Latest Insights from the EngX Community

  • Hillsborough and the Engineering of Crowd Safety

    On 15 April 1989 , a football match in Sheffield became the site of the deadliest sporting disaster in British history. Ninety‑seven people lost their lives in a crowd crush at Hillsborough Stadium , during the FA Cup semi‑final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. While the disaster is often remembered through its social and legal aftermath, it is also a defining moment in the engineering of public safety, crowd dynamics and complex socio‑technical systems. For engineers, Hillsborough represents a painful but essential case study: how infrastructure design, human decision‑making and system assumptions can combine to produce catastrophic failure, even when individual components appear to function as intended. What happened – a system under pressure Hillsborough Stadium was built in…

  • Show Your Work with AI: A practical way to trust an AI answer

    AI tools now draft a growing share of the words that move through engineering organisations. Some of those words stay as drafts. Others travel into design notes, tickets, runbooks and reports, where they start to behave like reference material. The corrective point is simple. The hard part is not getting AI to produce an answer. It is making that answer reviewable, current and accountable before it is reused. In this context, “show your work” means the AI answer comes with its trail: the source, the conditions it depends on, and the check you ran. “Trust” does not mean “believe the tool”. It means “safe to reuse because another engineer can review it”. A common failure mode is unexamined reuse. A paragraph is copied forward, stripped of context, and quietly promoted from draft to policy…

  • Pedals, Paths and Purpose: One Engineer’s Journey to Lift the Next Generation

    This spring, the engineering community is being invited to rally around a challenge that captures the very best of what our profession stands for. Determination, empathy and a shared responsibility to open doors for those who come next. On 14 April 2026, IET member Sethu Ponniah, MIET , will set off on an extraordinary journey across Scotland to raise awareness and funds for the IET Futures Fund , supporting students who face financial barriers on their path into engineering. At first glance, the numbers alone are striking. More than 600 miles in total. Over two demanding weeks. A combination of long-distance cycling and walking through some of Scotland’s most rugged and beautiful landscapes. But this challenge is about far more than physical endurance. It is about creating opportunity and…

    Ana Lovick

Latest IET EngX News

  • March Highlights on EngX: AI Insights, Inclusive Voices and Engineering Impact

    March was a month packed with fresh technical thinking, practical guidance, and human‑centred stories across the EngX community. From deep dives into industrial AI to personal reflections from engineers shaping their workplaces, here’s your roundup of what captured attention and sparked conversation this month. AI in Manufacturing: Why So Many Initiatives Stall One of the most thought‑provoking reads this month came from Dr Paul Johnson , whose article AI in Manufacturing: Why Most Initiatives Fail & How to Deliver Real Engineering Value explores why organisations continue to struggle with turning AI investment into meaningful operational outcomes. Johnson illustrates this through a real‑world predictive maintenance example where an AI model successfully identified early warning signs…

  • February Highlights on EngX: AI shifts, cyber reality checks, and conversations that got us thinking

    February on EngX brought another lively mix of thought‑provoking blogs, practical engineering discussions and broader reflections on how technology is shaping the world we work in. From unravelling sustainability terminology to exploring the foundations of AI, assessing the UK's cyber readiness and reflecting on the potential of hydro sites for pumped‑storage energy, the community continued to share knowledge and support one another. Here’s a round‑up of what caught the eye this month. Blogs worth a read ClimateTech, CleanTech, DeepTech… what’s the difference? Dr. Mohammad Harris tackled an issue that resonates across engineering and sustainability circles, the confusing overlap between terms like climate tech, clean tech and deep tech. Speaking from industry experience, he explained…

  • Innovation, Safety and Systems Thinking: January highlights on EngX

    The start of a new year always brings fresh conversations, new ideas, and thoughtful reflection, and January on IET EngX was no exception. From forward looking technical insights and policy discussions to lively forum debates and career focused questions, our community has been busy sharing knowledge and supporting one another. Here’s a roundup of some of the blogs and discussions that caught our attention during January 2026 and sparked great engagement across the platform. Blogs worth a read From racing cars to electric dreams: the origins of EV innovation One of the standout career‑focused blogs this month explored the career of Sir John Samuel from his early roots of electric vehicle innovation and tracing his journey from motorsport engineering to pioneering EV development. Personal…

Latest Partner News

  • Josie Harries discusses how Domino is working to increase support for women in the workplace

    Encouraging women to choose careers in STEM subjects has been top of the agenda for many years – but what fresh ideas can you introduce within the workplace to attract and support female employees? At Domino, we are committed to improving the gender ratio in leadership roles within a business to 40% by 2030. This target, endorsed from Board level down, now stands at 25%, from a starting figure of 18%. Support networks Recently we re-launched our Women@Domino global network to promote inclusion within the business and facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences, as well as networking, mentoring, events and training. Gender was also one of three key areas in our new Inclusion & Diversity strategy. The network is not limited to female employees; male colleagues are encouraged to participate…

  • Road to Engineering event introduces children to the world of engineering

    BAE System's Submarines Academy for Skills and Knowledge (SASK), Barrow-in-Furness successfully hosted the 6th Road to Engineering event which took place over three action-packed days. Over 200 children from the Furness area participated in the event which aims to inspire future careers in Engineering. This year's theme was 'Adapt and Change' following the British Science week theme. Supporting the event were the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, Barrow District of Associate Engineers and the Royal Institute of Naval Architects who contributed valuable insight, merchandise and STEM packs for schools. Stephen Rowe, Project Director of Engineering Transformation said, "It was a privilege to attend the Road to Engineering event and…

  • H&MV Engineering appointed as principal designer and contractor for the Thorpe Marsh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)

    H&MV Engineering has been appointed as principal designer and contractor for the delivery of the 400 kV grid connection and electrical infrastructure for the Thorpe Marsh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) – the largest of its kind in the UK and among the largest in Europe. This landmark project, led by Fidra Energy and backed by major investment from EIG and the UK Government’s National Wealth Fund (NWF), has now reached financial close with construction commencing immediately. Located on the site of the former Thorpe Marsh coal-fired power station in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, the 1,400MW / 3,100MWh facility will be capable of exporting over 2 million MWh annually, supplying clean energy to approximately 785,000 homes. Once operational in mid-2027, it will be three times larger than…

Latest articles from E+T Magazine

  • Virgin Media O2 warns of rapid rise in AI fake customer service numbers

    Criminals are using AI-generated fake customer service numbers to scam people, Virgin Media O2 has warned. Those searching online for a company’s contact details can sometimes be shown fake phone numbers, websites and search results. These are created by criminals using AI-powered tools to steal personal data and commit fraud. Virgin Media O2 has warned that this sophisticated fraud is on the rise and is urging consumers to be on their guard. According to the firm, around one in eight (13%) say they have already been shown a fake customer service number via search engines or AI tools, while a further one in five (22%) admit they are unsure if numbers they have found online are genuine. The issue is compounded by a lack of scrutiny of search results, with more than one in 10 consumers…

  • UK’s first orbital launch from SaxaVord Spaceport on track for summer 2026

    German aerospace firm Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has reached another key milestone in preparations for its planned launch from Scotland-based SaxaVord Spaceport this summer. RFA has announced it has submitted its application for a marine licence ahead of its first test flight from SaxaVord Spaceport. This licence will establish maritime exclusion zones to manage debris and ensure safe launch operations. Highlighting the milestone in a LinkedIn post, the firm said: “For the first time, the application also specifies a potential launch window, which will open no earlier than 1 July 2026. This is a legally required step for planning, and a good sign of how far we’ve come – but it’s not a launch date just yet. “We applied for this window because we’re working hard to be ready – and we…

  • Underground rescue teams and robots create dynamic maps without external signals

    A new system enables emergency services to create dynamic maps underground without light, satellite navigation or external communication. Rescue efforts underground pose significant risk to human life. In these emergency situations, the danger of navigating infrastructure underground – such as train stations, tunnels or mines – is compounded if there is no electricity or access to wireless connectivity. A project team, led by researchers at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria, has developed a human-robot ‘teaming’ system for such missions. It combines sensor data from human and robot rescue teams with a self-built ultra-wideband (UWB) network to create a dynamic map of the environment. Firstly, a robot equipped with a laser scanner, camera and wheel sensors is sent…