Engineering Trio Awarded a £50,000 Sainsbury Engineering Management Fellows (SMF) scholarship to study for an MBA

Three rising stars of UK engineering have secured one of the sector’s most competitive scholarships designed to fast-track talented individuals into leadership roles.

The engineers have each been awarded a £50,000 Sainsbury Engineering Management Fellows (SMF) scholarship to study for an MBA at some of the world’s top business schools.

The scholarships have been awarded by ESBF, the charity promoting business education to engineers and scientists. The charity also partners with more than 50 UK universities to sponsor enterprise competitions to introduce young engineers and scientists to business and enterprise at an early stage of their career.

The trio follow the path of more than 400 engineers who have benefited from the scheme since its launch by Lord Sainsbury of Turville in 1987. Over that time, the scholarship has successfully increased the quality and quality of engineers in senior executive positions in UK companies to help drive forward the country’s economy.

Since its inception in 1987, recipients have founded more than 300 new companies, worth more than £4.8 billion and created more than 20,000 jobs in the process. 

The latest three scholarship awardees have all started their MBA studies. They are:

• Bukayo Atiba, BEng Hons – studying at INSEAD
• Leith Chouaieb, MSc – studying at INSEAD
• Nicolas Raffel Torrebiarte, CEng, Meng Hons – studying at Imperial College Business School

Commenting on her desire to undertake an MBA, Bukayo Atiba said: “I thought that it would be an opportunity to not only establish myself as a leader but also expose myself to other people who were experiencing the same thing and were also ambitious and from diverse backgrounds.”

Leith Chouaieb said: “Ultimately, I hope the MBA will help me become a more rounded leader – one who combines engineering depth with strategic vision – so that I can return to the industry with the skills and confidence to drive meaningful impact.”

Nicolas Raffel Torrebiarte said:

“My whole career has been engineering and that’s all I’ve really known. Part the process of doing the MBA is also about stepping back and figuring out what else is out there and what other directions I can take my career forward in.”

After graduating with their MBAs, these SMFs will become part a prestigious network of Sainsburys Management Fellows. And in turn, these newly graduated SMFs will share their knowledge and expertise with upcoming young engineers through a variety of activities, including mentorship.  ESBF awards up to 16 Sainsbury Management Fellows scholarships to talented engineers and scientists each year. Applications are currently open for the next set of scholarships.