• Some things you didn’t know you needed to know about IET Bahrain

    Some things you didn’t know you needed to know about IET Bahrain

    The IET’s local network in Bahrain is small, but surprisingly active Bahrain can be easily overshadowed by its larger, better known neighbours in the Gulf region of the Middle East; especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Perhaps the same might be said of IET Bahrain, the IET Local Network that works in the kingdom. Early Days The Chairman of IET Bahrain is Dr. A-Imam Al-Sammak, an Associate Professor at the University of Bahrain for slightly over 30 years. He joined the IET way, way back in 1979 or 80 when doing his Masters in the UK. Dr Al-Sammak was one of the eight engineers who found the island’s Local Network, sometime in 1995. In the 1990s, the local network had somewhere in the region of 150 members. Many were migrants, in Bahrain for work. These days, as workers have left…

  • June events on the history of women in engineering

    June events on the history of women in engineering

    June is a great month to celebrate women in engineering, with International Women in Engineering Day on 23 June. I'd like to let you know about two exciting, free, online events happening at the end of June that you are very welcome to join. On Wednesday 21 June, 2-4pm BST , Imperial College is hosting a Wikithon on women in STEM. Join us to find out about how to edit Wikipedia to enhance and create biographies of notable women engineers and scientists. You’ll discover how to become a Wikipedia editor and how to use your skills to improve our knowledge of the contributions of women to the field, as well as building your research and writing skills. More information and a registration link can be found at Eventbrite . And on Monday 26 June, 3-4:30pm BST the IET, University of Ottawa and…

    Anne Locker
  • Making an impact - how do we support the engineers of the future?

    Making an impact - how do we support the engineers of the future?

    The engineering talent pipeline is a challenge facing many organisations today. It was heartening then to be able to see the impact of the support shown by donors and partners on future generations of engineers in our recently published Futures Fund 2022 Impact Report. Individuals, companies, and foundations supported the IET Futures Fund with donations, volunteering and resource support to inspire children to discover the wonders of engineering and support young people to step into engineering careers. In 2022, over 44,000 young people took part in IET Future Fund activities, including Faraday® Challenge Days, FIRST® LEGO® League and IET Launch Scholarships. Our ambition in 2023 is to reach even more young people from all walks of life to ensure that the UK’s engineering community is…

    Elsa Scott
  • What are the power generation and power systems for the future?

    What are the power generation and power systems for the future?

    With the UK and other countries around the world setting ambitious targets for net zero and the need to deliver on renewables, what will the future of energy and power generation look like? And who will be the engineers and technicians to drive it forward? In order to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and other environmental goals there will need to be a substantial increase in the contribution of renewable sources to the energy generation mix. So what will these sources be and what will the renewable landscape look like? The main thing that will drive the ideas and innovation required will be the people behind the technology and the engineers and technicians willing to think outside the box and present new ways of thinking and working. As part of this rapid advancement in renewable power there…

  • A Sea of Change: The Future of Warships in the Age of Modern Missiles and Direct-Energy Weapons

    A Sea of Change: The Future of Warships in the Age of Modern Missiles and Direct-Energy Weapons

    The challenge of Modern Weaponry and Warship Adaptability The evolution of modern missiles and Direct-Energy (DE) weapons may raise concerns over the future of warships in naval warfare. While these advancements undoubtedly pose new challenges to warships, it is essential to consider their integration with existing naval platforms, rather than viewing them as making warships obsolete. In this essay, I will argue that the incorporation of these cutting-edge technologies in warships will not only ensure their continued relevance but will also enhance their ability to use or deter threats, leading to a significant operational advantage. To substantiate this argument, I will examine the impact of missiles and DE weapons on naval warfare, the importance of adaptability, embracing new technology…

  • From Pencil to Pixel: Why Sketching Still Matters in Modern Design

    From Pencil to Pixel: Why Sketching Still Matters in Modern Design

    In the throes of our digital epoch, numerous designers find themselves gravitating towards the virtual oasis of computer-aided design (CAD) software (including myself) to breathe life into their brainchildren. CAD, with its plethora of benefits, is indeed a powerful tool in the designer's arsenal. However, let us not forsake the craft of design sketching, a skill that, when paired with digital tools, can significantly enrich the design journey. The magic of design sketching resides in its inherent simplicity. It allows the wielders to rapidly navigate through the labyrinth of ideas and concepts in a manner that even the most advanced CAD software might struggle to emulate. Sketching serves as a tangible medium for the swift iteration and exploration of design ideas, devoid of the complexities…

  • Easier said than done?: decarbonising our airports

    Easier said than done?: decarbonising our airports

    Removing carbon from our airport infrastructure and aviation can be done, but ultimately requires a rethink of aircraft design says Dr Arnold Gad-Briggs UK airports consume a huge amount of energy, approximately 200 terawatt hours for the industry as a whole in 2019 according to research undertaken by EGB Engineering UK. This was pre-pandemic and at the height of what was then unrestricted flying. The challenge will be to remove of all of the carbon from the production of this energy. An airport as conventionally designed is for aircraft to land and take off and the functions and facilities that are provided to them to allow that to happen, primarily involves the use of energy and aviation fuel. Energy is needed in the form of electricity or natural gas to for heating or to fuel several…

  • Electrical Safety Awareness Month

    Electrical Safety Awareness Month

    It’s Electrical Safety Month and the IET is keen to remind the industry of the risks you need to always consider when working with electricity. How many times have you heard - “If only we had switched it off it wouldn't have happened” or “But we never followed the procedure. It would have taken too long!!!” All electrical incidents can be upsetting, and every associated injury causes suffering and some with life-changing effects. However, it is so often the case that simple steps could have prevented the incidents. Many people are exposed to electrical risk and many of them do not have an electrical background or sufficient electrical knowledge to minimise the risk. Those people include, cleaners, equipment operators, maintenance fitters and managers for example. To these categories can…

  • Engineering the engineers of the future

    Engineering the engineers of the future

    A rising star of Engineering’s future is engineering the engineers of the future We often forget that ‘Jack of all trades but master of none’ continues, ‘but oftentimes better than a master of one.’ Yun Hang Cho exemplifies this within engineering, although he wouldn’t tell you himself. One look at his history and we see what this really means. His background is in mechanical engineering, and he is currently a research engineer at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre . Yun also kicked off the Sheffield Space Initiative which creates opportunities for hundreds of aspiring Engineers/Scientists to work on real hands-on space projects with NASA, DLR, ESA, among others. He loves to work across different fields, something that drew him to the Institution of…

  • IET Malaysia Prestigious Lecture & Award Dinner 2022: Recognizing Industries in the Engineering and Technology Sector

    IET Malaysia Prestigious Lecture & Award Dinner 2022: Recognizing Industries in the Engineering and Technology Sector

    In February 2023, more than 300 people attended the IET Malaysia Prestigious Lecture & Award Dinner 2022 The Prestige Lecture and Award Dinner (PLAD) is a prominent annual event organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology IET Malaysia Network. It was attended by 300 guests including Yang Berhormat Tuan Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI), Charles Hay MVO, British High Commissioner, captains of industry, academics, alongside chairmen and women of Engineering and Technology Institutions. The ceremony, at Kuala Lumpur’s Aloft Hotel, was opened by a message delivered by the IET’s current President, Professor Bob Cryan. Up for grabs at this year’s PLAD22 awards were: Outstanding Industry Captain Award, Industry Excellence Award, IET…

  • The IET Cambridge Network hosts a talk by PervasID on Advanced RFID Tracking Technology

    The IET Cambridge Network hosts a talk by PervasID on Advanced RFID Tracking Technology

    On 26th April the IET Cambridge Network hosted an engaging and informative talk by Dr Sabesan Sithamparanatha , co founder and CEO of PervasID Ltd at The University of Cambridge Engineering Department. Sabesan founded PervaseID based on his PhD research into RFID technology and he’s gone on to grow the company into a global business serving the healthcare, industrial, security, retail and logistics sectors. He told us about his entrepreneurial journey with PervasID and explained the main advantages of its cutting edge technology over conventional methods. The company is at an important stage in its development, now working with several global clients and we were very glad Sabesan was able to make the time to share his experience and insight. To find out more about our events visit…

  • What Engineers and Policymakers need to know about the ChatGPT Revolution

    What Engineers and Policymakers need to know about the ChatGPT Revolution

    Is the engineering profession on the brink of a major disruption? With the rise of ChatGPT and other AI-powered technologies, engineers are set to benefit from unprecedented levels of productivity. AI-literacy and transparency are critical to getting it right . ChatGPT is not the only, nor the first artificial intelligence (AI) system that can mimic human text production. It belongs to a class of large language models (LLMs) which generate text by calculating the probability that one word follows another in a given context. Google, Meta, and Microsoft have each released their own LLMs, and the further development of these technologies is moving more rapidly than ever before. By 2030, most of us will be using ChatGPT-like systems as digital ‘assistants’ in our daily working lives – this…

  • Who was Professor Peter Wells?

    Who was Professor Peter Wells?

    On May 3rd, the IET's Healthcare Technologies Network is holding an evening lecture at IET London: Savoy Place titled 'The Peter Wells Memorial Lecture 2023: Ageing Science and Technology: is it possible to live longer than 120?' . This lecture is the latest in a series of annual events hosted by the Joint Biomedical Engineering Group and held in honour of the late Professor Peter Wells, but how much do you know of him him and his work? Read on to learn more. A British physicist and engineer, Wells is widely recognised for his contributions to the field of medical ultrasound. He began his career as a researcher at the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom, where he focused on the application of ultrasound in medicine. His pioneering work paved the way for the use of ultrasound…

  • Pumping cash into electrified heat, is it worth it?

    Pumping cash into electrified heat, is it worth it?

    As a novice to the ins and outs of electrified heat, I have been surprised by the recent boom in news stories about heat pumps. So, I wanted to explore further into the pros and cons of these heat-creating machines. First things first, let’s clarify what they are. Heat pumps harvest heat energy from the ground (GSHP) or air (ASHP), and either use it immediately as space heating or store it in a medium for later use as domestic hot water or space heating. This is exciting as you get more power out than what you put in. The UK Government hopes to install 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028, offering each household a £5,000 grant towards the cost. The heat pump’s intention is to reduce your energy bills. Worldwide, the International Energy Agency predicts that heat pumps could slash carbon…

  • Activities to celebrate the King’s Coronation in schools and at home will be in full swing this term!

    Activities to celebrate the King’s Coronation in schools and at home will be in full swing this term!

    The Coronation of King Charles III is going to be an event to remember. Not many of us will remember the last King’s reign so we have created some STEM inspired activities to keep primary aged children busy over the 4-day weekend and help prepare for this momentous occasion. Design place settings for the lunch table or make bunting to hang around the room. Think up delicious recipes to inspire children to work together and design recipe books of their dishes for an unforgettable royal tea party. Then craft beautiful crowns to wear during the day to make everyone feel like a King or a Queen. Find Coronation activity ideas and join the celebrations while inspiring numeracy and design and technology skills with your 4–11-year-olds. We have Coronation activities for KS1 and KS2 mapped to the…

  • IET Cambridge Network at the Cambridge Festival 2023

    IET Cambridge Network at the Cambridge Festival 2023

    A team of volunteers from the IET Cambridge Network did a great job of educating and entertaining visitors of all ages to our stand at the Cambridge Festival 2023. Over the weekend of 25th and 26th March we had hundreds of visitors, who saw demonstrations of energy generation and electromagnetic induction, did experiments with magnets and plasmas and made their own LED torches to take away. It all went very well, leaving many smiles on the faces of our visitors, some of whom, we hope, will be inspired to explore engineering and technology in the future. Some of the team can be seen in the photo but many thanks to all the volunteers who helped to make the event such a great success this year. The Cambridge Festival is an annual celebration of science, arts, and culture that takes place in…

  • Lift-off at UK Students for Exploration and Discovery in Space Conference

    Lift-off at UK Students for Exploration and Discovery in Space Conference

    The UKSEDS National Student Space conference is an annual event held in spring each year. It aims to bring together student space communities from across the UK and involves keynote presentations from leading international organisations including ESA, NASA and beyond. Although the event was held on the weekend, it was clear that both students and industry were more than willing to participate. Over the two-day event, I was delighted to meet many old and new friends. Back at university, I had setup several space programmes for students, and it was great to see those same students now successfully working in industry. At the same time, I was also surprised to see the range of companies present including some that were not specialised in the space industry (e.g., MTC). The diversity of people…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie in Space
  • Empowering Patients in Scotland with Access to their Health Data

    Empowering Patients in Scotland with Access to their Health Data

    Scotland is experiencing substantial health disparities, where certain populations are more prone to poor health outcomes compared to others. This problem is influenced by a broad range of factors, including access to healthcare services, socio-economic status, genetics, and lifestyle. Currently, there is a well-documented health inequality gap, with individuals living in the most deprived areas having a life expectancy that is on average 8 years lower than those living in the least deprived areas (Scottish Government, 2022). In order to tackle this issue, a multi-faceted approach that leverages technology and data is required. In this article summary, I will delve into the key findings of our IET policy roundtable in Scotland on health inequalities and digital solutions, focusing on three…

  • If you could go behind the scenes of any engineering company, which would it be and why?

    If you could go behind the scenes of any engineering company, which would it be and why?

    This event is where we join forces with organisations across the UK to showcase engineering and technology behind the scenes to children and their families, giving them the chance to discover first-hand the range of incredible careers out there – all in the hope to inspire more young people to pursue STEM in the future. Whether children are into sports, music, fashion, flying, healthcare, or improving our climate, we want children – and their parents – to understand that there is a place in engineering and technology for them. So to give as many families and schools the opportunity to attend, we’re now holding activities over the course of an entire WEEK – hence the name change to 'Engineering Open House Week', and we would absolutely love to have your company on board this year to inspire…

    Kimberley Ingarfill
  • North Devon Robotics Challenge 2023

    North Devon Robotics Challenge 2023

    The North Devon Robotics Challenge 2023 is an event for Year 7 students at schools in the North Devon area. The event is sponsored by The IET, and supported by The North Devon Manufacturers Association, Firefly Robotics Educational Charity and STEM. This is the first time the event has been run, and the plan is to extend the event further in forthcoming years, initially throughout the IET Devon and Cornwall area. The event is for teams of four pairs of students, who are presented with challenges, which they work on in their schools over a six week period, before coming together to compete against each other at a central location. The North Devon area has a lot of small engineering companies, but engineering does not have a high profile in the area, and the result is that the engineering…

  • What would it take to complete a modern construction project on time and on (let alone under) budget?

    What would it take to complete a modern construction project on time and on (let alone under) budget?

    Here is a rhetorical question, what would it take to complete a modern construction project on time and on (let alone under) budget? We should ask ‘why this happens so infrequently in projects large and small and how it can be corrected?’ A little background There was a time a construction project, be it a bridge, a stadium, a palace or a canal required basic materials such as wood & stone and not much else, because the technology for lifts, mechanical ventilation, electrical lighting and remote sensing didn’t exist. Now, a complex project such as an underground railway, a hospital or an airport terminal is not merely a building, it is intelligent, its constituent parts talk to each other via digital communications; if there is a campus of buildings, they will interact with each other…

  • IoT in Defence

    IoT in Defence

    The Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed the way we live and work in many different ways, and the defence industry is no exception. One of the most significant advantages of IoT technology in defence is its ability to enable real-time monitoring and analysis of large amounts of data. This can be used to detect and respond to threats faster and more effectively, providing a critical edge in combat situations. IoT-enabled sensors may be used to detect enemy movements or incoming attacks, allowing forces to react more quickly and effectively. IoT also offers the potential to improve logistical operations and supply chain management. Sensors may be used to track the location and condition of equipment and supplies, allowing better planning and allocation of resources. This can help reduce…

  • Inclusive thinking? Pass it on!

    Inclusive thinking? Pass it on!

    Join in with our latest campaign – crowdsourcing tips, insights and hacks for making inclusion easy to embed into our everyday lives. Just over a year ago, we called out to the engineering and technology community – asking you to share your thoughts on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in our sector, whether good, bad, or somewhere in between. The feedback we got was that, while most people understand the need for and benefits of increasing inclusion – they sometimes don’t know where to begin, or feel like it can be quite an uphill battle to implement new processes in the workplace. Visit our website to share your thoughts and feature in our campaign – and help spread the word by sharing it on your socials. And why is inclusive thinking important? It’s critical for success …

  • Our Easter resources have had a makeover!

    Our Easter resources have had a makeover!

    Get Easter off to a cracking start with our fantastic resources designed for both primary and secondary-aged students. To give you even more reasons to be hoppy, these resources now also include a step-by-step activity guide for families to follow as well as some brand new bonus games including crosswords, wordsearches and mazes which can be enjoyed both at home and in the classroom. For children aged 4-11 there’s a graphics project to design a pop-up Easter card. Or you can let their creativity flow as you use papier mâché and a balloon to make an Easter egg to decorate or help link words or numbers on cracked eggshells. Make an amazing bunny pop up card Make a papier mâché Easter egg Match eggy words or numbers Older teens can enjoy chocolate and egg themed activities including…