“Sidney was life-changing for me.”

In our second Forward Together spotlight, we celebrate the remarkable journey of Professor Dame Ann Dowling, Sidney’s longest-serving female Fellow and one of the first women to shape the College from within.

When Ann arrived in 1977 as the Robert Angus Junior Research Fellow in Engineering, she was only the second woman Fellow, just a year after Sidney admitted its first women undergraduates. For her, co-education wasn’t a disruption: it felt natural. Imagined complications never materialised, but the full impact of inclusion was only beginning to unfold.

At the time, some thought women might “civilise” College life. But our women did more than that. They immersed themselves fully – whether on the river with the boat club or making music – embracing Sidney life just as fully as any of their male peers.

But her presence – and that of the women who came with her – quietly expanded the future of the College: raising academic standards, doubling the pool of potential applicants, and laying early groundwork for today’s EDI efforts that aim to reach those who might not think a place like Sidney is for them.

From mathematics to engineering, from Junior Research Fellow to Lecturer to Professor, Sidney was the place where Ann's career took flight. She recalls the transformational support she received: practical, intellectual, and human:

🔹 Living in a College flat, getting help from the Bursar to buy her first house,
🔹 Encouragement from Donald Green and Keith Glover, and being nudged out of her comfort zone to supervise engineering students, even when it meant staying just one step ahead,
🔹 And a deep sense of community: Friday night dinners with Fellows from every discipline, where stories were shared across generations, including from those who had quite literally shaped history.

Today, Dame Ann Dowling is one of the most accomplished engineers in the world. But it all started here.

Her story is a testament to what happens when institutions don’t just open their doors, but offer belonging, mentorship, and confidence.

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Check out her speech on LinkedIn.