Meet Sarah Black-Smith (MSc Operations Excellence 2016) General Manager Motion Control at Siemens Digital Industries and 2022 Excellence in Achievement Award for Recent Manufacturing and Materials Graduates winner
Sarah Black-Smith is the General Manager Motion Control at Siemens Digital Industries. Siemens is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare solutions. Sarah has worked for Siemens for 20 years and held several Operational positions within the Siemens Energy business in Lincoln prior to working in Congleton.
In this interview, Sarah gives her advice to students entering the manufacturing industry and shares how her time at Cranfield has helped her career.
What advice would you give to a student starting their Cranfield course looking to go into the manufacturing industry?
One of my favourite quotes is from Quannah Chasinghorse, an Indigenous activist and land protector who has become a sought-after model over the past two years. “My rule is, if you want to work with me, you have to work with all of me.” I believe we shouldn’t feel like we must change who we are, instead, we should all be celebrated for our individual strengths and qualities we can bring to the workforce, so my advice to students and graduates is to be your authentic self. The industry needs great people and the more diverse our workforce, the greater the talent pool and potential solutions.
As you progress in your career the most important thing is to stay enthusiastic and positive. I always remember the quote “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”. A positive mindset can really help on those days you are faced with challenges in your personal life and career.
Also, remember that learning doesn’t stop once you graduate. Once you complete your course at Cranfield, you should continue to look for ways to improve and develop your knowledge - it will help you grow as an individual and professionally.
How has Cranfield helped your career?
The knowledge I gained at Cranfield has been invaluable to me, not just from lecture material but from the conversations in them and learning from the other amazing people on my course.
What is your favourite memory of Cranfield?
I have a few memories of my time at Cranfield that are my favourite, particularly having one of our modules on organisational culture with Alan Robertson. I really enjoyed our weeklong workshops and going out for meals every night to random villages across Bedfordshire. It was great to be able to leave the campus and discover the area around Cranfield. I particularly loved touring the country to visit amazing UK manufacturing facilities, it was a brilliant insight into how different organisations operate.
What is the most memorable part of your course when you were studying?
The most memorable part of my course was having long and in-depth conversations in our lectures. We didn’t just “get through” the lecture material, we discussed it and learnt from all of the experiences in our cohort which was useful for the working world.
What does it mean to be part of the alumni community?
I love being part of this community! Every time it pops up anywhere that someone has been to Cranfield, my eyes and ears pick up and I want to find out what they studied when they were at Cranfield and what they enjoyed most.
How does it feel to win the 2022 Excellence in Achievement Award for Recent Manufacturing and Materials Graduates?
I am incredibly honoured and proud to win this award, it is lovely to be recognised by 麻豆传媒AV. I gained so much from my time at Cranfield and continue to learn from my connections there. I am incredibly passionate about manufacturing, particularly, our manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom. We have amazing people in this industry and ensuring we have strong academic ties is key to ensuring we remain at the cutting edge and remain productive, competitive, and sustainable for generations to come.
