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.

  • National Cyber Security Centre Officially Opening 14th February

    The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will be opened by the Queen today (14 February), in London. There has been a lot in the news recently about cyber-attacks, not just lower level personal attacks (ie identity fraud, stealing individuals credit card details), but the bigger national and international attacks (ie attacks on local governments and the alleged Russian interference in the US election ). Even more frightening is the revelation that the UK faces dozens of cyber-attacks every month and two thirds of businesses have faced an attack in the last year. The aim of the Centre, which is part of GCHQ, will be to make the UK one of the safest places from these cyber-attacks. They will look into flaws in public sector websites, spoof emails and shut down phishing websites. This response…

  • Update: The Retired Professional Engineers' Club, Bristol

    Message from Eur Ing Michael Rowe, R.P.E.C. Chairman The Retired Professional Engineers' Club, Bristol was established by Michael Clinch some 22 years ago but, over the last few years, has suffered from a failure to gain new members, decreasing attendance at meetings with no-one coming forward to replace retiring Committee members. This is a situation common to many social and charitable organisations, many of which have closed in recent years. The Bristol Association of Engineers closed at the end of 2015 after 120 years of distinguished existence. Failure to replace committee members is no reflection on the membership : many have served previously and are now too old or sick to serve again. Indeed, every remaining committee member has increasing health problems. It has also become increasingly…

    Former Staff Member
    Former Staff Member

  • Intelligent Imaging - 1st March 2017: Speaker Profiles

    With the joint KTN/IET Intelligent Imaging event just a couple of weeks away we wanted to introduce you to the speakers you can look forward to hearing from on the day. This year's programme is particularly exciting, with speakers coming from across industry and academia. Join us on the 1st March at Savoy Place, London to ensure you're up-to-date with the lastest vision and imaging technologies and developmentsdirectly from some of the biggest companies and research centres in the field.   Miguel Rodrigues, Reader, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London Multi-modal Image Processing with Applications to Art Investigation and Beyond   Ken Primrose, CEO, ITS plc Advances in Process Imaging Using Electrical Tomography   About Ken: A successful CEO with over…

    Former Staff Member
    Former Staff Member

  • Speaker Highlight - Robot Ethics

    We are delighted to announce that Professor Guang-Zhong Yang, Director and Founder of Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College London will be speaking at our upcoming Robot Ethics event on 23rd February. Professor Guang-Zhong Yang (FREng, FIEEE, FIET, FAIMBE, FIAMBE, FMICCAI, FCGI) is director and co-founder of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, and Chairman of the UK-RAS Network. The mission of the UK-RAS Network is to provide academic leadership in RAS, expand collaboration with industry and integrate and coordinate activities of the EPSRC funded RAS capital facilities, Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) and partner universities across the UK. Professor Yang’s main research interests are in medical imaging, sensing and robotics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering…

    Gemma Hadley
    Gemma Hadley

  • THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ICART

    The next presentation by Northumbria Network is on a topic close to Manufacturing engineers' hearts- the use of robotics in manufacturing processes. It will take place on Monday 27th March 2017 -18:15 hours in Northumbria University,Room EB A002.  The  full title is  'Development of icart: a robot controlled parts delivery system for an automated factory'. The full details and registration link are on the main events page. A pdf verion of the poster is attached. Please feel free to display/distribute it to all who may be interested. The presenter, Chris Smith, leads the Automation Group Limited and its subsidiaries that specialise in designing and developing advanced automated production lines and test systems for many major companies around the world.  He is a former Research Scientist, University…

  • Turning Around South East - Britain's Most Difficult Railway?

    IET Central London Evening Lecture Savoy Place, 08-Feb-2017  (Joint with IMechE railway section) Speaker: Andy Derbyshire, Chief Operating Officer, Network Rail South East Route The South East rail network is big: very big and very complex - the most complex in the UK, accounting for 25% of national journeys. I couldn't take in all the facts, but I did get that message!  As anyone who commutes in this area knows, it's not performing as well as we want, for a number of reasons. The challenges faced are immense, such as: Loads of conflicting moves No ATR (Automatic Train Regulation) The busiest stations Ancient infrastructure Implementing the Thameslink programme at the same time They can't operate to the current timetable - there's just no resilience in the system.  Their permanent state of…

    David Tabor
    David Tabor

  • Chocks Away For 2017

    Advancing into 2017, I can’t believe a month has gone already.  2016 was a good year for the Aerospace Network,  we started the year off  with an  All Electric Aircraft Seminar .  This attracted academics and industrialists working in this emerging hot topic area. Following on from the conference we produced this Technical Insight . In April we linked up with the Aviation Electronics Europe Conference/Exhibition and one of the volunteers joined the conference programming committee and chaired a session on SESAR, we also managed to support a UAV workshop organised by the RAeS Germany Branch.  If you didn’t manage to make it to Munich, you can view the presentations here .    Bob Darby one of our volunteers chaired a session at the conference and wrote this blog during the conference. Picking…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • IET Healthcare Student And Early Career Awards

    The Call for Entries for our Healthcare Student and Early Career Awards 2017 is now open! The Awards are now in their 14 th  year and as I've been fortunate enough to watch so many fantastic presentations I thought I would look back through the archives and pick out my top 5 winning talks. Cristian Linte Minimally Invasive Surgery and Therapy Revisited: Tools for Virtual Visualisation and Guidance Cristian gave an overview of his work for the past 6-8 years which has been centered on medical imaging and the manipulation of medical images. Medical imaging has revolutionised healthcare over the past few years and Cristian's work mainly focuses on exploring the use of medical imaging to create new paradigms for image-guided visualisation and navigation for minimally invasive therapy. I found it…

    Gemma Hadley
    Gemma Hadley

  • What is Happening InThe Districts – Caithness & Orkney

    As promised, this week I am looking at the Caithness & Orkney district. For those that don’t know the layout of the Scotland North Committee, the area is split into districts that each have a representative on the Scotland North Committee.  The Committee pulls together the event plans for the year and submits the budget.  The Scotland North Committee organises events in Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth, Thurso, Orkney, Shetland, Stornoway.  These events cover a range of engineering, management and general interest. Bit of background for those on the community page who are not local. Caithness is a largely area of unspoilt, dramatic scenery in the far north of Scotland, indeed, on the extreme edge of Europe.   The borders of Caithness are the Pentland Firth to the north, and Moray Firth to…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Active And Passive RF Devices – Abstract Deadline And Registration

    The deadline for submitting your abstracts to the Active and Passive RF Devices is fast approaching – please make sure to submit by Friday 17 February for a chance to present at this event.   The event, which is taking place in Savoy Place, London on 8 May, is an opportunity to find out about the latest breakthrough in RF and microwave areas. By submitting your abstract, you will be able to share your research with leading experts from academia and industry.   It is also shaping up to be an exciting event with two keynote speakers confirmed - Dr Souheil Ben Smida from the University of Bristol, UK and George Goussetis from the Heriot-Watt University, UK   To register please visit the event page   Photo courtesy of Little Visuals via Pexels

    Former Staff Member
    Former Staff Member

  • Society Insights: February 2017 - Space Cameras, Giant Telescopes And Intelligent Farming

    This month it's all about space cameras, giant telescopes and intelligent farming. How did technology used for astronomy help to develop smartphone cameras? What does smart farming mean? And how does mapping technology help firefighters? Read this blogpost to find out! Size does matter: the world's largest optical telescopes New Zealand South Island Local Network   Today’s largest ground-based telescopes, such as the W.M. Keck, Subaru, and Gemini Observatories in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile, have primary mirror diameters in the range of 8-10m. However, currently under construction are three ‘Extremely Large Telescopes’: the European Extremely Large Telescope (EELT), Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which will have diameters of 25-40m.   A telescope…

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member in Space

  • Control Journals, papers and EBooks

    It's February already and with the recent  introduction of some new publications, I thought it would be timely to update you all! Did you know that you can Access world-class Control, Robotics & Sensors research, online and in print? If you are an IET member you get 10 knowledge packs which you can use to access IET content, find out more here You can see a list of publications in our files section but there is one particular relevant publication I'd like to highlight: IET Control Theory & Applications , whose Editor-in-Chief is Professor James Lam, University of Hong Kong. This publication is devoted to control systems in the broadest sense, covering new theoretical results and the applications of new and established control methods. Among the topics of interest are system modelling, identification…

    Joanne Longton
    Joanne Longton

  • 10 YEARS, Bahrain Local Network Has Organized A Total Of Eleven Local Forums, Symposiums, Colloquiums, And An International Conference

    Bahrain Local Network:  Over the last 10 years,   Bahrain Local Network has organized a total of Eleven local forums, symposiums, colloquiums, and an international conference during 2008.  The forums were related to Engineering, Technology, Telecommunication, Robotics, Renewable Energies, Automation, Control,  Image and Video Processing,  and Energy Systems.   The forums details are found over IET BAHRAIN LN DRIVE within this sharable link ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwLMCYjsc4GQRjhvaWNkV1oyTlk?usp=sharing ), (aslo see belwo for the seperate links)  and  are as listed below:  International Conference on Intelligent Systems,  ICIS 2008. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwLMCYjsc4GQcWZlMG5lRzlabk0/view?usp=sharing  Wireless Communications Forum, 2009. https://drive.google.com/file…

    Prof. Ebrahim Mattar
    Prof. Ebrahim Mattar

  • IET Publishing Transport

    Okay, so it may not all be Railway related, but have a look at the IET Publishing Transport leaflet showcasing world class research availble online and in print.  From books (lots of new ones for 2017, so keep an eye out),  journals, electronic letters, Journal of Engineering, iet.tv, Digital Library and some information for authors there will be something for you.

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • IET Publishing Radar, Sonar and Navigation

    Have a look at the IET Publishing Radar leaflet showcasing the world class research availble online and in print.  From books (lots of new ones for 2017, so keep an eye out), conferences, journals, electronic letters, Journal of Engineering, Digital Library and some information for authors there will be something for you.

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Competition to Uncover Space Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow

    Young people have the chance to win £10,000 in a competition to come up with ideas on how to use satellite data to improve life on Earth. The SatelLife Challenge, run by the UK Space Agency, is looking for inspirational ideas from those aged 11 to 22, linking satellite and space data and its application to everyday life. Examples could include using satellite data to tackle loneliness amongst elderly people, looking at changes to green spaces in your town and identifying exercise routes based on traffic flows.   The competition, which aims to support the development of science, data handling and technological skills, is split into three age groups, offering five prizes of £5,000 for each age category with an overall winner receiving £10,000. The judging panel will be made up of experts including…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • Automated Inspection Technology Systems in Glass Plants

    We have an event on the Wednesday 22nd February on the topic of Automated Inspection Technology Systems in Glass Plants.  Please see attached poster.

    Rob McDonald
    Rob McDonald

  • Sorry I Can’t Hear You, I’m On The Train…

    It’s a problem we’ve all come across – losing signal when we’re travelling by train or car; in fact it was a problem I faced on my way up to Birmingham last week. Luckily the event I was going to was focussed on solving this very issue – Antennas, Propagation & RF Technology for Transport and Autonomous Platforms. Around 50 delegates met at the IET’s Midlands venue, Austin in Birmingham to hear from a variety of speakers on the topic, including 4 keynotes: -Our first speaker was Dr Anil Shulka from QinetiQ, UK. He highlighted the importance of the networks, pointing out that trains were now a workspace for people, so connectivity is of the upmost importance -Our second keynote presentation was a double act from Dr Marta Martínez Vázquez and Dr Daniel Martini from IMST GmbH. They tag-teamed…

    Former Staff Member
    Former Staff Member

  • Young Rail Professional Awards 2017

    Young Rail Professional Awards 2017 It is that time of year and the Young Rail Professional, YRP, is looking to celebrate individuals who have demonstrated commitment to the railway industry, be it via their outstanding ability, inspiring others or simply doing something extraordinary through the Young Rail Professional Awards, This year to recognise more talented professionals, the awards are being expanded and will now be presented in three categories: •    Young Rail Professional of the Year - presented to a young professional who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the rail industry during the last 12 months. •    Young Rail Professional's Apprentice of the Year - presented in recognition of the talent and outstanding commitment of a rail industry apprentice. •    Young Rail…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • IET Vision & Imaging Journals

    The Vision & Imaging Network has excellent links with the IET's three related publications: IET Biometrics, IET Image Processing and IET Computer Vision which run a series of Special Issues throughout the year. For more information on past and upcoming Special Issue topics, published papers and how to submit a paper, please click on the links below. IET Biometrics   IET Image Processing IET Computer Vision

    Former Staff Member
    Former Staff Member

  • Meet The Committee - Bill Ellis, Tayside District

    William G Ellis, Representative for Tayside BSc (Hons) Electronic Engineering – Robert Gordon’s Institute of Technology, Aberdeen, 1969 - 1973   Now semi-retired but runs his own part-time utilities consultancy business and is also a STEM Ambassador.   Previously: Worked with Ferranti in Edinburgh designing test equipment for radar systems. Thereafter, enjoyed a 24 year career with Scottish Hydro Electric (now SSE) based initially at Cruachan Power Station in Argyll and latterly based at several locations in Perth. During this time, areas of responsibility were electronic control systems, telecommunications systems and HV generators, transmission and distribution systems.   Member of the Scotland North Committee of the Institution of Engineering and Technology since 1989 to present. Has organised…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Confused About CPD Or IPD?

    The window to submit your 2016 CPD returns opened on 3rd January 2017 . Since we opened the window for CPD returns, there have been a few people asking questions about the differences between IPD and CPD and what can be counted as CPD.  The answer is really that any development you are doing, be that working toward professional registration (generally considered Initial Professional Development or IPD) or wider career development (generally considered to be Continuing Professional Development or CPD), any completed activities can be recorded on Career Manager as CPD Activities, and any future plans you have can be recorded as either mapped UK-SPEC or CPD Objectives with planned actions against them. As a Professional Development Community Member, we hope that you've already discovered the benefits…

    Kathryn Bain
    Kathryn Bain

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET Victoria Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET WA Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

Community Rules & Guidelines