Growth in a growing industry
Nicola Higgins is born and bred South Australian, and proud to be working in Adelaide as a Mechanical Engineer for Mincham.
Growing up, Nicola had a passion for maths and physics which meant that she saw her future clearly early on.
“I knew that I wanted to do something in the engineering field but wasn’t sure which modality,” said Nicola. “After weighing up the options, mechanical felt like the most diverse choice with opportunities to work on anything from engines to submarines to airplanes.”
While studying at UniSA, Nicola noticed an under-representation of females within her courses.
“Often it felt like there was only one woman for every 50 men, which led me to join a group called ‘Women in STEM’,” said Nicola.
“The role of the group was to talk to young girls in schools and show them there is an opportunity to be a part of the industry, where we can grow and move forward together. It was very rewarding,” she added.
But after completing her degree, Nicola still felt she had more to learn.
“My honours thesis was the highlight of my studies and allowed me to research the prototyping of a morphing wing solution for an unmanned aircraft system, or UAS,” Nicola said.
This opportunity saw the beginning of her interaction with Mincham, where she now works full time. Nicola’s role is to help improve current defence systems and their capabilities.
“I assist with the development of General Service Equipment systems to enable a safer and more efficient workflow for aerospace primes,” Nicola stated. “I’m a design engineer for the manufacturing process for advanced radar systems, and in the research and development of new technologies for the sovereign hypersonic rocketry systems,” she added.
On a day-to-day basis, Nicola might find herself writing up research findings, communicating with stakeholders or talking to technicians about their challenges to see whether design might improve outcomes.
“Unlike some businesses, engineers and technicians at Mincham work closely together which is an amazing opportunity. I get to interact with and learn from people with over twenty years’ experience,” effused Nicola.
When asked if she had any advice for people looking to build a career in defence or space, Nicola centred her commentary on the vast opportunities for learning and development.
“The defence industry can sometimes appear quite daunting and demanding due to the focus on security and protection. While there are of course high expectations, my experience is that it is very open and understanding, with a significant focus on growth and development,” said Nicola.
She added, “There is a real sense of purpose in the defence industry, and I love working to develop Australian capabilities and pushing forward. There is so much investment in the industry that its growing rapidly, with immense opportunities to grow personally too.”
