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.

  • Get involved and volunteer for the IET!

    Get involved and volunteer for the IET!

    Join Us! … To find out more, reach out to the Communities Team – we would love to hear from you! Opportunity We are currently recruiting for engineers and technologists, at all stages of their career; from those just starting out, to those at the most senior of levels, to join us through volunteering within our renowned technical, local and governance networks. These vacancies offer the opportunity to inspire, inform and influence discussion, the sharing of ideas and collaborative working, to advance the global engineering and technology community. Additionally, you may already hold a position in one of our communities and wish to be involved further or know somebody you can recommend; our communities’ team are here to listen to your suggestions and actively encourage participation…

  • Volunteer for the IET's Satellite Technical Network

    Volunteer for the IET's Satellite Technical Network

    The Satellite Network brings together satellite and space professionals to network and hear about new developments in all aspects of the two sectors in industry, government and academia. We are seeking four Ordinary Members of Committee for our Executive team plus an Online Specialist to look after our social media and other media communications. Committee members should be technicians/engineers or technologists’ activity engaged in the sectors in industry/academia/Armed Forces/MOD and applications from diverse backgrounds are particularly welcomed. The Executive committee meets 3-4 times per year (at least 1-2 of which will normally be in person*) and are involved in organising technical activities. Travel expenses can be reclaimed for attending the meetings and also where a volunteer…

  • Volunteer for the Aerospace Technical Network

    Volunteer for the Aerospace Technical Network

    The Aerospace Network brings together Aerospace professionals to network and hear about new developments in all aspects of Aerospace i.e., commercial, industrial, and military applications. Given the challenges that the industry currently faces due to Brexit, Covid-19, and the threat of climate change, it presents exciting opportunities to influence the direction of the industry, and to bring about meaningful and sustainable impact on how the challenges are addressed. Our objective is to drive engagements in conventional technologies as well as battery, hydrogen fuel cell/direct burn, UAM/drone technologies to mention a few. We are seeking four new members for our Executive Committee, committee members should be technicians/engineers or technologists working in Aerospace in industry/academia…

  • Zeta Potential Measurements in Polymer Research Webinar

    Zeta Potential Measurements in Polymer Research Webinar

    Colleagues at Surface Ventures would like to welcome community members to join them on their next webinar. Zeta Potential Measurements in Polymer Research Dr Astrid Drechsler (Leibniz-Institut fur Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. Thursday 28 July 2022 1.00pm BST In many applications of polymer materials, as e.g. coatings, composites or as smart surfaces, the material properties or the adhesion to other substances are determined to a great amount by functional groups situated at the very surface. While contact angle measurements can reveal the polarity of a surface, the zeta potential (the electrical potential of a solid in contact to an aqueous solution) gives valuable information about its acid-base behaviour resulting from charged functional groups, the adsorption of ions and molecules…

  • IET will break a long tradition at IBC

    IET will break a long tradition at IBC

    Every year, for many, many years, the IET’s John Logie Baird (JLB) Lecture has provided an opportunity for the industry to reflect on the state of the TV and broadcast industry, as well as looking ahead at important new and potentially industry-shaping trends. But we are returning to a different world, and so this year, the JLB will break new ground: it will be hosted at the annual International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) as a series of three targeted events during the IBC conference on the 10 th and 11 th of September. David Short, the Chair of the IET Media Technology Network comments “It is a pleasure to return to in-person meetings at IBC and we are especially pleased to bring our famous John Logie Baird Lecture to the show. The industry has changed in many ways during Covid and we…

  • NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Smart Health Technologies for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Internet of medical things perspectives

    NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Smart Health Technologies for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Internet of medical things perspectives

    NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Congratulations to Book Editors, Chinmay Chakraborty, Joel J.P.C. Rodrigues and to all the chapter contributors on the publication of this new IET Book: Smart Health Technologies for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Internet of medical things perspectives. About the Book Smart Health Technologies for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Internet of medical things perspectives looks at the role technology has played to monitor, map and fight the global COVID-19 pandemic. Chapters outline risk assessment methodologies and social distancing and infection control technologies in the face of this disease outbreak. The applications of Big Data and artificial intelligence in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 are explored in this edited book, as well as advances in early diagnostic testing and…

  • NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Applications of Artificial Intelligence

    NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Applications of Artificial Intelligence

    NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Congratulations to Book Editors, Munish Sabharwal, Balamurugan Balusamy, S. Rakesh Kumar, N. Gayathri and Shakhzod Suvanov and to all the chapter contributors on the publication of this new IET Book: Applications of Artificial Intelligence in E-Healthcare Systems. About the Book Increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) is being deployed in many hospitals and healthcare settings to help improve health care service delivery. Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) tools can help guide physicians with tasks such as diagnosis and detection of diseases and assisting with medical decision making. This edited book outlines novel applications of AI in e-healthcare. It includes various real-time/offline applications and case studies in the field of e-Healthcare, such…

  • IET Hong Kong May / June 2022 Newsletter

    IET Hong Kong May / June 2022 Newsletter

    The IET Hong Kong May / June 2022 Newsletter has been published. It contains a number of upcoming activities, covering a wide range of subjects, and some reports of interesting past events. Please click Here for the IET Hong Kong May / June 2022 Newsletter. We would love to see you at one of our events!

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member
  • Manufacturing TN Meeting 4th July

    Manufacturing TN Meeting 4th July

    The Manufacturing Technical Network (TN) held its first in-person/hybrid meeting for over 2 years at Savoy Place today. In a lively meeting full of challenge and discussion we finalized details for the remaining 2022 programme of events and started the planning process for 2023. Upcoming 2022 events include Future Roles In Manufacturing, a series of 3 meetings including an in-person networking opportunity covering Digital Manufacturing and a workshop event looking at the Future for Manufacturing Automation. This latter event is being organised jointly with the Robotics and Control & Automation TNs. In 2023 we are very excited to be be supporting an IET Annual Prize for Manufacturing apprentices. We are also planning a series of events covering the following subjects: Sustainability…

  • Resilience – How can we enable it?

    Resilience – How can we enable it?

    The topic of resilience has become even more prominent in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the IET’s Resilience Working Group has produced a short paper called ‘ Engineering a more resilient world ’, featuring the thoughts of engineers across sectors including from energy, digital, design and manufacturing. This thought leadership piece contains recommendations to government, the research, education and engineering communities that: Government should embed a whole system approach to resilience and resilience planning, Ambitious targets should be set for research into this area, and Resilience should become an integral part of the training engineers receive. Which measures has your organisation taken to improve its response and recovery to future shocks…

  • Space Traffic Control Webinar

    Space Traffic Control Webinar

    The Satellite TN recently had a webinar on Space Traffic Control, with a presentation by Dr Stuart Eves, SJE Space Ltd. Due to the overwhelming number of questions that were posted during the Q&A session, there wasn’t time unfortunately to get around to responding to all of them. Stuart has kindly post event reviewed the questions and provided responses which you can see below. If you missed the webinar the first time around, or would like to watch again OnDemand you can access it here . Q: What will be the impact by space debris or satellites to earth in case there are situation like Carrington event or any solar flares nowadays ? Stuart: A solar event of the size of the Carrington CME in 1859, would probably interrupt some satellite-provided services for a period of time, partly since…

  • Spotlight on Apprenticeships in Aerospace seminar - now available On Demand

    Spotlight on Apprenticeships in Aerospace seminar - now available On Demand

    Following on from our recent online seminar on 20 June, if you didn't get an opportunity to watch live that day, you can now catch up and watch OnDemand and listen in to hear more from our speakers i.e. Sir Julian Young, IET President and former Air Marshall and two former aerospace apprentices Dilani Selvanathan, Herotech and Tom Sutherland, Leonardo.

  • NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Technologies and Techniques in Gait Analysis: Past, present and future

    NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Technologies and Techniques in Gait Analysis: Past, present and future

    NEW BOOK/EBOOK! Congratulations to Book Editor, Professor Nachiappan Chockalingam and to all the chapter contributors on the publication of this new IET Book: Technologies and Techniques in Gait Analysis: Past, present and future Gait analysis is the study of the walking or running pattern of an individual. This can include spatial and temporal measurements such as step length, stride length and speed along with angular measurements of various joints and the interplay between various parts like the foot, hip, pelvis or spine when walking. Gait analysis can be used to assess clinical conditions and design effective rehabilitation; for example, following limb injury or amputation, or other disorders such as a stroke or Parkinson's diagnosis. It can be used to influence intervention decisions…

  • Nigel Fine retires after 13 years as Chief Executive and Secretary (CES) of the IET.

    Nigel Fine retires after 13 years as Chief Executive and Secretary (CES) of the IET.

    When it was announced at the start of the year that I would be stepping down as Chief Executive and Secretary of the IET, my leaving date seemed a long way off. Now it is just a matter of days to go before I start the next chapter of my life, spending more time with my family and seeking new personal challenges. I have been incredibly privileged and honoured to lead our institution for the past 13 years. I have learned something new every day, which is not surprising as we have over 150,000 members in almost 150 countries, a community of more than 4,000 volunteers, many programmes and events to inspire the next generation of innovators and problem solvers, and bursary and scholarship schemes to help young people study engineering. Our state-of-the-art venues, public engagement work, a large…

    IET Editorial
  • Pioneers of Tomorrow Day at Farnborough 2022

    Pioneers of Tomorrow Day at Farnborough 2022

    With an estimated shortage of over 173,000 professionals in the #STEAM sector, it is vital for the industry to inspire the next generation of leaders and close the skills gap that has been persistent across the last four years. In collaboration with Farnborough International and ADS Group, the @IET_Aerospace and @IET_Satellite TNs are proud to be a part of @PioneerTomorrow, a dedicated day to inspire, engage and recruit the industry’s future workforce. Taking place during the highly-anticipated Farnborough International Air show on Friday 22 July, Pioneers of Tomorrow will bring the world of aerospace to the next generation of leaders and has not only been developed to inspire and inform the next generation, but to provide a platform for the global aerospace industry to address major concerns…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie in Space
  • Draft for Public Comment: IET Code of Practice for Electrical Safety Management, 2nd edition

    Draft for Public Comment: IET Code of Practice for Electrical Safety Management, 2nd edition

    We are happy to announce that the Draft for Public Comment for IET Code of Practice for Electrical Safety Management 2nd edition has now gone live. The CoP sets out the principles for effective electrical safety management and does not reference standards or legislation. It identifies the need for a management system, not the detail of how the activity should be done but does outline what might be expected in a successful management system. This second edition has been updated to include considerations around the management of change, the implications of outsourcing work on the electrical equipment and installations, and an updated self-assessment tool to identify what systems exist and how effective they are in managing responsibilities. We welcome review and comment from all interested…

  • Are you raising the bar in the field of cyber security?

    Are you raising the bar in the field of cyber security?

    If you are breaking new ground in cyber security, have you considered entering the E&T Innovation Awards? There's still time to enter the Best Innovation in Cyber Security and Information Assurance category. In this video, Chair of Judges Gemma Moore, Director at Cyberis, details the category: tv.theiet.org/EmbedPlayer.aspx Enter now by 4 July at eandt.theiet.org/innovation

  • Calling all young pioneers - enter the E&T awards now for free!

    Calling all young pioneers - enter the E&T awards now for free!

    There's still time to enter the Young Pioneer of the Year category in the E&T Innovation Awards! Entries close on 4 July, and the great news is that entries remain free for this category only. More about the Young Pioneer of the Year category At E&T, we’ve identified seven critical tech and engineering challenges we’ll need to tackle today to make tomorrow better. These are: Sustainability Mobility (travel, transport and movement of goods) Switch to Alternative Energy Sources Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Global Family Trust and Truth Inspiration The E&T Young Pioneer Award shines a light on innovation and creativity and uncovers amazing tech ideas that are borne out of issues that young people care about. We want to use this award to find a new generation…

    Jane Neufville
  • Volunteering opportunity: Technical reviewers needed for the renewable power generation conference

    Volunteering opportunity: Technical reviewers needed for the renewable power generation conference

    The IET Renewable Power Generation (RPG) conference brings together the topics of renewable energy technology, power generation and systems integration, with techno-economic issues. All renewable energy generation technologies are within its scope. I’m looking for a number of suitably qualified technical reviewers to help review the technical papers submitted for the IET Renewable Power Generation (RPG) conference. Reviewers evaluate and score papers, as well as give invaluable comments and feedback. As a reviewer, you’ll need to have expertise in a minimum of two areas from the technical scope of the conference. There are many benefits of volunteering as a technical reviewer such as: Advanced access to emerging ideas in renewable power generation Keep up-to-date with the latest research…

  • The Tokyo 2020 Track Bicycle - Tony Purnell, British Cycling

    The Tokyo 2020 Track Bicycle - Tony Purnell, British Cycling

    A talk at Cambridge University Engineering Department on 30 June at 1900 hrs. Tony Purnell, former Head of Technology at British Cycling, will talk about how engineering helped Great Britain top the cycling medal table at the Tokyo Olympics. Professor Tony Purnell FREng, FRSA was the Head of Technical Development at British Cycling, where he worked across all aspects of technology – from improving data analysis to assisting the coaches with the development of organisational software and tools to optimise rider performance. Tony Purnell is Visiting Professor at Cambridge University Engineering Department, and a Fellow-Commoner in Engineering at Trinity Hall Cambridge. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Manchester University and a masters the MIT Sloan School of Management. His dissertation…

  • Re-cycling and Harvesting Energy, a Proposal by Dr Harry Haralambos Athanassiadis

    Re-cycling and Harvesting Energy, a Proposal by Dr Harry Haralambos Athanassiadis

    This paper is a quick proposal due to the extreme urgency of this Project and a call for participation by other Engineers and Scientists to help in this difficult period of high Energy costs. According to (1) it is now possible to develop semiconductor structures on paper. Because of this latest development I am proposing a special WALLPAPER to convert the heat of a room into electricity and store it into the special batteries of the Home/Business. This excessive heat can be the heat of the central heating system of a Home/Business during the cold weather periods or the environmental heat during the summer periods. Let’s put some ideas all together. Please see my proposed idea of the special wallpaper. With the same technology and principles, we can design special roof tiles and remove…

  • Bio-tribological studies of non-UHMWPE Polymers and Composites

    Bio-tribological studies of non-UHMWPE Polymers and Composites

    30 June 2022 12.30 BST. Register Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been the main polymeric articulating implant material for the hip implant. Acetabular cup is made of UHMWPE in its unmodified form or with partial cross-linking and with Vitamin E added into it as the anti-oxidant. Many efforts in the past have been made on finding an alternative material to UHMWPE in the hope of improving upon the already excellent tribological performance of this polymer. Several of UHMWPE composites and other polymers such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polymer gels have been researched with some even tried in for in-vivo tests. In this talk, we will review the tribological performances of non-UHMWPE polymeric materials for the acetabular cup application and compare those with…

  • Railway Earthing & Bonding Technical Seminar, 28 and 29 June 2022

    Railway Earthing & Bonding Technical Seminar, 28 and 29 June 2022

    It’s nearly time for us to open our doors for Railway Earthing & Bonding technical seminar 2022! We’re delighted to be back in person at IET Birmingham to meet, discuss and collaborate. Don’t miss out on your last chance to join us and colleagues from across the railway sector. Railway systems interface directly with people, so making sure that an electrified site is properly Earthed and Bonded is critical to eliminating any potential safety issues, protecting equipment and reducing expensive downtime. Delegates will gain technical, practical insights into the latest guidance live from the IET's new code of practice, Guide to Earthing and Bonding for AC Electrified Railways to protect equipment, reduce expensive downtime and most importantly, maximise safety. A copy of the new code is included…

  • IET Control and Automation Technical Network - We need your help in scoping out our Sustainability in Control Webinar idea

    IET Control and Automation Technical Network - We need your help in scoping out our Sustainability in Control Webinar idea

    We are looking to host a series of control webinars in 2022 covering sustainability in the control and automation looking at improving efficiencies, materials, how big the problem is and how we measure this along with how to get improvements. We are just scoping this out just now, but if you have a technical topic, or a problem that you are working on or have solved and would like to share this, please get in touch lcallaghan@theiet.org or comment below.