Name - Haifa Takruri-Rizk. Age: 45. Job: Senior lecturer in engineering, Salford University. Salary: More than £45,000

Education: BSc in electrical engineering form Birzeit University in Palestine. MSc and PhD from Manchester University Institute of Science and Technology.

Working hours: I don't really keep track, but I would say on average I work from 9am to 10pm each day.

Your department: I work in the School of Computing Science and Engineering, which is one of the oldest in the university.

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What is your office like? I'm lucky enough to have my own office, which is bursting at the seams with books and journals. I have found room for a couple of plants and a display cabinet containing souvenirs sent by my students who are abroad and photos from the events I organise to promote science and engineering to women.

What's your biggest challenge this year? As ever, I want to get more of my research published and also continue my work widening women's access to science and engineering. Right now, I'm at a telecommunications family day at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry organised by my department, where I hope some of the young women attending will be inspired by what they see.

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How will you solve it? The only way to solve problems is to work harder.

Worst moment of your university career: Recently a delegate at a conference I had organised had an accident. Luckily it wasn't serious, but I felt terrible.

Do you socialise with people at work? Quite a lot. When people leave or join the department we go out. We also hold regular lunches to discuss our research.

Best excuse you have heard for bad behaviour: Students still give the best excuses - "My car was stolen/broke down"; "My luggage went missing at the airport" and so on. Strangely, the only one I haven't heard is "My dog ate my homework". Perhaps it's too much of a cliche.

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Who are the most difficult people you deal with? It sounds too good to be true but the people I work with are generally very happy to help. I've had problems with some staff in the past, but we were able to resolve them.