FEMALE engineers are a little thin on the ground.
So this year's intake of students at Huddersfield University's School of computing and engineering came as a bit of surprise.
It managed to enrol its highest number of female students.
However, far from coming from the UK, the young women came from much further afield.
They are from the Gulf States and the Far East, where being an engineer, male or female, is seen as a popular option.
"We are finding that engineering courses offered at the university, particularly at master's level, are highly relevant to areas of industrial growth in the Gulf and South Asia, and hence job opportunities are very good," said the director of the university's international office, Sue Staples.
"As there is certainly a national, and even international, shortage of female engineers, the prospects for these students are excellent.
"The university has worked hard to build strong relationships with sponsoring agencies and foreign education ministries, and we believe this has encouraged them to place students at Huddersfield.
"In many cultures, the family decides where and what the student will study, particularly the girls.
"We've been working hard to reassure parents that as well as delivering first-class professional programmes backed up by excellent resources and facilities, the university provides a safe and supportive environment for their daughters."
