Arup civil engineer crowned chamber’s Future Face of Greater Birmingham

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A civil engineer who has worked on the HS2 high-speed rail project has been named Future Face of Greater Birmingham 2021.

Michal Nowinski, who is a highway specialist with global engineering consultancy Arup in Solihull, won the sustainability award before being chosen from the other category winners to take home the top honour.

This year’s edition of the annual awards for under 35s business talent was a combined Future Faces and Birmingham Young Professional of the Year awards.

It follows the merger last year of the latter’s organiser BPS Birmingham into Future Faces which is the young persons’ membership arm of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

Mr Nowinski, who is originally from Poland, started his career in the industry in 2009 with international construction engineering company Egis in Katowice and later achieved a first-class degree in civil engineering at the Silesian University of Technology.

He moved to the UK in 2016 when he joined Arup, achieving chartered engineer status earlier this year, and has developed his role at Arup to include holistic assessment, highway design, 3D modelling and road safety audits.

He has worked on phase 2a of HS2, which will run between Birmingham and Crewe, and away from the office has taken part in Birmingham City University’s Career+ mentoring programme and been involved in a series of events to help students navigate the prospects of a career in the civil engineering industry.

The 34 year old has also been tutoring at the Institution of Civil Engineers and is now looking to complete his master’s degree in construction engineering at University of Cambridge.

Among the other winners were Ineta Svedaite, relationships and events manager at steakhouse restaurant Fazenda in Colmore Row, who won the retail and hospitality category, and Yung-Yu Lau, a strategic consultant with civil engineering firm Jacobs in Birmingham, who won both the industry and Future Faces Champion award.

This is chosen by the Future Faces committee in recognition of someone who has gone above and beyond in support of others in their local community over the past 12 months during the covid pandemic.

Anjum Khan, director of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce and judging panel chairwoman, said: “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.”

The ceremony was held online and hosted by Heart radio broadcaster Gemma Hill from the chamber’s head office in Edgbaston.

The full list of winners for 2021 is below and click through here to read this year’s shortlist:

Apprentice of the Year

Dylan Pickin, ValYou Recruitment

Arts and Culture

Alex Nicholson Evans, Birmingham Museums Trust

Charity and Social Enterprise

Neelam Heera, Cysters

Entrepreneurship

Davies Okeowo, Birmingham Enterprise Community

Finance

Naomi Campion, Bibby Financial Services

Industry

Yung-Yu Lau, Jacobs

Legal

Baljinder Singh Atwal, West Midlands Police

Public Sector and Education

Daniel Cash, Aston University

Retail and Hospitality

Ineta Svedaite, Fazenda Rodizio Bar & Grill

Sales, Marketing and Communications

Hannah Montgomery, Golddust Marketing

Technology and Innovation

Karl Nicholson, Synaptek

Future Faces Champion 2021

Yung-Yu Lau, Jacobs

Sustainability and Future Face of 2021

Michal Nowinski, Arup