Opinion
- Design & manufacturing
- Opinion
- Issue 64
Design and technology- averting a crisis
Design and Technology (D&T) lessons give students practical experience of applying technological solutions to solve problems. Richard Green, Chief Executive of the Design and Technology Association, argues that changes to school league table assessment criteria are damaging the supply line of future engineers.
- Software & computer science
- Opinion
- Issue 68
Broadband needs its champions
Access to fast and affordable broadband communication has become an essential part of modern life. Dr David Cleevely CBE FREng, founder of several telecoms businesses, maintains that any strategy to deliver universal broadband has to jump from a high cost/low demand model to low cost/high demand.
Quick read
- Civil & structural
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 95
Building a greener future
Will Arnold, Head of Climate Action at the IStructE, says we need a total rethink of how we create, maintain and power our buildings to better protect our planet.
Quick read
- Electricals & electronics
- Technology & robotics
- Opinion
- Issue 96
Securing the Internet of Everything
Our IoT devices need engineers to safeguard our privacy, say Oktay Cetinkaya and Peter Novitzky.
- Design & manufacturing
- Opinion
- Issue 94
How lessons from COVID-19 could speed up UK tech development
Ian Quest and Dick Elsy CBE FREng reflect on how we can take the learnings from the Ventilator Challenge UK to wider technology development in the UK.
Quick read
- Opinion
Supporting inclusion for STEM undergrads
Engineering, and STEM as a whole, have an inclusion problem. Universities have a key role to play in addressing it, says Dr Gabriel Cavalli from Queen Mary University of London.
Quick read
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
A young engineer’s perspective on the good, the bad and the ugly of COP27
Engineering Leaders Scholar Isabelle Pickett attended COP27. She wrote about some of her takeaways for Ingenia, including important actions for the future that engineers can take.
- Energy
- Opinion
- Issue 93
The challenges of creating a hydrogen economy
Hydrogen is likely to play a critical role in achieving net zero, but the UK needs to act soon to avoid falling behind international competitors. So, how can government and the engineering community ensure this doesn’t happen?
Quick read
- Environment & sustainability
- Civil & structural
- Opinion
- Issue 92
How do we make the UK more resilient to flooding?
Extreme flooding is becoming a regular occurrence across the UK, with flash floods causing significant damage to homes and businesses.
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 91
Repair or replace – what drives a circular economy?
Right to repair legislation is being enacted around the world, designed to help governments achieve their net zero targets and meet obligations to reduce the environmental impact of waste. Paul Hide, CEO of AMDEA, sets out why sometimes the alternative might be a more sustainable approach.
Quick read
- Civil & structural
- Health & medical
- Opinion
- Issue 90
Better buildings need a breath of fresh air
Post-COVID-19, how do we stay safe in winter without throwing open all the windows and cranking up the radiators to max?
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 89
A system is needed to deliver on COP26
Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, reflects on his experience at COP26, hosted in his hometown of Glasgow, and outlines how engineers stand ready to deliver on the commitments made.
Quick read
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 88
Preparing future engineers for the net zero challenge
Engineers will face ever-growing and ever-changing challenges as they tackle climate change and build a sustainable future. There is now an urgent need to ensure they will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to do so, writes Professor Roger Kemp MBE FREng.
- Civil & structural
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 87
Rethinking the future through design
Dr Mark Fletcher FREng, Global Water Business Leader at Arup, argues that engineers need to rethink design and embrace systems thinking now more than ever, to accelerate regenerative outcomes for people, places and the planet.
Quick read
- Opinion
- Issue 86
Engineering skills to better meet society’s needs
The UK – and indeed the world – is dealing with some of the most complex challenges it has ever faced. Dawn Bonfield MBE and Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi CBE FREng believe that a change in the engineering education curriculum will help build the skills for a sustainable and inclusive future.
- Energy
- Opinion
- Issue 85
How can the UK solve its carbon problem?
Dieter Helm CBE, Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford, sets out how Britain can lead the way on climate change action and use the opportunity of the COVID-19 pandemic to meet its net-zero target by 2050.
- Opinion
- Issue 84
What primary schools can teach us about skills for engineering
Dr Susan Scurlock MBE, CEO and Founder of Primary Engineer, believes there is room for a fundamental shift in the way education supports the development of key STEM skills, which will help plug the skills gap that is due to worsen over the next 10 years.
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 83
Net zero - aspiration or reality?
Professor Sir Ian Boyd, Chairman at the UK research Integrity Office, contemplates the accountability and collective actions that are actually needed to make the transition for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 a reality and warns against efforts underpinned by short-term interests.
- Software & computer science
- Opinion
- Issue 82
Our 21st century information superhighway
Vinton G. Cerf, an American internet pioneer, explains how the highspeed transfer of information has become an integral part of our digital society, and touches on the infrastructure initiatives which would make the internet and communications networks accessible across the whole globe.
- Technology & robotics
- Opinion
- Issue 81
New tech creates 999 opportunities
Dr Nigel P Brown, the contingencies secretariat for the UK cabinet office, considers the future of emergency communications involving new technologies, such as voice analysis in calls, increased location accuracy and sensors to access vital signs to deliver a more efficient and effective service.
- Technology & robotics
- Opinion
- Issue 80
AI is not magic but it is complex
Mandy Chessell CBE FREng, an IBM Distinguished Engineer, looks at the ethical responsibilities for engineers developing AI technology and what legal and governmental frameworks that still need to be established so that it can be trusted.
- Aerospace
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 79
Can electrification solve aviation’s emissions problem?
Paul Stein FREng, Chief Technology Officer at Rolls-Royce, sets out why the industry and policymakers should be looking at electrification to address the challenges of the aviation industry's green credentials among a growing population experiencing decreasing costs of air travel.
- Design & manufacturing
- Opinion
- Issue 78
Is engineering productive?
Professor Will Stewart FREng argues that engineers also have a part to play in promoting engineering’s role in greater productivity, as the way in which productivity is measured in the UK does not account for advances in engineering and what these have added to GDP.
- Software & computer science
- Opinion
- Issue 76
Supporting the digitally left behind
As vital services are becoming increasingly online, a large community of people are being digitally left behind. IT systems experts Dan Bailey, Dr Maurice Perks and Chris Winter argue that it is up to IT systems engineers, among others, to ensure that everyone can take advantage of, and enjoy, the digital revolution.
- Software & computer science
- Opinion
- Issue 75
Should we trust connected devices?
Domestic applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) can yield myriad benefits, but they also bring risks. Paul Taylor FREng, Partner, Risk Consulting, at KPMG LLP, asks whether these risks should make us question whether we should trust the devices that connect our homes to the internet.
- Civil & structural
- Opinion
- Issue 74
Collaboration is key to improving the UK's productivity
Britain’s construction sector is experiencing its lowest levels of productivity in more than 40 years. Sir John Armitt CBE FREng, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, believes that better collaboration could drastically improve UK productivity.
- Environment & sustainability
- Food & agriculture
- Opinion
- Issue 72
What role for biofuels in low-carbon UK transport?
Biofuels have a role to play in meeting the UK’s climate change commitments. Sustainable Chemical Engineering Professor Adisa Azapagic FREng sets out why biofuels made from wastes and by-products in different sectors are particularly important to these efforts.
- Technology & robotics
- Opinion
- Issue 71
Robotics and AI – driving the UK’s industrial strategy
Professor Guang-Zhong Yang CBE FREng, Director and Co-founder of The Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery and UK-RAS Network Chair, sets out how investment in robotics and artificial intelligence could transform the UK’s industry, economy and workplaces.
- Software & computer science
- Opinion
- Issue 69
Data as critical national infrastructure
Once considered dry and boring, data is an important asset and at the heart of a digital society. Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt FREng, professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, sets out why data is a vital infrastructure that needs to be invested in, maintained and supported.
- Technology & robotics
- Opinion
- Issue 67
Robotics and autonomous systems - affecting everything that moves
Professor David Lane CBE FREng, Founding Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics and lead author of the RAS2020, argues that the UK has made a promising start in leading technology and the development of ethical frameworks, but there is more to do.
- Design & manufacturing
- Opinion
- Issue 66
Steel can arise from the ashes of coal
Thousands of people were laid off in the UK steel industry in 2015 and there are pessimistic future forecasts. Professor Sridhar Seetharaman of the Warwick Manufacturing Group argues that smaller, flexible steel mills implementing new technology would better cope with fluctuating global trends.
- Civil & structural
- Environment & sustainability
- Opinion
- Issue 65
Upgrade existing buildings to reduce emissions
Much of the UK’s existing buildings predate modern energy standards. Patrick Bellew of Atelier Ten, a company that pioneered environmental innovations, suggests that a National Infrastructure Project is needed to tackle waste and inefficiency.
- Software & computer science
- Opinion
- Issue 62
EU clarifies the European parameters of data protection
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, due for adoption this year, is intended to harmonise data protection laws across the EU. What are the engineering implications and legal ramifications of the new regulatory regime?