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  • AI Safety Switches: When AI can act and not just advise

    AI that drafts is an assistant. AI that can take actions is automation, meaning it can change systems, not just suggest. Send. Update. Approve. Schedule. That is where an error stops being a bad answer and becomes a real change in the world. Automation has a predictable weakness: it repeats. A wrong decision once is noise. The same wrong decision applied to 5,000 tickets becomes an incident. “Good enough” is rarely a single accuracy number. In safety-, financial-, or reputation-sensitive workflows, what matters is consequence. EngX makes that point plainly in Exploring the minds of machines: from hand written digits to thinking in language . A 97% success rate still implies a 3% error rate, and whether that is acceptable depends on what happens when it is wrong. Action-taking AI forces…

  • Reflections on Justice for the Accused event; how technology and AI may improve the efficiency and fairness of the justice system

    At The Old Bailey, London, in February 2026, the Justice For All series of events covered the topic of Justice for the Accused: an “in-depth examination of the rights of the accused, delays in the Courts and justice systems, and the critical importance of procedural fairness and access to legal representation”. Hosted by Alderman and Sheriff Robert Hughes-Penney, Sheriff and Deputy Keith Bottomley, and His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the event considered how technology and AI may improve the efficiency and fairness of the justice system. The keynote speech was given by Master of the Rolls the Rt. Hon. Sir Geoffrey Vos, and the panellists were the Rt Hon David Gauke, Prof. Richard Susskind CBE KC (Hon), Charlie Taylor, Katie Wheatley, and Andrea Coomber KC (Hon). The event covered many…

  • We've published our 2025 EDI Year in Review

    We’re very pleased to share that our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Year in Review 2025 has now been published. This annual report summarises our progress, impact and collective commitment to advancing EDI across the IET and the wider engineering and technology community. 2025 was a year of action, and the report highlights several achievements we can all be proud of, including: Key Achievements Launching of our new EDI Strategy 2025–2030 , setting clear priorities around disability and gender inclusion to guide our work for the next five years. Upper‑quartile ranking in the Royal Academy of Engineering and Science Council’s EDI Progression Framework , reflecting strong progress across outreach, awards, governance, engagement and accessibility. Welcoming WISE into the IET …

  • Making Marks: the ripple of a STEM pioneer

    Anne Locker, Library and Archives Manager In 2026, we celebrate the 120 th anniversary of the Royal Society awarding Hertha Ayrton the Hughes medal for her contributions to science. Seven years earlier, she became a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, now the IET, the first woman to do so. Hertha’s legacy extends beyond her important contributions to science and engineering. She was a prominent campaigner for women’s suffrage, a supportive friend to Marie Curie and one of the founder members of Girton College’s first fire brigade! Discover more about Hertha and her impact on the 20 th century, and join us to celebrate her life and legacy in 2026 . To find out how to get involved, have a look at the links at the end of this blog. Hertha Ayrton (IET Archives) …

  • Volunteer Spotlight: IET President Dawn Ohlson CEng FIET

    Celebrating International Women’s Day with IET President Dawn Ohlson CEng FIET For someone who never set out to be a role model, Dawn Ohlson has an uncanny habit of becoming one. Today, as President of the IET, Dawn’s story is a powerful reflection of this year’s International Women’s Day theme: Give to Gain — the idea that by giving our time, skills, and energy, we gain confidence, connection, purpose, and unexpected opportunities. Dawn’s journey embodies that spirit at every turn. A spark that started with numbers Dawn’s path into engineering began early. With an engineer father and a natural love of numbers, she discovered quickly that STEM felt like home. While writing assignments left her frustrated (“I’ve got all the facts right! How much more do you want?”), physics and maths…

  • Discover the Hidden World of Industrial Automation

    If you’ve ever wondered how everyday products such as medicines, fuels, plastics, foods, electronics are manufactured safely, consistently and at scale, the answer almost always involves industrial process automation. It’s a field that quietly powers modern life, yet very few outside the engineering world truly understand how it works. This March, you have a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of this extraordinary discipline. With nearly four decades of global experience in process automation, I’ll be delivering a talk that offers a rare, accessible, and compelling introduction to the technologies and engineering roles that keep the world’s industries running smoothly. Whether you’re an engineering student, a working professional, a curious technologist, or simply someone who enjoys…

  • The UK Cyber Reality Check 2026: Why Most Organisations Are Still Playing Catch-Up

    Overview The UK Government’s Cyber Security Longitudinal Survey (Wave Five, February 2026) delivers a clear message for medium and large organisations: cyber incidents are not exceptional events. They are routine. Around four in five organisations in scope reported experiencing some form of cyber incident in the past year. Phishing remains dominant. Impersonation scams are persistent. Governance is improving in places. Budgets are rising for some, flat for many. Supply chain risk remains weak. But the most important insight isn’t the volume of attacks; It’s behaviour. The data suggests that while awareness is high, action is often reactive. Many organisations still meaningfully improve their cyber posture only after experiencing impact. In 2026, that gap between knowledge and execution…

  • The 7th UK Robot Manipulation Workshop Comes to Edinburgh

    On the 6th and 7th of January 2026, the UK robot manipulation community gathered in Scotland for the first time as the 7th UK Robot Manipulation Workshop took place at the University of Edinburgh. Hosted in the heart of one of Europe’s leading AI and robotics hubs, the fully in-person event welcomed around 250 researchers, students, and industry professionals for two days of intensive discussion, collaboration, and inspiration. Since its launch in 2016 at the University of Birmingham, the workshop series has become a key fixture in the UK robotics calendar, previously hosted by Imperial College London, the University of Leeds, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, the University of Oxford, and King’s College London. Bringing the workshop to Edinburgh marked an important milestone, highlighting Scotland…

    Shan LUO
    Shan LUO

  • AI Is Accelerating Engineering - Are You Ready?

    Artificial intelligence is no longer an isolated research topic or a futuristic concept waiting on the horizon. Across engineering sectors, AI has become a foundational force quietly reshaping workflows, design cycles, supply chains, and even the way public services are delivered. Over the past year, there has been a noticeable shift in how governments and industries talk about AI, not simply as a powerful technology, but as a strategic pillar of national growth and international competitiveness. This direction was emphasised recently by the UK Government at the AI Impact Summit in India , where the UK underscored its commitment to championing AI as a driver of economic expansion, job creation, and improved public services. The focus was not only on accelerating innovation but on doing…

  • Exploring Electromagnetic Challenges in Naval Platform Topside Design

    Understanding the Naval Topside Electromagnetic Environment Naval topside design is a critical area of focus for engineers working on maritime platforms. The electromagnetic environment on the topside of a naval vessel is one of the most complex and harsh that design engineers are likely to encounter. This environment is influenced by various factors, including RADiation HAZard (RADHAZ), Mutual Interference (MI), Antenna Coverage, and Blind Arcs. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in ensuring the effective operation of sensors, navigation equipment, and communication systems. RADHAZ refers to the potential hazards posed by electromagnetic radiation to personnel and equipment. Managing RADHAZ involves careful placement and shielding of antennas and other radiating devices to minimize…

  • Volunteer Spotlight: Samuel Elegbede

    IET Volunteer & Council Member, Samuel Elegbede MEng CEng MIET is widely recognised as a positive role model for younger engineers across the profession. His passion for involvement, development and connection shines through in everything he does, making him a valued presence within the IET volunteer community. Samuel’s volunteering story begins with an invitation that arrived at just the right moment. Fresh from graduating in 2019 and keen to find meaningful ways to get involved with the Young Engineers community, he reached out to the Young Professionals Committee. Before long, he was on his way to Leicester to attend the IET’s Present Around the World final. “I was invited to sit with the London Young Professional Network, and that introduction changed everything,” he says. He expressed…

  • Interview with Lawrence Blakeley

    Few careers in aerospace illustrate the power of curiosity and hands-on experience quite like Lawrence Blakeley's. From lying in his back garden as a child watching Lancaster bombers fly over Duxford, to leading engineering at one of the world's most ambitious electric aircraft companies, Lawrence has built a career defined by restless curiosity, practical grounding, and a willingness to step into the unknown. His journey from apprentice technician at Marshall Aerospace, through 12 years at Airbus and pioneering roles at Vertical Aerospace and H55, to his current position as VP Engineering at Beta Technologies, offers a masterclass in how engineering careers can evolve when you follow what fascinates you. With sustainability as a core theme for the IET Aerospace Technical Network this year…

  • Are your OT systems secure?

    Across the OT cyber security landscape, one issue has been repeatedly highlighted by industrial cyber researchers, government advisories and sector‑specific security groups: the rapid increase in connectivity between IT and OT systems is making industrial environments far more exposed than they were even a few years ago. For decades, operational technology, PLCs, SCADA systems, HMIs, engineering workstations and industrial controllers, relied on physical isolation and purpose‑built networks. Today, that world has changed. Organisations in manufacturing, energy, transport and utilities have connected OT systems to enterprise IT networks to support analytics, remote monitoring, predictive maintenance and integration with cloud platforms. While this connectivity brings speed and efficiency…

  • A picture is worth a thousand words

    By Asha Gage, IET Archivist Photographs of people are ubiquitous. We are surrounded by them and they dominate social media where followers are encouraged to participate in commenting on ‘selfies’ and the environment. It is an engaging activity, one in which the viewer becomes part of the process, the object the subject too. However, photography and the sharing of images is nothing new. Each photograph taken has had an audience in mind and how we interpret those images can reveal much of society’s conventions. The science behind the image It is not the purpose of this blog to discuss the inventor of photography as many can lay claim to this accolade. But for simplicity’s sake Louis Daguerre developed the daguerreotype process in 1839. The metal-based daguerreotype came in to competition…

  • The Tech Time Traveler: Decades of change in one career

    When Richard Baker looks back on his decades-long career, one theme stands out: adaptability. From designing fire detection systems in the 1970s to pioneering battery-powered trains in the 21st century, Richard’s journey reflects the rapid evolution of technology, and the mindset needed to thrive in it. Early Days: From Programming to Fire Safety Richard began his professional life with a brief foray into computer programming. “With hindsight, maybe I should have stuck with it,” he laughs. But his path soon shifted toward design engineering, joining a company that specialised in fire detection and gas extinguishing systems. This was a pivotal era. Microprocessors were starting to replace relays and transistors, and Richard found himself at the heart of this transformation. “It was a fascinating…

  • IP-based future? Optimising reach while sustaining trust and viability in broadcast & media distribution

    A century ago, on 26th January 1926, John Logie Baird gave his first public demonstration of television. Though crude by today’s standards due to flickering and being limited to a monochrome image transmitted across a room, it marked the beginning of the television we enjoy today. In previous articles, I highlighted the challenges faced by Public Service Media (PSM), particularly around funding. Only a handful of countries around the world have legislation for license fees, and even then, collecting them can be a tedious task. Despite these challenges, any publicly funded PSM should command the public’s trust, remain independent and accountable, and represent all communities across the country it operates in. Here, we analyse and discuss some of the strategies that, in my view, work well…

  • You can't be what you can't see: why your STEM story matters

    We often talk about the STEM skills gap, the lack of diversity in STEM, and the need to build a sustainable pipeline. But behind all these challenges sits something simple and profoundly human: representation. What we see around us shapes not only how we understand the world, but also how we understand our place in it. For many girls across the UK, STEM roles still feel distant, unrelatable, and “not for them”—and this continues to feed an unbalanced STEM workforce. The STEM skills gap costs the UK economy around £1.5 billion each year, yet women still represent just 27% of the STEM workforce. Increasing representation isn’t just socially important; it is a practical, evidence‑based way to boost innovation, strengthen teams, and address long‑term shortages. Why role models matter You…

  • ClimateTech, CleanTech, or DeepTech... Choose your own confusion!

    I spend a lot of time at engineering, innovation and sustainability events. The venues change. Sometimes it is a university lecture theatre. Sometimes it is a startup demo day. Occasionally it is a factory floor where everyone is wearing high-visibility jackets and nodding seriously at a machine that has been running perfectly well for years. What does not change... are the questions. Once the panel ends or the coffee arrives, someone inevitably asks me a version of the same thing. What do you actually mean by climate tech? Is clean tech the same thing as green tech? And where do deep tech and artificial intelligence fit into all of this? These are not naive questions. They are sensible ones. The fact that so many engineers ask them suggests we have a language problem, not a…

  • Volunteer Spotlight: Brian Goodwin

    In Conversation with... Eur Ing Brian Goodwin MSc. CEng. FIMechE. MIET. FCILT From apprentice to Chartered Engineer and international business leader, Brian’s career shows just how far engineering can take you. After a lifetime of roles spanning manufacturing, project delivery and senior leadership across the UK and overseas, retirement brought a new question — how to give something back to the profession that shaped his life. In this spotlight, Brian shares his journey and explains why volunteering, mentoring and supporting future engineers has become such a rewarding next chapter. “Retirement made me realise how much I missed being part of an engineering community.” I’m relatively new to volunteering. After a long and varied career crossing engineering, operations management and functional…

  • Exploring the minds of machines: from hand written digits to thinking in language.

    Artificial intelligence has become such a familiar part of our daily lives that many of us barely pause to wonder how it actually works. From photo apps that recognise faces to the large language models embedded in our productivity tools, AI is no longer a futuristic concept, it’s simply the landscape we live in. Last October, the IET Sussex Network set out to peel back some of that familiarity with a talk titled “How DO Machines Learn?” It offered a rare chance to go back to basics and explore what actually sits beneath the buzzwords. Rather than diving into complex, abstract theory, the session focused on one of the simplest, and most classic, examples of machine learning: teaching a computer to recognise hand‑written numbers. It’s a perfect illustration because it’s something humans…

  • Payloads of the Past: From Looking Up to Looking Down

    Previously we went on a journey aboard Cold War payloads that were designed to look up and out: Geiger counters hunting for trapped radiation belts; rendezvous kits rehearsing an orbital choreographed dance; and capsules containing a man’s best friend that explored the unknown so that humans could soon follow. This month we pivot from that urgency in orbit to a quieter revolution (arguably like my kids, getting louder everyday) unfolding below, as engineers and technologists learn to treat Earth itself as the most important “target” in the sky, from commercial and government (Defence) standpoints. Early weather and Earth‑observation payloads turned “looking down” from a curiosity into a strategic asset, changing not only how we understood the planet but also how nations planned, traded…

  • The 1953 North Sea Flood: A Turning Point in Coastal Engineering

    On the night of 31 January 1953, an extreme storm surge swept across the North Sea and left a mark on the engineering world that still shapes our thinking today. For many engineers, the 1953 North Sea flood is more than a historical event. It’s a case study in systems failure, cross‑border vulnerability, and the transformative power of engineering when society decides that “never again” must truly mean something. Although more than 70 years have passed, the flood continues to influence coastal defence design, risk modelling, data collection practices, and even community resilience strategies. For engineers, the 1953 flood serves as a powerful reminder of why our work matters. A Perfect Storm Meets Vulnerable Defences The disaster unfolded when a deep Atlantic depression moved southeast…

  • France Sparks Europe’s Tech Resilience Pivot

    Overview France has decided to stop treating “digital sovereignty” like a slogan and start treating it like a risk register. At the first Rencontres de la souveraineté numérique on 26 January 2026, Minister for Digital and AI Anne Le Hénanff launched two practical instruments: the Observatoire de la souveraineté numérique (entrusted to the Haut-commissariat à la Stratégie et au Plan) and the Indice de résilience numérique (IRN) , a private-sector initiative chaired by Olivier Sichel of the Caisse des Dépôts. The Minister’s framing was unusually direct: “La souveraineté commence par la lucidité… Nous devons savoir d’où et de quoi nous dépendons” (Sovereignty begins with clear-sightedness… We must know where and on what we depend). Reference : French Government Press Release, 26 January…

  • The Rise of Hybrid AI in Engineering

    Across engineering sectors, conversations about AI are shifting. Instead of debating whether AI is being over‑sold or under‑used, the discussion in engineering circles has moved toward something more concrete: how AI can be integrated into existing technical workflows in a way that aligns with engineering rigour, safety standards and domain knowledge. This shift has brought increasing attention to what many research groups, engineering bodies and industry case studies refer to as Hybrid AI. Hybrid AI blends machine‑learning models with symbolic or rule‑based systems, which includes engineering constraints, logic rules, knowledge graphs and physical models. The goal is not to replace engineering reasoning, but to create AI systems that operate in a structured, verifiable way consistent with…

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