Hannelie Nel holds a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pretoria, and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. Currently she is enrolled for a doctorate in the field of environmental risk management.  She has received several awards for her contribution to the discipline of Industrial Engineering and Education in South Africa; and was recently invited to speak on the Future of Engineering at the Tomorrow’s Leaders Conference in Johannesburg.
Hannelie spent five years in industry where she worked as both a chemical and an industrial engineer.  She joined the University of Johannesburg in 2002 and served as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, and the Head of Department of Industrial Engineering, for five years.  She is a Senior Council Member of the Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering and was the President of the Institute for the term 2008-2009.  Currently she is the Director of the Women in Engineering and the Built Environment Programme at the University of Johannesburg; the project manager for ECSA accreditation in 2011; and strategy manager of the Metal Casting Technology Station.  Hannelie supervises Master of Technology students Industrial Engineering, and has presented several papers at local and international conferences.
The Women in Engineering and the Built Environment Programme (WiEBE) is a strategic community engagement project hosted in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.  The programme was initiated in 2007 and has since developed the following primary objectives:
(1)  To attract young women to engineering and the built environment, and retain them until completion of their studies;
(2) To provide networking, development and mentorship opportunities for professional women;
(3) To support women academics in the faculty;
(4) To support current women students within the Society for Women in Engineering and Technology (SWiET);
(5) To conduct research on the current and topical issues regarding women in engineering and the built environment;
(6) To engage industry in the empowerment, understanding and support of professional women in engineering and the built environment.
Group Five and the University of Johannesburg have entered into a partnership to develop the WiEBE programme since 2009.  The theme for 2010 is:  UJ and Group Five: Creating Solutions!