amosalumni Archives - The Amos Bursary

Amos Bursary Alumnus and Ambassador, George Imafidon, is awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday List for services to young people and STEM sectors.

The honour recognises his outstanding achievements and service to the community which has had a long-term, significant impact.

Here To Serve

At age 26, George is CEO and co-founder of Motivez, an award-winning youth-led organisation founded in 2015, which empowers underserved young people aged 14 – 25 to access entry-level STEM jobs and become changemakers. They have inspired millions worldwide through their campaigns and directly supported over 9,000 young people in the UK over the past eight years through their grassroots, employability, and advocacy programmes where they develop local STEM changemakers transforming their communities. Their work has been highly commended and supported by the likes of the Royal Family, Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE, Idris Elba OBE and Beyonce.

Purpose Driven

In addition to his work as a social entrepreneur, George also holds the title of the Young Engineer of the Year 2022/23, awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering. As an advocate for sustainable motorsport, he works as a Race Engineer with Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE’s X44 Vida Carbon Racing team. The electric off-road race team, competing as part of the Extreme E series, aims to break down the barriers to entry into the motorsport industry and create a more diverse and inclusive environment within the sport. X44 Vida Carbon also uses its platform to draw attention to environmental issues by racing in the world’s most remote locations affected by the climate crisis; and in 2022 won the Extreme E championship to conclude George’s second season with the team.

Better Together

As a diversity champion, George took a gap year from his degree studies and dedicated it to fundraising for the #AB1Million campaign, raising £1 million for the Amos Bursary to ensure other talented young people of African and Caribbean descent have the opportunities that have been afforded to him.

Colleen Amos OBE, CEO of The Amos Bursary said “This is such a well-deserved honour. The work George does with Motivez is an overflow of his passion for improving lives. As an Amos Bursary alumni, he continues to support Amos students. His passion for engineering and work with the Lewis Hamilton Foundation will impact positively on young people for years to come.”

Upon receiving the MBE, George shared “I’m honoured and grateful to receive the MBE for services to engineering, technology and young people. It’s been a privilege to use my voice over the last decade for so many of us who feel unseen, opening up trajectories in STEM for communities traditionally far removed from the industry. I really hope this recognition can open more doors for those that are underserved and goes some way to instilling hope on their journey.”

Achievements

2022: Young Engineer of the Year Award by Royal Academy of Engineering

2022: Extreme E World Champion by Extreme E

2022: Sir George MacFarlane Award by Royal Academy of Engineering

2021: Changing The Narrative Peer Award for Social Equity by The Amos Bursary

2021: Appointed as a Trustee of the Co-op Foundation

2020: The Powerlist Community Award by Powerful Media

2018: Diana Award by The Diana Award

2017: The UK’s Top Black Students by Rare Recruitment

The accolades just keep coming. We can’t wait to see what’s next for the Humanitarian Engineer.

Meet George, Racecar Reinventor

Find out more about George’s journey with The Amos Bursary here https://www.amosbursary.org.uk/george-imafidon-changingthenarrative/

We are so proud to announce that Extreme-E racing pioneer, social mobility advocate and Amos Alumni Ambassador George Imafidon has received two of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades – Young Engineer of the Year and the Sir George Macfarlane Medal.

The award and medal, recognise the potential of engineers working in the UK who have demonstrated excellence in the early stage of their career. George received the medal – named after wartime radar pioneer Sir George Macfarlane – at the Academy Awards Dinner in London on Tuesday 12 July 2022.

George Imafidon is a Performance Engineer working with Sir Lewis Hamilton HonFREng’s Team X44 electric racing team to design Extreme-E race cars. The motorsport team, founded in September 2020, aims to draw attention to environmental issues by racing in remote locations affected by the climate crisis.

George’s fascination with mechanics stems from his formative years spent fixing bikes for his friends in South East London, a pastime that would eventually lead him to graduate from University College London with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

In addition to his E-racing career, George is also CEO and co-founder of Motivez, an app designed to help young people from underrepresented backgrounds access personalised opportunities, particularly within science, technology, engineering and maths.

George’s commitment to platforming underrepresented voices was further evidenced by his appointment in September 2020 to the Board of Commissioners for Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Commission set up jointly with the Royal Academy of Engineering to address the underrepresentation of Black people in UK motorsport. As a young Black engineer, George was able to advise and guide the Commission’s work, introduce the research team to key stakeholders and young engineers for interviews and steer the final report that enabled the Commission to achieve high public profile and political attention for this issue.

George took a gap year during his university studies to fundraise for the #AB1Million campaign, raising £1 million for the Amos Bursary to ensure talented young people of African and Caribbean descent have the opportunity to excel in education and beyond.

George has received many prestigious awards and accolades including a Princess Diana Award, Accenture Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, Top 10 Future Leaders Award, UK Top 10 Black Students award and features in the 2021 Powerlist. He is also featured in the 2021 series of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s This is Engineering videos, designed to encourage young people from all backgrounds to follow what they love doing into a career in engineering.

Colleen Amos OBE, CEO and co-founder of the Amos Bursary, says “George is passionate about building products that improve lives and communities and over the past five years, he has worked across engineering, technology, consulting, and finance with firms such as Google, Rolls-Royce, J.P Morgan, BCG and now with Team X44. He is a firm believer in creating opportunities where people see obstacles and ensuring everywhere he goes is better than he found it.”

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi CBE FREng, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Awards Committee, says: “Our Young Engineers of the Year are pushing back the boundaries of modern engineering and creating genuinely new economic opportunities in the process. They are also fantastic role models for any young person considering whether to join the engineering profession. I congratulate them all.”