By Kefa Senoga
Long ago, when a television set malfunctioned at the home of Okolong Charles, his daughter, Faith Codrine Amoit, embarked on a mission to repair it. Although she did not get it to perform its function again, Okolong was convinced his daughter would perform well in an engineering career.
He started calling her “my engineer.”
The title, “my engineer,” Amoit says, inspired her to pursue a course of her father’s wish. Fortunately for her, she loved science. Because she was fascinated by buildings, Amoit says she opted to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Uganda Christian University (UCU), from where she graduated in 2018.
Her father is deceased, but Amoit continues to keep his dream of an engineer daughter alive.
The knowledge she garnered at UCU was essential during her 2019-2022 work as Junior Civil Engineer at Dar-Al-Handasah, a global consultancy firm providing design, planning, engineering, sustainability consulting, digital solutions and services, and project management. Dar-Al-Handasah work connects to buildings, cities, transportation, civil infrastructure, water and the environment. During those three years, Amoit was part of the team working on the upgrade and expansion of Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.
Even though she was consistently ranked among the top five students in her course while at UCU, Amoit says things were difficult and that she was “just trying to survive,” not to excel. She has soldiered on, specialising in the field of structural engineering. From September 2022 to September 2023, Amoit, who is passionate about structural dynamics, was a Chevening Scholar at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom (UK), where she pursued an MSc in Structural Engineering.
The Chevening scholarship is intended to attract outstanding emerging leaders from all over the world to pursue one-year master’s degrees in the UK.
“There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Chevening Scholar, but those who are successful tend to have ambition, leadership qualities, and a passion for influencing positive change in their home countries,” reads a description of the scholarship on their website.
The course, according to Amoit, covered critical issues like seismic design, design optimisation, steel and concrete design.
“My favourite module was the structural design project, which involved the design of the North Stand of the Elland Road football stadium,” she wrote on LinkedIn. The Elland Road is the home of England Championship club Leeds United.
“The study compared the structural systems based on lateral displacement as an effect of wind, cost and carbon footprint,” she wrote, adding that such knowledge is essential for structural engineers when designing buildings of different heights at the conceptual stage. Her dissertation work involved learning how to use software and robotics simulation.
Since her return from the UK in January this year, Amoit has been involved in private work, helping to produce structural drawings and plans for clients.
Amoit says she would love to be the beacon of hope in the engineering field dominated by men. She wishes to affirm to young women that pursuing a course in engineering is possible. Currently, she is mentoring some girls to interest them into the field of engineering.
“When different groups approach me to seek advice and talk to girls, I willingly take up those spaces to offer encouragement and support to them.”
Amoit also takes advantage of another platform — Rotaract, a not-for-profit service organisation — where she is actively involved, to continue mentoring girls through the Rotaract Ladies Initiative.
“We used to go to different parts of the country every year to empower young women into making things like sanitary towels and equipping them with different skills like crocheting, tailoring, to help them generate income.”
Amoit attended Shimoni Demonstration School for her primary education, St Maria Goretti Katende for O’level and St Mary’s Secondary School, Kitende for A’level. All the three schools are located in central Uganda.
