Courses and Careers

Young Engineers

The EEA is proud to support our next generation of engineers to build skills and competence with scholarship and awards programme, plus unique benefits for student and graduate members.

Become a student or graduate member of the EEA and gain access to our range of courses, scholarships, awards and events that are specially tailored to students and those in the early stages of their career.

Membership is free for students while graduates get their first two years following the completion of their qualification, for free.

Find out more about EEA membership

Student scholarships

We award five undergraduate scholarships annually, in partnership with the University of Canterbury (x2), the University of Auckland (x2) and the Auckland University of Technology (x1). The scholarships are tenable for a period of one year, for a value of NZ$4,500 each.

It’s all part of our commitment to the future development of engineers and engineering education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Read more about our scholarships and our previous winners

APEX

The Annual Power Exchange (APEX) Summit is an annual conference for young engineers of any discipline in the power engineering industry, and a great opportunity to network and share experiences.

Read more about APEX

Awards

Our young engineers have a significant role to plan in shaping the future of our industry. We recognise and celebrate those individuals who demonstrate great achievement and leadership in our industry.

Read more about our Young Engineer of the Year Award

Read more about our Professional Development Award

Meet some of our young engineers

  • Hannah Andrews

    “The ability to look at the world around you, question how anything and everything works, then try figure it out yourself never ceases to amaze me. The more you know, the more you want to know.”

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  • Alexander Apukov

    “Do not follow anyone’s path or opinion, choose what really drives and genuinely excites you. Engineering is all about one simple skill – risk assessment. Learn it and you would be able to become anyone you want from a Stockbroker to a Project Manager.”

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  • Karan Bandhari

    “Keep an open mind when you enter your first year of engineering, as you will be exposed to several fields that may interest you and want to explore further.”

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  • Jennifer Berry

    “I was drawn to engineering because of the possibility to combine technical knowledge with interpersonal skills to address and contribute to the largest problems facing our society. I want to do good in the world alongside epic people!”

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  • Kieran Buckham

    “Follow your passions. Put your effort into being the best at what you enjoy doing and everything else will fall into place. If you like problem solving then quite frankly engineering is the place for you.”

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  • Logan Cane, Mitton Electronet, won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on Stop Using Your Imagination: How LiDAR Technology is Changing the Way We Design Substations.

    Logan Cane

    Logan Cane, Mitton Electronet, won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on ‘Stop Using Your Imagination: How LiDAR Technology is Changing the Way We Design Substations’.

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  • Jiaxu (Charles) Chen

    “During my summer internship at Meridian Energy, I worked on a CVT replacement project and that was my first real-life power system project. The biggest learning experience I gained and opportunities that I encountered was the collaboration with the engineers from different engineering disciplines within and outside of the company as large scale power system projects usually involve parties from different fields.”

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  • Logan Clarke

    “Engineering is challenging, but it is so worth it. Pick the degree and specialisation that you will enjoy the most (and have jobs at the end of it). Then do your own little projects. This will make everything you do and learn so much more relevant.”

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  • Craig Conner

    “The degree requires enthusiasm for the subject. It’s all about problem solving and teaching yourself new skills. Build projects at home and have as much fun as possible. BREAK STUFF, rip things apart, solve problems and most importantly build your passion for the subject. You will need the passion to get you through the tough days of study that lie ahead.”

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  • Abigail Field

    “Do not let anything intimidate you. If engineering seems too daunting, or you think you can’t do it, I promise you, you can. Electrical engineering may seem foreign, but if you’re interested you will absolutely be able to do it.”

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  • Helen Fong

    “I have a strong interest in the power sector and see my future career related to this industry. It is an interesting time for the power industry as there are many improvements and changes to make as the demand for electricity has increased greatly over the years and will continue to do so in the future.”

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  • Thomas Galbraith

    “An engineering degree is extremely diverse and equips you with skills that can be applied to almost any career path you may like to take. Any student willing to start an engineering degree specialising in power systems should really look no further and take up the opportunity.”

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  • Ellen Garrity

    “It is important to me that we are environmentally responsible, so the increasing prevalence of electric vehicles and distributed generation is a step in the right direction. The challenges for the network associated with these changes however is a particular area of interest for me, so I am keen to get involved with working on how the network is going to cope.”

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  • Mitch Graham

    “In the industry I have had the pleasure of working for Unison Networks in Hawkes Bay on a number of field-leading industry research such as the Interplay project which is looking at the impacts of new green technologies on the distribution grid.”

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  • Rob Hockey, joint People's Choice Award 2019

    Rob Hockey

    The audience was also invited to vote for their best presenter, Rob Hockey and Andrew Berry won the People’s Choice Award for their presentation on ‘Extracting Value From Conflicting Opinions’ where they discussed how as young engineers, it is their place to challenge the status quo and to consider conflicting opinions, rather than simply accepting the established order.

  • Zachary Jensen - People's Choice Award 2023

    Zachary Jensen

    Zachary Jensen, Ventia, won the People’s Choice Award with his presentation on ‘Effective Disaster Recovery Planning and Resource Management’.

  • Jasleen Kaur

    “Today is the first day of the rest of your life, make it count, make it enjoyable, make it something that the world could benefit from and make it absolutely worthwhile.”

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  • Caleb Livingstone - University of Canterbury

    Caleb Livingstone

    My personal qualities, including my strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to work collaboratively with others, make me well-suited for a career in the power industry. I am eager to continue exploring new ideas and contributing to the growth and success of this vital sector in New Zealand.

  • Emma Lloyd - People's Choice Award 2022

    Emma Lloyd

    Emma Lloyd, Connetics, won the People’s Choice Award with her presentation on ‘Why are engineers integrating new technology into solar array designs’.

  • David Madjar

    “Coming into the industry as a young engineer, I am filled with enthusiasm, particularly as I see the opportunities that this industry will present over the coming years. With distributed energy resources becoming more prevalent, being involved in the engineering that sees these resources used effectively is of great interest.”

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  • Murali Magesan

    “Do not stop learning! Always keep yourself updated, especially in the field of your interest. Because that little bit of extra reading you do in your own time, might be all it takes for you to start the next big revolution in your field.”

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  • Scott Melhop

    “I believe the way we use energy is changing and the supply industry will need to change to cope with future demands. I would like to be part of the next generation of engineers who take the industry into the future.”

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  • Craig Oliveria, Beca, won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on 'Sustainable Transmission Line designs in to reduce Concrete consumption'.

    Craig Oliveria

    Craig Oliveria, Beca, won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on ‘Sustainable Transmission Line Designs To Reduce Concrete Consumption’.

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  • Edward Popham - People's Choice Award 2020

    Edward Popham

    Edward Popham, Transpower, won the People’s Choice Award with his presentation on ‘Water beats towers. Are poles more in our future? Rangitata Flood Response – Rebuild of 220kV Single Circuit Line’.

  • Georgina Price

    “Make the harder choice, not the easier one! By pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, you will start the most important leadership role of your life – personal leadership. It is a vulnerable and tough choice to be an engineer. To become one can be challenging and stressful but the rewards of being an engineer are endless.”

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  • Joshua Rich

    “I’ve come to realise during my studies that a reliable, renewable and safe power supply is often an integral part of first world countries. Hence I’ve realised the effect that I can have on society and improving people’s quality of life and this has reinforced my decision of studying electrical engineering.”

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  • Jessica Silcock, People's Choice Award 2021

    Jessica Silcock

    Jessica Silcock, Meridian Energy, won the People’s Choice Award with her presentation on A Change in How We Consider Our Maintenance Strategies’.

  • Parth Tailor

    “Advances in energy technologies can allow New Zealand to take advantage of previously untapped energy resources or make better use of those we currently use. With a career in Power Systems Engineering, I aim to use the advances of technology to pitch into newer energy generation techniques, and ultimately create a better tomorrow for our future generation.”

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  • Matthew Tattersall

    “I would love to see the advancements we can make in the space industry make a positive impact on the electricity supply industry. The space industry is currently working on the leading edge of technology, and my hope is that the things we learn there, will positively impact the future of the engineering industry.”

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  • Hamish Weir, Beca, won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on Runback Scheme Principles and Applications

    Hamish Weir

    Hamish Weir, Beca, won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on ‘Runback Scheme Principles and Applications’.

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  • Tiantian Xiao

    “At this stage, I am trying to be involved in the electricity supply industry as much as possible. I am looking forward to sharing my learnings on Underground Distribution Pillars and distribution ferro-resonance.”

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  • Parsa Zakeri won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on "Analysis of an Intelligent Merging Unit Based on IEC 61850-9-2".

    Parsa Zakeri

    Parsa Zakeri won the Best APEX Presentation Award for his presentation on ‘Analysis of an Intelligent Merging Unit Based on IEC 61850-9-2’.

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