The RailStaff Awards 2024

Nominations for Graduate or Newcomer Award

James Richards

Said the following about Miraan Jothinath:

“This year, Miraan has proved himself to be an inspirational leader and an exceptionally driven innovator having been completely immersed in two high-profile projects, namely DICE and Fast Trackers 2019.

Miraan was the cofounder of the DICE Competition where he (and his partner) encouraged and supported graduates and apprentices to develop digital solutions to problems that they’d encountered while on their respective training schemes. The programme was exceptionally well developed, refined, choreographed and delivered, with a distinguished panel of VIPs being assembled to listen to the pitches. While giving a platform to the new entrants, the process showcased some innovative ideas that were sufficiently well developed as to attract business funding to further their development. Miraan ensured that each project team were mentored and supported throughout and held the graduates/apprentices to account for reporting and progress purposes. The competition has received exceptionally positive feedback and has been encouraged to develop further for 2020.

Miraan chaired the steering group of the Fast trackers 2019 programme. The programme was first piloted in 2018 and under Miraan’s watch in 2019, the programme has almost doubled in size and extended its footprint to cover all three nations. The programme engaged with 16yr-19yr old students through consortia from National Collaborative Outreach Programme. The programme targeted 350 students from areas of low Higher Education uptake and - through local delivery representatives - saw the students visit a university, an employer and engage with an engineering challenge to design a high-speed railway line and remodel a hub station. The students competed in teams in regional heats with winners progressing to a three-day residential “National Final” in Birmingham. Under Miraan’s watch, the programme delivered over 11,000 hours of contact time with the students with a Social Value in excess of £450,000. Miraan ensured that over 20 stakeholders were managed impeccably throughout and saw the students graduating from the programme with Industrial Cadets Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. The programme was an enormous success and looks set to have cemented its legacy within the industry as more partners are making approaches to be involved from the start in 2020.

Miraan’s calm professionalism and resilience under pressure is a positive example of what can be achieved with exemplary planning and a dedication to delivery detail.“

James Featherstone

Said the following about Miraan Jothinath:

“Miraan co-founded an engineering programme which allows new-starters in Network Rail to drive change and innovation within months of joining the company. He is an exceptional individual who is universally respected and admired by those who work with him.

As one of the founders of DICE (Digital Innovation for Collaboration in Engineering) he saw that there was un-tapped resource in the graduate community, and also recognised that digital innovation is not just an engineering problem to solve but sought the involvement and engagement of all the new entrants programmes at Network Rail - both apprentices and graduates from a variety of schemes such as IT, engineering, project management and more.

He also worked with various stakeholders and interested parties both within and outside of Network Rail to coalesce a variety of different teams together to help deliver this programme.

Last year saw an extremely successful pilot programme, with some fantastic achievements and follow-on opportunities for those involved. The programme has since gained significant momentum, including support from the R&D team, Intelligent Infrastructure Programme and Network Rail's Chief Executive who has kept a close watching brief.

Miraan's strengths of quiet persuasion and understanding the bigger picture are often overlooked and underappreciated. He is a real team player who is genuinely changing the rail industry for the better. I can think of no-one more deserving of individual recognition as Graduate of the Year.“

Amin Patel

Said the following about Miraan Jothinath:

“Miraan has been an exceptional graduate and an asset to our team. As he builds his technical experience, his organisational and time management skills have been strong given his extra-curricular activities, with heavy involvement in both DICE and STEM. I was most impressed when the project engineer was on leave and Miraan stepped up to cover his role, demonstrating key stakeholder management to keep the projects on programme. As Miraan's host manager for his placement I believe he has fit in quickly and adapted well to working in an Alliance structure; his working relationship with the design team has been very effective. These thoughts are shared widely throughout the team. Miraan has led by example with his behaviours and work ethic and I have no doubt that he will be a leader in the rail industry in the future. For this reason I’m nominating him for the graduate or newcomer award.“