00:00Hi, I'm Malika Khan, I'm 25 years old and currently I'm a rocket science researcher
00:16and a pilot. I'm also a public speaker, I advocate for women in male-dominated fields
00:22and doing things that I've been doing in aerospace, but also as pilots as well.
00:27Since then I've been able to advocate for what I stand for and support other women in these fields
00:34and that is why partly I am a semi-finalist for the Miss England competition.
00:49So my journey actually started when I decided I wanted to be a pilot.
00:53I was 15 years old and I was dedicated to flight as soon as I saw the Red Arrows flying.
00:59It was actually in Portsmouth at a D-Day celebration.
01:02And when I saw that I knew that I just wanted to be that person who could make that many people happy in the crowd
01:08but also be doing something at high speed, going upside down, doing something that thrilling.
01:13But that's really where my journey started for me and after that it was a case of this is the dream.
01:20I'm going to do everything to chase after it.
01:22So when I went to university to study spacecraft engineering as my masters,
01:27whilst I was there during that period I joined the Royal Air Force University Air Squadron.
01:32And then after university I went to work for the National Space Agency and I was really involved in the space side of things
01:40which was fantastic seeing it from an infrastructure point of view of how our world uses it.
01:46And that brings me on to my latest adventure in life which is to join the, well you will have heard of Miss World.
01:55And so you will have heard of Miss England who goes into Miss World.
01:59And that's my latest adventure to join the Miss England team and be able to represent what I have struggled to go through with such a minority environment.
02:09But also to be able to show people that it is entirely normal to be a feminine woman who dresses up, who enjoys that,
02:20but is still a professional to show people that women can still be that way.
02:24The reason is when I was growing up I thought that if I chose aviation and engineering that I would have to give up a lot of that,
02:31that I would have to give up painting my nails and have long hair and wear lipstick
02:36and that it wouldn't be right because I wouldn't fit in with all the men.
02:40And that still was a worry for a long time.
02:43And so, yeah, that is part of the reason.
02:46It's a very, it's a very big reason, but it is part of the reason why I'm really happy to be joining the team.
02:51So for me, it's a very, very important move that I can stand up for the charity work that I support.
02:58But on top of that, stand up for breaking that stereotype that women can't look beautiful
03:03and still be a professional and still be doing really hot fields and breaking those male dominated fields.
03:11I just don't believe that.
03:13I think for me, it still goes back to flying.
03:16Flying is my one true love.
03:18It is still so, so important to me.
03:20And I'm still training.
03:21I'm still building my experiences.
03:23I still fly to France, to the Netherlands.
03:26I do whatever I want.
03:28But it is, it is, again, mastering that skill, which is what I was so attracted to in the beginning.
03:34And space for me provides a lot of that, too.
03:36And I hope that one day in my future, I can combine the two in a career.
03:40That would be, that would be my dream.
03:42Currently, I'm researching hydrogen rockets.
03:46It's a very exciting, cutting edge field to be able to create green fuel for rockets.
03:52And that, too, with such a powerful fuel such as hydrogen.
03:57But I would love to combine that with my flying passion.
04:00I think it gets me up every morning.
04:02It's super exciting.
04:03And it's about mastering that skill.
04:06It's also about building yourself as a leader and being able to represent to other people,
04:12not just women, but young kids who think, oh, could I be an astronaut or could I do this?
04:17Yeah, you can.
04:18But you need someone who can show you who doesn't look like your typical stereotypical example,
04:24because you need to see that you can do it.
04:27And I think I want to, I want to be able to break that barrier and see where things go.
