Born and raised in Indonesia, Dinda packed up her life at the age of seventeen and relocated to the United Kingdom to pursue higher education. She was apprehensive about the future, and shares that the move presented a unique set of challenges for her, including adjusting to a new environment and forming friendships.

She also looked forward to the opportunities that this new adventure would bring in the field of engineering. “I think where I come from, especially in my family, it is uncommon for women to be in engineering,” she says, “but I really liked solving problems and I always loved math and physics.”

Dinda became the first female engineer in her family, after earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sheffield and a master’s from Cranfield University – both in aerospace engineering. Throughout her studies, Dinda put her skills to use at a renewable energy company as a design engineering intern.

“From being a student where everything is pretty much theories and exams, to seeing that applied in a practical environment—it instilled more confidence in me.”

When Dinda learned about General Dynamics Land Systems United Kingdom’s graduate scheme in 2023, she applied and joined the Training Systems team. Since then, she has found herself learning the ins and outs of the defence industry, rotating every six months.

Her first role involved working directly with AJAX components. “At that time, my day-to-day involved testing the training simulation and checking for any bugs within the simulation,” she says. Now, she is working as a design engineer on the trials team in support of the larger AJAX programme, where she collaborates on change requests, design improvements, and aids in solving complex problems. “Being in the graduate scheme is helping me explore what I want to do and the departments I want to work in,” she says.

Dinda is also keen on giving back by promoting STEM to the next generation by taking part in events like Women in Engineering panel discussions hosted by the College Merthyr Tydfil. “It was quite interesting,” she says, “because I am quite shy, but being there opened me up to talking to kids, and you would be surprised how engaging they are.”