Welcome to the Community Insights blog!

This blog features posts from and about the EngX community. Want to contribute? Read our blogging guide to help you get started.

  • Register now for The Apollo Protocol: The Value Hack (Sheffield, UK or Online)

    There's still time to join us at The Value Hack at AMRC's Factory2050 in Sheffield on Thursday. It's a must-attend if you want to explore the value of extending digital twin capabilities into the built environment. Not sure what a digital twin is? Might be the time to find out - read more below: REGISTER NOW https://bit.ly/ApolloProtocolValueHackSheffield The way manufacturing and the built environment approach value is different. This first Hack event will identify use cases for data and information management across the sectors, in order to explore how blockages in value transfer can be overcome. Who should attend? We are seeking a diverse audience from across the manufacturing, construction, property and built environment sectors, including but not limited to: Technical or…

  • How can we share more positive stories about green trade and investment?

    It was an honour to be able to deputise for the IET’s president at UK Department for International Trade (DIT)’s Green Trade and Investment Summit on 1st November. I think it is the first time DIT have tried this specific format, and as can be imagined with recent politics, there were some short-term changes to the speaker line-up in terms of government Ministers! Newcastle is a great venue. The gala dinner was held in a former biscuit factory turned art gallery, and the main event was in the Sage venue with panoramic views across the Tyne. This location also allowed some to do technical visits on the day before the main event. I was struck by the sheer diversity of businesses and people who are trying to make a difference in the green economy. I had a chance to catch up with lots of people…

    Craig Lucas
    Craig Lucas

  • Future of manufacturing Automation workshop - in review

    I was delighted to listen into the future of manufacturing automation workshop organized by the IET Manufacturing, Control and Automation and Robotics Technical Networks last week. The Keynotes from Mike Wilson were insightful. While labor shortages, Covid, Brexit & trade tensions have been a challenge to the manufacturing sector these have put a new focus on reshoring and near shoring. The growth in ecommerce and the increased demand for personalization of product have demanded small batch high mix model manufacturing. These factors are leading to an increase in uptake in automation in manufacture. Robotics installations have seen an increase of 31% since 2020 with China being the main growth area. The growth of robotics installations in the consumer electronics industry now makes this the…

  • 7th IET GCC Robotics Challenge - 2023

    7th IET GCC Robotics Challenge - 2023 The IET GCC Robotics Challenge is an annual robotics challenge that aims to encourage undergraduate students and young professionals across the GCC to build innovative robotics systems. 29 April 2023 Location: Hybrid Challenge - Physical Attendance/Online This event is sponsored by the The Institute of Engineering and Technology - the IET Robotics and Mechatronics PN. The 7th IET-GCC Challenge -2023 theme is to Present (Design and Ideas) Related to Robotics Based Solutions to build Social Interactive Robotics then to present the solutions in Hybrid (online or by Physical Presence). The 7th IET-GCC Robotics Challenge for 2023 is a hybrid event (virtual or presence). We shall announce the 7th IET GCC Robotics Challenge - 2023 location. For details…

  • Call out for Technical Programme Committee Members for the new Energy Storage Conference

    Greetings all! We are organizing a new IET Energy Storage Conference and I'm now in the process of putting together the Organizing Committee as well as a Technical Programme Committee. The conference is going to be a single stream conference with both call for paper and invited speaker elements. What are the responsibilities of TPC Members? · To review a handful of submitted papers relevant to your technical background and help us decide whether they are eligible to be presented on the Energy Storage conference. · The role would also require you to help us encourage and promote the paper submissions and the conference within your network and your organization. What are the benefits of joining our TPC? · Access to papers with new developments in your field. · Acknowledgement of participation…

  • Renewables and net zero – are we ready, steady, go...?

    September brought the Renewable Power Generation (RPG) 2022 conference. RPG 2022 came at a time when the need for renewable energy has never been greater, and it was so good for those of us that could be there to be back in Savoy Place rather than following on a screen. As well as bringing together international academics, researchers, engineers, and consultants working in renewable energy, we had the opportunity to hear first-hand from those charged with government responsibilities around achieving net zero. My session at RPG sought to help answer the question raised in a report published earlier this year, ‘ UK renewables – limitless energy or a precious resource? '. This report and the presentation included quite a lot of background information on the scale of available renewable resources…

  • ‘The Return’ of the Annual Arnold Barks Christmas Lecture

    Rob Bell - Engineering: My Unexpected Love Affair With insights from his television career, Rob Bell will talk about how the wonderful world of engineering has recaptured his heart. IMechE Lecture by Rob Bell - Engineering: My Unexpected Love Affair Tickets, Tue 13 Dec 2022 at 18:30 | Eventbrite

    Anna Gilbert
    Anna Gilbert

  • Latest Tribology November 2022 webinars from Surface Ventures

    The organisers at Surface Ventures would like to share details of their free to attend, forthcoming November webinar programme: Workshop on 17th November at 2pm GMT. Coatings – Functional performance lab scale testing (with ETS demo). In partnership with Optimol Instruments. Registration link . Webinar on 24th November at 9am GMT. Green tribology for a sustainable future. In partnership with Oerlikon Balzers. Speaker: Prof Mitjan Kalin Registration link.

  • New Challenges in Tribology Webinar

    8 December 2022, 11.00hrs GMT. Since its inception in 2016 “New Challenges in Tribology” has become one of the UK tribology community’s prestige events. This year the content is being delivered as an online webinar and will address the current Tribology Challenges being faced today and into the future. This year we are delighted to be able to host presentations by the following tribologists on their areas of research: Tribology and NVH challenges in transition towards electrified transportation Dr Mahdi Mohammad-Pour, Senior Lecturer in Dynamics, Wolfson school/ Loughborough University Relevance of Tribology to Advanced Machining/Manufacturing Professor Kai Cheng, Chair in Manufacturing Systems, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Brunel University London Impact Wear…

  • Cross Sector Digital Twins: Apollo Forum: The Value Hack – how to join us

    Following the successful launch of the Apollo Protocol white paper last week and the announcement of an Innovate UK funded launch of the Apollo Forum, we are delighted to announce that registration for The Value Hack is now open. Please read more below about the event and why you should attend. You can watch the live launch and announcement here . A Single Value Chain Asset owners, manufacturers and others interested in overcoming barriers to cross-sector collaboration in digital twins and information management are invited to participate in a series of ‘Hacks’ across the country, starting on 17th November at AMRC’s Factory 2050 in Sheffield. Each of the Hacks will follow one of the four themes; the first one, The Value Hack will focus on aligning the value chain. The way manufacturing…

  • What’s your experience of using Agile in a safety-related environment?

    Agile as a methodology holds a great deal of promise; iterative development and the delivery of software to customers and stakeholders enables fast feedback and improvement which ultimately results in a better product. But there’s often hesitancy in safety-related domains to pick up new methodologies. This is particularly where these methodologies aren’t necessarily endorsed by safety standards or regulatory organisations. Nonetheless, as software engineers, project managers and other communities of practitioners become used to working with Agile, it’s clear that the safety domain will also need to adapt its ways of working. The IET’s Engineering Safety Policy Panel has produced a short flyer highlighting some of the key concepts and questions around Agile ( www.theiet.org/Agile ). The…

  • IBC Review 2022 - What’s Next for the Future of Content?

    Award-winning Nadine Dereza chaired this year's IBC 2022 review session at the IET Savoy Place, organised and co-hosted by the IET Central London Network and Royal Television Society. The panel consisted of; • Mehboob Siddiqui, Client Partner NTT Data UK • Russell Trafford-Jones, Chair IET Media Technical Network • Muki Kulhan, IBC Accelerator Innovation Co-lead • Neal Romanek, Editor of online video innovation magazine FEED • Jonathan Chappell-Seetayah (IP Broadcast Project Engineer, Timeline TV, and RTS Young Technologist of the Year 2022) Mehboob started the session by explaining that the pandemic exposed inefficiencies within media production across the whole delivery spectrum such as to facilitate ‘remote production’ there was a need to lean on 5G, however in a time where industry…

  • Start #EngineeringYourWay today with Foothold’s Engineering Neurodiverse Futures support programme

    Did you know that 1 in 7 people worldwide are considered to be neurodiverse, and that there are 820,000 neurodiverse engineers working in the UK alone? Like all members of our engineering community, you’ll want to ensure you have everything you need to be successful, in both your personal and professional life. But if you have been diagnosed as neurodivergent, or believe you may have a neurodiverse condition, you might feel you’re being held back from reaching your full potential. Or if you know or work with someone who is neurodivergent, perhaps you feel there’s more you can do to enhance your relationship, so that you can get along better at work or at home? Whether you’re neurodivergent or neurotypical, at Foothold we want to build a world where every member of our community has…

  • The IET Artificial Intelligence Technical Network goes live!

    Dr Elise Tapping (Inaugural AITN Chair) is excited to announce the IET AITN, has ‘gone live’ with a much awaited for series of webinars coming up in the following months. You can see details of our first webinar taking place on Thursday, 26th January , Demystifying AI on our technical webinar hub The Network's purpose is to grow a worldwide technical network to support the growth of AI, by promoting and challenging conventional approaches in businesses and society. It will encourage the AITN community to focus on the integration of AI technology with ourselves and the world we live in by understanding and expanding its limitations, evolving technologies into standalone decision-making entities and how exploring this impacts ethics. The AITN seeks to achieve three primary objectives, closely…

  • Radio TechCon available to all with announcement of bursary schemes + new sessions revealed

    Engineering is for everyone – that’s the message from the organisers of Radio TechCon – the UK radio and audio industry’s technical and engineering event. The one-day conference takes place on Monday, 28th November 2022 at IET Savoy Place, London. Full price tickets cost £175 + VAT and now there are two bursary schemes to assist delegates with the costs of attending. The organisation bursary sees free tickets being given to the Community Media Association, Student Radio Association and Sound Women Network, for these organisations to distribute to their members. The individual bursary is a free ticket scheme open to anyone who is facing a barrier to attending Radio TechCon. This could be because of financial constraints, or due to being from a group underrepresented in broadcast engineering…

  • 19th Reinventing Space conference and exhibition

    Colleagues at the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) would like to share information on their forthcoming conference. Reinventing Space will take place 28-29 November 2022 at Aerospace Bristol Museum and Conference Centre - which features the last Concorde to fly - and with the evening Gala Dinner and Sir Arthur Clarke Awards taking place on 29 November. This year the Gala Dinner and Awards will take place beneath the wings of Concorde at the Aerospace Museum, Bristol Strategic Foundations for New Space Reinventing Space is a conference and exhibition dedicated to advancing humanity’s future capabilities in space and highlights the trends that will define space enterprise a decade from now. Each year, the conference brings together a network of innovators from industry, agency, government…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie in Space

  • IET YP Summit - 12 November 2022 - London

    The IET Young Professionals Summit 2022 12 November 2022 | 6:30 – 11pm | De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms London Would you like to attend the biggest ever gathering of young professional engineers and technicians globally? Join us as we celebrate success at the IET Young Professionals Summit 2022! Spend the evening connecting with a diverse group of like-minded peers, including conference delegates and the finalists of our exciting #Presentin10 virtual competition and the IET Hackathon Challenge. Attendees will even have the opportunity to cast their vote and help decide the #Presentin10 winner in our grand final. You'll also be joined by some inspiring keynote speakers, including IET Honorary Fellow, Ruth Amos. There are only 70 spaces up for grabs, so be sure to register your…

    Lydia Vaton
    Lydia Vaton

  • What's your experience of using DevSecOps?

    Managers and engineers naturally want to adopt new approaches which can improve product quality and the efficiency of their teams. Many new practices are seeing increased use across domains - and this includes DevSecOps, a combination of development, security and operations. DevSecOps is a collection of concepts and practices designed to break down the silos between developers, security professionals and operations specialists within an organisation. It promises a more-integrated way of developing, shipping and monitoring products and services. The IET’s Engineering Safety Policy Panel has produced a short flyer highlighting the promises of DevSecOps practices, as well as considerations for its use in safety-related environments. This presents some key concepts on the subject and includes…

  • RAeS Conference: A Bright Future or Fighting for Survival - Where will Aerospace be in 2035 and Beyond?

    29 November 2022 - 30 November 2022 No.4 Hamilton Place and Virtual, 09:00 - 17:30 GMT Join the RAeS on 29-30 November in London or online for this exciting RAeS Conference: 'A Bright Future or Fighting for Survival - Where will Aerospace be in 2035 and Beyond?' They are delighted to extend their early bird ticket prices until 3 November (12:00 GMT) - book before then to secure your place at a discounted rate! The conference will address how the aerospace domain will develop over the next 10-15 years, what opportunities it must grasp and the threats it needs to overcome. The programme brings together visionaries, experts and global leaders to shine a light on the politics of the future of aviation, the new technological tools and their associated challenges, and the implications for those…

  • £2bn unused apprentice funds since 2017. Let’s use them for upskilling

    Over 20% of the funds earmarked for apprentice training are being returned to the Treasury each year. Why not allow employers to invest these funds in upskilling and reskilling? Since 2017, large employers have been required to contribute 0.5% of their total annual pay bill to the apprenticeship levy – a fund for apprentice training which remains available to the paying employer for up to two years. However, research shows that up to two thirds of entitled employers are not using these funds. (1) In fact, recently released figures reveal that over £2bn raised by the levy has been returned to the Treasury since it was introduced. (2) In other words, these funds are not being used as intended to upskill the UK labour market. This presents a great opportunity. These otherwise unspent funds…

  • Next steps for Apollo Protocol to be revealed at Live Launch Event

    The team behind The Apollo Protocol white paper, which calls for a common language across digital twins, are to reveal details of how they will begin to set up The Apollo Forum at a live streamed launch event on 25 October from 3.30pm. Since its launch last month, The Apollo Protocol has attracted critical acclaim and enthusiasm from the digital twin community in manufacturing, construction and the built environment, and the technology sector. Downloads of the white paper proposing the cross-sector approach to digital twins have exceeded expectations, and a Network for participants has been set up on the Digital Twin Hub. At a live launch later this month, the team behind the initiative will reveal details of how the Apollo Forum will begin its work. Currently, the manufacturing and built…

  • IET Bucks 2022 student prize

    IET Bucks awarded its 2022 student prize of £250 to Erik Barker. It was given in recognition of Erik's excellent academic performance on his course with a proliferation of A-grades and Outstanding Performance in his Final Year project during his BSc (Hons) Games Development degree at BUCKINGHAMSHIRE NEW UNIVERSITY. The photograph of the award ceremony shows from left to right; Dr Kevin Maher PhD (Deputy Head of School & Director of Education) John Dunn (IET Bucks LN committee member) Erik Barker (Prize Winner) Guy Walker (Course Leader for BSc (Hons) Games Development)

    Andrew Dodd
    Andrew Dodd

  • UK Gov Drops Appeal to High Court Ruling that Net Zero Plan was Unlawful!

    "Jacob Rees-Mogg has dropped plans to appeal against a High Court ruling that found the government’s plan to reach net zero was unlawful. The business secretary’s decision means the government must now draw up a new net-zero strategy by March. Campaigners said the climbdown was embarassing but welcome and urged ministers to flesh out how legally binding carbon targets would be met with more ambitious action." Government drops appeal over net-zero High Court ruling | News | The Times This comes off the back of a challenge going back to January of this year whereby the government was sued over its net zero strategy, the guardian reported: UK government sued over ‘pie-in-the-sky’ net-zero climate strategy | Climate crisis | The Guardian And a high court order which " ordered the…

  • University of Liverpool Centre for Sustainable Business Launch

    I attended the launch event for the University of Liverpool Centre for Sustainable Business last night. Details are here: University of Liverpool: Centre for Sustainable Business Launch Tickets, Tue 18 Oct 2022 at 17:00 | Eventbrite The event included an opening address by its Director Professor Jo Meehan and keynote presentations by Jeremy Nicholls of the United Nations Development Programme, and Kate Downes and Katie Dean from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Jeremy Nicholls challenged current practices of building sustainability based on continuing to produce our current products, with associated consumption, rather than looking at the wider picture of how we produce and consume less. This will, indeed, be a challenge for Manufacturing! The theme of "Reimagining Business…

Community Rules & Guidelines