EW BrightSparks 2022 profile: Sarah Keane

Author: EIS Release Date: Aug 11, 2022

Now in its fifth year of awards, EW BrightSparks sees Electronics Weekly partner with RS Grass Roots to highlight the brightest and most talented young engineers in the UK today.

 

EW BrightSparks 2022 profile: Sarah Keane

 

Here, in our series on the latest EW BrightSparks of 2022, we highlight Sarah Keane, a Field Applications Engineer at Analog Devices.

 

Achievement

During Sarah’s time at Analog Devices, her nominator told us, she has constantly strived to be a force for positive change in everything she does.

 

 

Her “day job” is to support customer and design engineers technically, helping them to solve problems and improve their systems. And one  major project which she has been driving, we learned, is around the implementation of the next generation of smart building architecture. Specifically, to drastically improve the energy efficiency in such buildings and help reduce our carbon footprint.

 

 

 

Even though Sarah took on this project in the early stages of her career, her nominator said she had done a fantastic job in rising to the challenge and managing relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders around the globe.

 

In addition to her already busy work, Sarah has taken on a great deal of additional responsibility. For example, she helped to create and manage Analog Devices’ first UK internship programme based out of the Hayes office. During the Covid pandemic, the company heard from universities that students were struggling to find placement opportunities at technology companies, resulting in them missing out on valuable industry experience for when they graduated and started looking for graduate positions.

 

As a result, it was decided to create the ADI UK internship program to give students a chance to gain experience and learn about the industry. Sarah spearheaded the initiative, gaining support from colleagues, engaging with universities, and helping establish a framework for the internship.

 

She then went on to manage and mentor the interns, which resulted in several joining the company as graduate engineers upon completion of their studies, and she continues to manage and mentor all new European graduates.

 

 

Some thoughts about promoting engineering

Community / STEM

In terms of community engagement, Sarah has taken on responsibility for university engagement within the UK team at Analog Devices.

 

This has involved, we learned, organising guest speakers and lecturers at universities to help improve the students’ overall knowledge of the semiconductor industry and showcase career opportunities in the industry, as well as to help  enhance their technical knowledge in general.

 

Sarah was also a committee member on Analog Devices’ Young Professional Network (YPN) for Europe.

 

This is an inclusive network of early career professionals at ADI that aims to foster connections and camaraderie between the employees. The YPN enables members to foster change and improvement within the company, while also helping them with their professional development early in their career.

 

Sarah has organised many events for the 300+ members of the European chapter, ranging from social activities to career advice discussions with senior leadership.