Now in his mid-20s, Will Dubin has achieved a lot since leaving Westminster, and this proved the inspiration for his talk to pupils in September. 

Speaking to pupils of all ages, including students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form and The Grey Coat Hospital, Will delivered a compelling presentation, drawing from his own personal experiences and achievements in the engineering industry, and emphasising the importance of perseverance and dedication to achieve success.

Immediately after his time at Westminster, in which he studied maths, physics and languages, Will took a gap year, working in London and Paris, before completing a Master of Civil Engineering at Imperial College London, during which he worked with mega contractor Vinci Construction, on projects including the Thames Tideway Tunnel super sewer and the M4 smart motorway.

Whilst at university, having fallen victim to a basement sewage flood, Will founded ManholeMetrics – a tech start-up on a mission to end flooding using low-cost, long-life, and easy to install sensors and analytics. He received an Enterprise Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering, allowing him to pursue the start-up full-time as CEO, and now ManholeMetrics is venture-backed, supported by Thames Water and Yorkshire Water, and has received awards from both the Mayor of London and Innovate UK.

With so much knowledge of the sector gained in a short time, Will was also able to talk to his young audience about the diverse career opportunities available within engineering, starting with volunteering and internships, and equally shared his insight into becoming an entrepreneur; stating that the corporate route is not the only means of being successful in the industry.

During an Q&A session that followed the presentation, pupils asked more about the skills and qualifications needed to excel engineering, his business goals, his job roles prior to starting a business and how he overcomes obstacles on his entrepreneurial journey.

One of the key takeaways from the event was the importance of continuous learning and adaptability in a rapidly evolving field like engineering. Will ended by saying “always put your best foot forward” and told students to base their career choices on themselves rather than their peers.
He also said that the foundation laid during his time at Westminster has played a crucial role in his ability to adapt to new challenges and technologies.

Westminster’s Guidance and Work Experience Coordinator, Simon Wurr, said: “Will’s talk was highly informative, one of the best that we have had. The students were highly engaged throughout.”