Latest Insights from the EngX Community

  • 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…

Latest IET EngX News

  • 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…

  • December Highlights on EngX: Celebrations, reflections and a look to the future

    December on EngX had that familiar end‑of‑year feeling, a blend of celebration, reflection, and excitement for what’s ahead. It was a month filled with stories of global impact, technical achievement, and inspiring people across our engineering community. Celebrating Global Communities and a year of impact One of the most uplifting posts this month came from Mariana Vazquez in Celebrating Our Global Communities: A Year of Impact and Innovation . It offered a wonderful look at just how far the IET’s volunteer‑driven activities reached in 2025. She shared that the IET’s Local and Technical Networks delivered over 900 events globally , welcoming more than 51,000 participants , with activity across 25+ countries . Technical Networks also expanded their reach, with webinars accessed in 101…

Latest Partner News

  • 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…

  • In-flight Broadband Connectivity and Experimentation for Beyond 5G Networks “AeroNet”

    This work is supported by the HORIZON-MSCA-2024-SE-01-01, Project ID 101236523 and Innovate UK. Total amount is €1.8 million for five Universities and 3 Industries in EU and UK. Raed A Abd-Alhameed, Viktor Doychinov, Vuong Mai, Ifiok Otung University of Bradford, (UoB), Organisation in United Kingdom London South Bank University (LSB), Organisation in United Kingdom Technische Universität Dresden (TDN) - Organisation in Germany University of Athens (UoA) - Organisation in Greece University of Trento (UDT) - Organisation in Italy Fogus Innovations and Services PC (FGS) - Organisation in Greece Sigint Solutions Ltd (SGT) - Organisation in Cyprus JIO Platforms (JIO) - Organisation in Estonia Fogus Innovations and Service P.C. (FGS), Athens, Greece Sigint Solutions Ltd (SGT), Nicosia, Cyprus…

Latest articles from E+T Magazine

  • Major UK study shows clinicians and AI working together to cut breast cancer deaths

    The use of AI in breast cancer screening could save many lives, according to a landmark study. The research, led by Imperial College London, involved 175,000 women – the largest NHS study to date. The findings clearly show the advantages of using AI to identify breast cancer earlier, reduce errors and help deliver life-saving treatment sooner. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with one woman diagnosed every 10 minutes and roughly 55,000 new cases per year. Diagnosis usually follows a mammogram or breast screening, with images assessed by clinical radiologists. The NHS is under pressure as there is currently a 29% shortfall of radiologists in the UK – almost 2,000 – and this is predicted to rise to 39% by 2029. The study looked at the potential of using AI technology…

  • Japan plots chip industry comeback with fivefold boost to production by 2040

    Japan has set a target to boost its chip production eightfold by 2040 as it tries to catch up with global rivals and capitalise on the AI boom. The country was a global leader in semiconductor production in the 1980s, capturing more than half of the market by the end of the decade. To counter this, the US instituted the US-Japan Semiconductor Agreement in 1986, which contained anti-dumping provisions and other measures to try and strengthen its domestic producers. After Japan failed to stick to the agreement, 100% tariffs were imposed on all electronics being made in the country the following year. This encouraged technology firms to look abroad for their chip supply, especially Taiwan, which was on the ascendancy in the sector after the founding of TSMC in 1987. Japan is now about a decade…

  • Strategic oil reserves could be tapped as war squeezes Middle East fossil fuel production

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed that member countries release emergency oil stocks to counter the price shock seen across the world in the wake of US and Israeli attacks on Iran. The war, which began on 28 February, immediately impeded oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly 20% of the world’s oil passes through the strait, transporting product from high-producing Middle East countries primarily to ports in Asia. But export volumes of crude and refined products are currently at less than 10% of pre-conflict levels, which has seen the price of Brent crude soar from around $70 at the end of February to nearly $100 in recent days before dropping again slightly. The inability of operators in the Gulf to transport their produce is forcing them to curtail production…