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.

  • Introducing Society Insights...

    Recently it was my four year anniversary at the IET and it made me reflect on one of my favourite aspects of working here - getting to learn about exciting developments around engineering and technology that are yet to hit the mainstream news but will inevitably affect me and my family in the future. The IET benefits from having around 100 Local Networks around the world, run by volunteers, that aim to inform and inspire non-engineers to perhaps take an interest or potentially choose it as a future career. One area that I feel IET Local Networks excel in is highlighting future challenges for society and looking at the engineering and technology solutions to solve them. Or to put it another way they are looking at how engineering and technology will effect real people’s lives in the future.…

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • STEM Scotland 2016 - IET Representative, Paul McKenna

    STEM Scotland 2016 is a unique opportunity to explore the current STEM education landscape and discuss how best to address the current challenges . By bringing together a variety of stakeholders from primary and secondary education, industry, and local and national government, this event will allow delegates to explore the latest education developments, share knowledge and expertise, and champion best practice. One of the Scotland Policy Panel and IET Scotland committee members, Paul McKenna, was a Panellist at this event.  Paul holds a Master’s degree from Strathclyde University in Communications, Control & Digital Signal Processing and a BSc. with Hons. in Physics from the University of Glasgow. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Member of the Institute of Learning & Teaching…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Scotland South East New Volunteering Opportunity - Online Community Administrator

    The Scotland South East Local Network are looking for a volunteer to join the committee as their online community administrator .  The role involves maintaining the community pages on the Engineering Communities platform, ensuring that all the core information is kept up-to-date This involved using the IET custom tools to add events to the calendar page, create online registration pages, update the highlights section of the community page, add committee list to a blog at the start of each session, and keep the page as up to date as possible to attract interested people.  Training will be provided and more information can be found here . If you are interested in this role, please contact Lynsay Callaghan (lcallaghan@theiet.org).

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Writing an article for the IET’s cyber security reference work – what are the benefits?

    Hear from four cyber security engineers who talk about their experience of publishing their work with IET Engineering & Technology Reference and the benefits they have gained personally and professionally. Interested in writing an article? Send your ideas to ETR@theiet.org

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Science Festival

    The main events for the Cambridge 2016 Science Festival were held over the weekend of 19 and 20 March.  The IET Cambridge Network mounted a stand in the Guildhall and were overwhelmed by children and parents keen to learn about Engineering and play with the exhibits on show.  As always, build a torch was well received and this year this activity was complemented by an opportunity to power a train using a hand wind generator, and a Pepper's Ghost display.  Thoroughly exhausting for the stand members but a great opportunity to showcase Engineering to future gnerations.

    David Blake
    David Blake

  • Continuing The Assistance With Professional Registrations And Using Career Manager

    A core engineering group within Shell in Trinidad & Tobago (formerly BG Trinidad & Tobago) has eagerly continued their drive to become internationally professional registered engineers and as the LN in Trinidad, we were pleased to lend our assistance.  The main theme of the seminar, on Monday 14th March, was the use of the IET's Career Manager in its application in the registration process as well as recording and monitoring CPDs.  The eight engineers present ranged from persons within their EIT programme to those with 20 years experience, highlighting the importance of this development to all. After a brief introduction into the LN, Gerald Mendes, one of the local IPRAs provided an important overview of the registration process in which one can attain CEng, IEng, CMgr and other registraion…

    Jason Robert Rameshwar
    Jason Robert Rameshwar

  • MFI Stammtisch - Munich 1st. April 2016

    Germany Network members living in or near Munich might be interested in the MFI's regular monthly Stammtisch . Here is Athol's e-mail with the details of the next meeting: Dear MFI-Stammtischers, The next MFI-Stammtisch will take place on Friday 1st April at 19:00. [This is not an April Fools joke since in my cultural area April Fools day finishes at noon, i.e. half a day, which I guess is part of the fooling!] NB: changed location! The location this time will be:    Unions Bräu    Einsteinstr. 42,    81675 München [U-Bahn station: Max-Weber-Platz, exit: "Einsteinstrasse". Use the platform exit at the east end, i.e. farthest from the Hauptbahnhof. If you get it right you will get to street level immediately in front of the Unions Bräu.] And the reservation is under the name "Faraday". We will…

    Howard Gray
    Howard Gray

  • IET Scotland South East Chair wins FDM Everywoman Inspirational Award

    Dr Carol Marsh, Electronics Design Process Manager, Finmeccanica Airbourne & Space Systems Division has won the FDM Everywoman Inspirational Award. Carol is also the Chair of the IET Scotland South East Local Network where her role is to lead and guide the leadership team, ensuring all activities are appropriate and aligned to the IET strategy. The 2016 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards ceremony and dinner took place on 23 February 2016 at the London Hilton on Park Lane and were preceded by the everywoman Technology Forum - the largest UK forum for women in technology, a day of inspiration, learning and development, bringing together over 600 women who are aspiring to advance their careers or become future leaders. The awards were launched to uncover the women doing amazing things in technology…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Project Disasters - 15th March 2016

    IET/ACostE Project Controls Network Presentation to Association of Cost Engineers, South West Region The presentation was given at the offices of the Atkins Group in Almondsbury, Bristol and attendees heard from Alec Ray on the subject of  Project Disasters. This included: •    The impact of Project Disasters •    A facilitated discussion to understand the cause of failures that lead to Project Disasters •    A presentation on the reasons why Project Disasters occur •    An overview of how to achieve success and avoid Project Disasters For further information contact Alec Ray

    Joanne Longton
    Joanne Longton

  • See What Happens To A Human Body At 9Gs

    Thanks to QinetiQ at Farnborough we recently had an opportunity to go along and film some short videos to showcase on our community channel.   The Human Centrifuge video shows what happens to a human body at 9Gs.  There are only 20 of these human centrifuges in the world and the one at Farnborough has been operating for 60 year now.   The Thruster video showcases the four flight thrusters that QinetiQ are developing for the Mercury mission. Our   Exo Mars Rover video shows how they test the equipment in their clean room environment The Satellite Systems & Applications Network would like to record their thanks to all the staff at QinetiQ who made it possible for us to collect this excellent content.   I really like the human centrifuge video and I wonder if the question on most people’s minds…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • IET Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship - Open For Entry

    The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship, worth £3,000 per year, has been made possible as a result of a generous donation by an IET member of more than 50 years, Graham Tubbs and his wife, Kathleen.   The IET Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship winner will receive a scholarship of £3,000 per year for the duration of the course, up to a maximum of £9,000 for BEng students and £12,000 for MEng students. The winner will also receive free student membership of the IET for the duration of their course.  All applicants for the IET Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship must be about to commence studying on an IET accredited undergraduate degree programme at Cardiff University.  A list of the eligible programmes can be found here  and include the…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • IET Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship - Open For Entry

    The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship, worth £3,000 per year, has been made possible as a result of a generous donation by an IET member of more than 50 years, Graham Tubbs and his wife, Kathleen.   The IET Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship winner will receive a scholarship of £3,000 per year for the duration of the course, up to a maximum of £9,000 for BEng students and £12,000 for MEng students. The winner will also receive free student membership of the IET for the duration of their course.  All applicants for the IET Tubbs Family Blaenau Gwent Scholarship must be about to commence studying on an IET accredited undergraduate degree programme at Cardiff University.  A list of the eligible programmes can be found here  and include the…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • Meet The IET Tribology Network Committee

    The IET Tribology Network committee met on Tuesday 15th March in the IET headquarters at Savoy Place, London. It was our first meeting at this venue for a few years due to the refurbishment project. We took the chance to work off the generous lunch with a tour of the building kindly led by our Community Manager, Rob Allen. The consensus was clear: we were all very impressed with the renovated facility. The building seemed to be heavily in use, with a number of events running and capacity for more, and it looks likely to generate a good revenue stream to support the activities of the institution. We took the opportunity to inspect the view from the roof terrace and line up for a photo.   From left to right: Dr Saurav Goel (Queens University Belfast), Dr Rich Baker (PCS Instruments), Dr Nathalie…

  • Present Around the World

    Today, the 16th March 2016, the Wales North LN held the annual PATW competition at Bangor University. The competitors were from Bangor and Glyndwr Universities, all presented interesting topics, we heard about uses of graphene in sensors for liquid and gas, how to detect moisture in sealed phials and the setting up of a company to produce SMART watches that would integrate with the electronics in a vehicle. The winner was Paul Anfray from Glyndwr who presented about the SMART watches. Well done to all our competitors and many thanks to our judges and staff from Bangor University who provide excellent facilities in the School of Electronic Engineering.

    David S Crawford
    David S Crawford

  • 50th Anniversary Of The Jost Report: Buckingham Palace Reception

    I was honoured recently to represent the IET Tribology Network at the reception hosted by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the Jost Report : the event that publicly launched the new discipline of Tribology on 9th March 1966.   The reception followed on from the technical seminar at the IMechE headquarters, which our Community Manager Rob Allen reported on , and at which Rob and I represented the IET Tribology Network together with fellow committee member Rich Baker. That event combined a rich technical overview given by leaders in the field, and a moving acknowledgement to the team of committee members and civil servants who created it - most notably with eloquent contributions by Professor Jost and Professor Dowson…

  • Women Engineers in the Great War and After - public event at the Science Museum

    Women Engineers in the Great War and After 23 April 2016 Public event at the Director’s Suite, Science Museum, London   Women’s professional participation in UK engineering began in earnest during the First World War and The Women’s Engineering Society was set up in 1919 to sustain this initiative during peacetime. Through sharing knowledge of how these women worked together, we hope to raise awareness of their crucial role during wartime.    This free event will include lunch, open discussions, and an opportunity to plan for events to mark the Women’s Engineering Society centenary in 2019. It will also highlight historical resources available in the archives of the Institution of Engineering & Technology and other collections.   This event is sponsored by the University of Kent Gateways to…

    Anne Locker
    Anne Locker

  • How Do You... Inspect Glass?

    A review by Prof. Lik-Kwan Shark on the Vision & Imaging Float Glass Inspection in the 21 Century talk. Can you imagine a life without perfect glass? I know I can’t, and that is why I attended a special event on “Float Glass Inspection in the 21 Century”, so as to find out what the glass manufacturing industry does to deliver flawless glass for my car, house, touch screen, … , just to name a few of my indispensable possessions.   The event was held at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston on 2nd March 2016, and organised by the IET Vision and Imaging Technical and Professional Network. With Simon Aldred as the speaker who is from a world leading glass manufacturer (NSG, formerly Pilkington), and who has a lifelong interest and industrial expertise in light and glass, the talk was highly…

    Former Staff Member
    Former Staff Member

  • Caroline Herschel - One Of Many Reasons For Getting More Girls Into STEM / STEAM

    In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society awarded its gold medal to Caroline Herschel , the first woman to receive the prize. It wouldn't be awarded to another woman until 1996. Herschel was also the first woman to be paid for her contribution to science for the discovery of six new comets. On what would be her 266th birthday, Herschel has been honoured with a Google Doodle. The Doodle shows Herschel searching the skies for comets through her telescope.  - The Telegraph It took 168 years for this medal to be awarded to another woman, Vera Rubin ,   in 1996. Vera developed an interest in science at 10 years old.  (her father was an electrical engineer)   It was her pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates and the descrepancy that she uncovered, that lead to the discovery of dark matter. I wonder…

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Electric Car lecture and demonstration at Bangor University

    On the 15th March 2016, members, non-members and students attended a lecture about electric cars which was delivered by one of our volunteers, Ian Cook. The lecture explained battery technology, vehicle performance, charging intervals, environmental impact and costs. Comparisons were made with conventional petrol and diesel cars. The lecture was followed by a question and answer session with many far reaching questions being asked by the audience. The morning was rounded off with demonstrations of electric vehicles, Tesla and Nissan Leaf. Thanks to all who attended and also many thanks to staff at Bangor University who arranged the lecture room, refreshments and who advertised our event.

    David S Crawford
    David S Crawford

  • Travels in Additive Manufacturing (AM)

    IET Central London Evening Lecture, Savoy Place, 09-Mar-2016 Presented by Dr. Chris Sutcliffe, Renishaw AM Products Division   What exactly is 'Additive Manufacturing (AM)'? You may know it better as '3D Printing',  'Rapid Prototyping' or by a plethora of other names. That doesn't matter.  It's a "simplicity machine" that allows complexity: with it, we can make ace stuff. Such as the "Magic Arms" which help a little girl to use her arms: Body specific, pretty cheap, lightweight and quick to repair.   Chris took us on a whirlwind journey from inception to the current day, drawing on his personal experience at the forefront of this technology. (He'd just had to become an engineer at the age of 14 - the Spinning Jenny was invented on his childhood street in Liverpool.)   The samples that were…

    David Tabor
    David Tabor

  • Munich - The Long Night Of The Museums 2015

    The Long Night of the Museums 2015 Members of the IET Germany Local Network (LN) met up on Saturday 17th October  to visit the "Lange Nacht der Museen" (LNDM), an annual event where Munich's museums stay open until 2 O’Clock the next morning. All Museums can be visited for just EUR 15 (about GBP10). Ten participants from all manner of different areas, from aerospace to automotive, braved the autumn chill to meet up at "Café an der Uni". Even buying the tickets was steeped in science and engineering: The sales tent at the city´s Odeonsplatz was part of an open-air exhibition organised by automotive manufacturer MAN, featuring antique buses and trucks. The ticket itself showed a portrait of the optical physicist, Josef von Fraunhofer.   With the group free to choose to visit the different institutions…

    Howard Gray
    Howard Gray

  • WET Design Visit

    The SoCal Local Network were fortunate enough to have a fantastic tour of WET Design in Sun Valley. WET Design was founded by a group of former Disney Imagineers who wanted to design performing fountains. With over 200 installations worldwide, their performances bring together water, fire, ice, fog and lights in spectacular shows such as the Fountains of Bellagio , The Dubai Fountain , or the Cauldron at the Salt Lake City Olympics.   WET Design offers an almost complete turnkey services from concept design and animations through the design and manufacturing of all the fountains and components through to in operations support to keep their systems at peak performance. Our tour started with a look at the creative process that WET goes through to help come up with the concepts taking into account…

    Richard Tregaskes
    Richard Tregaskes

  • Space Innovation Congress - Invitation To IET Members

    Space Innovation Congress   Dr Rita Andrews, Director of the Space Innovation Congress, is organising a Space Innovation Congress, taking place on the 7th - 8th  April in London, UK -  Its an event that aims to be a platform for commercial ventures, entrepreneurs and academia to come together and network, showcase the most cutting edge uses of space technology and connect with their peers.   Rita has a number of complementary tickets available for IET members all you  need to do is register here  and enter the code innovation16IET  - this will generate a £0 ticket.  (please note dinner tickets are not included on this offer)   Some  of the speakers already confirmed:   Jean-Francois Clervoy, Astronaut,  ESA  Jonathan Firth, Executive Vice-President of Spaceport and Program Development,  Virgin…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • Autonomous Vehicles - expert insights

    The automotive industry is moving up a gear; an increased use of electronics and software is enhancing a car’s safety, connectivity and environmental impact and these three megatrends are also enabling a growth in automated driving features. Progress has seen a growth in on-road demonstrations, for example in March Delphi took part in a project that saw a vehicle drive 5,500km autonomously from San Francisco to New York. “A fully automated vehicle is the ultimate robotics solution. As Technical Director of Automated Driving, I can see and feel the excitement in our organisation. Our teams in Europe, US and Asia are working together in this new domain, developing ideas and technology that increase safety, fuel economy and connectivity in the vehicle,” says Delphi’s Serge Lambermont . As the…

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

Community Rules & Guidelines