documentation and project coordination. Research also often involves moving your mindset between deep technical focus and broader strategic thinking.
LRDC: And what are you currently working on at the LRDC?
Rizwana: I am currently working on the META-LiFi project – called ‘MEMS-Metasurface Based Tunable Optical Vortex Lasers for Smart Free-Space Communication’ – for which we are exploring metasurface-enabled optical wireless communication systems. More specifically, with partners Tampere University in Finland, Middle East Technical University, Turkey, and the University of Cambridge, we are investigating how metasurfaces can generate and multiplex orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes to increase transmission capability. The aim is to develop compact, high-capacity wireless optical links that could contribute to future communication systems, and for the resulting Meta-VCSEL OAM transmitter to represent a major advancement in photonic integration within a single semiconductor platform.
LRDC: Your studies and research work have taken you all over the world. What sort of activities have you been involved in and how have these supported your career?
Rizwana: Beyond research itself, I have always tried to contribute to the academic community. During my PhD, I organised departmental seminars and academic activities, which helped me develop coordination, communication and leadership skills. These experiences later supported larger initiatives, including technical technology demonstrations and logistics coordination for major international events such as Mobile World Conference 2025 in Barcelona, Spain and the European Conference on Communications (ECOC) 2025 in Denmark. I am also looking forward to attending ECOC 2026 in Malaga, Spain this September. More importantly, these experiences gave me the confidence to pursue the unknown and the opportunity to interact with researchers whose technical contributions had inspired me for years. I realised that impactful research is not only about technical excellence, it is also about curiosity, collaboration and having the courage to put yourself forward.
LRDC: You sound incredibly busy! How do you achieve a suitable balance between your home life and professional commitments?
Rizwana: That balance is something I continue to learn about every day. Research is driven by passion and the quest for solutions, so it can be difficult to switch off. But becoming a mother changed my perspective. My daughter gives structure to my day and reminds me that rest, family and being present are also hugely important. Surprisingly, having boundaries has made me more focused and intentional with my work.
Rizwana on being inspired and inspiring others
LRDC: Lastly, have their been any women that have inspired or particularly supported you since you first thought about pursuing a career in engineering research? And with the benefit of hindsight, what would you say to encourage any young women and girls who are thinking about a career in engineering?
Rizwana: One woman whose work has always inspired me is Hedy Lamarr. Beyond her success in a completely different field, I find her story remarkable because her contributions to communication technology were not fully recognised until much later. As someone working in optical and wireless communications, I find it inspiring that she helped lay foundations for technologies that are so important today.
On a personal level, I have also been fortunate to have the support of my sister, Imarana. Throughout my academic journey, she has been a constant source of encouragement, particularly during challenging periods when balancing research, family responsibilities and career decisions. Having someone who believes in you and reminds you of your strengths can make an enormous difference.
To young women and girls considering engineering for a career, I would say, be resilient, stay curious and don’t underestimate your own potential. Engineering is not about having all the answers – it is about being willing to ask questions and to keep learning. There will be moments of challenge and self-doubt, but growth often comes from stepping into things that feel difficult. Work hard, trust yourself, and you may discover strengths and possibilities you never knew you had.
LRDC: Rizwana – thank you so much for sharing your personal journey to Research Associate with us – and for helping to inspire the next generation of women engineers.