Latest Insights from the EngX Community

  • Water,Water Nowhere: The Utility We Can't Live Without

    The summer of 2026 brought record-breaking temperatures across the UK, with hosepipe bans affecting around 75% of the country. These conditions highlighted the growing importance of water as a precious resource. Yet despite its critical role in our daily lives and industrial processes, water is often taken for granted. We expect it to be available whenever we need it, rarely considering the infrastructure, energy, resilience, and cost required to ensure a continuous supply. Against this backdrop, the IET London Network's September Lecture explored one of industry's most essential but overlooked utilities: water. Presented by Aoife Kelly, Global Lead for Sustainable Design, Pharmaceuticals and Advanced Technology at Arcadis, and hosted by the Central London Network on 9 September 2026 at the…

  • This blog set alarm bells ringing!

    Guest blog by David Knights FIET David, a researcher and visitor to the IET Archives, has written this blog about an item he found in one of our collections. Having an interest in his locality and an engineering background, it was the perfect way to combine technical archives with local history. An online copy of the map provided the opportunity to take a better look at it alongside his own collection of images that include some of the fire call points shown on the map. The Borough of Acton One of the more unusual items in the IET Archives is a Map of the Borough of Acton showing the location of fire alarms and fire stations dated 1937. The collection also includes similar details of Oxford, Malden and Coombe, Eccles, Luton, Watford, and the British Empire Exhibition (1924/5). IET…

  • Brownfield Automation: How Do You Automate a Factory That Was Never Designed to Be Automated?

    Manufacturers are being encouraged to embrace connected, intelligent and increasingly autonomous production. Yet much of the world’s manufacturing capacity was installed long before those concepts existed. The challenge is therefore not simply how to build the factory of the future, but how to create it from the factory that already exists. The factory of the future may already have been built Walk through almost any long-established manufacturing facility and the reason quickly becomes apparent. A recently installed robotic cell may sit alongside a twenty-year-old CNC machining centre. Further down the line may be equipment controlled by an older PLC, a standalone inspection machine and processes that still depend heavily on manual intervention. These assets were installed at different…

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Latest IET EngX News

  • From Industrial Waste to World Cup Audiences: August on EngX

    August brought another diverse mix of ideas, experiences and thought‑provoking discussions to the EngX community. Last month’s highlights ranged from rethinking industrial waste and exploring the future of broadcasting to examining how engineers can turn insight into action on complex projects. Alongside these blogs, members continued to share expertise across the forums, tackling topics from renewable energy and EV infrastructure to AI and the future of engineering practice. Together, they showcase the breadth of knowledge and curiosity that makes EngX such a valuable place to learn, connect and collaborate. Blogs worth a read Industrial Waste Passports: can better data unlock a circular future? What if we treated waste as the start of a new value chain rather than the end of an old…

  • Curiosity, AI and the Future of Engineering - July's Highlights on EngX

    July on EngX was packed with thought‑provoking ideas, career reflections and practical engineering conversations. From exploring the decision‑making challenges behind artificial intelligence to rethinking how we design workplaces and infrastructure, the community shared a wide range of perspectives on how engineering continues to evolve. Alongside these future‑focused topics, personal career stories and lively forum discussions reminded us that some of the most valuable insights come from sharing experiences with one another. Here's a look at some of the content that stood out this month. Blogs worth a read Dead on Arrival: Why fresh produce needs a digital brain, not just a GPS This fascinating blog explored how digital twins, IoT sensors and predictive AI could help tackle one of…

  • June Highlights on EngX: Digital twins, decarbonisation and community conversations

    June on EngX brought together a fascinating mix of future-focused thinking, practical engineering challenges and inspiring community stories. From exploring how digital twins are transforming decision-making across industries to tackling the realities of decarbonising energy-intensive sectors, members continued to share insight, experience and expertise. Alongside these technical discussions, stories celebrating engineering talent, STEM education and inclusion helped showcase the people driving our profession forward. Here’s a look at some of the content that stood out this month. Blogs worth a read Digital twins in motion: why a multi-disciplinary debate matters now Digital twins have rapidly evolved from an emerging concept into a practical engineering tool, and this blog explored…

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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…

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Latest articles from E+T Magazine

  • AC and DC ratios measured using a single device – new study

    A room-temperature diamond quantum sensor successfully unifies both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) ratio calibration within the same device set-up, according to a new study. Researchers led by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology developed the current comparator, which can accurately measure both current ratios in single, highly integrated configuration. A current comparator is a high-precision device that uses balancing magnetic fields to measure the exact ratio between two electrical currents, helping to calibrate instruments used in power generation, transmission and distribution. Historically, because the underlying measurement principles differ for AC and DC, completely separate measurement technologies, distinct calibrations…

  • Diversification from film supply to ‘faithful’ design

    What do you do when your market disappears – diversify or die? Fujifilm, one of the most famous suppliers in the photography field, reinvented itself by returning to the ‘Faithful Design’ philosophy at its heart. Famously, Kodak had the world of photography at its feet. But its refusal to give up on camera film became its downfall. The rapid transformation to the digital age of cameras pulled the rug from under the company’s feet and it sank into bankruptcy – even though it has reinvented itself as a successful chemical and printing company in recent years. Rival Fujifilm took a different path – not one determined by the digitisation of the camera sector, although this was obviously an accelerant, but one that found its direction in the company’s philosophy. “Diversification is in Fujifilm…

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  • SpaceX’s huge Starship deploys satellites in orbit before explosive splashdown

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched its Starship into orbit for the first time, marking a key milestone en route to operational flight. The 124 metre-tall Starship lifted off from the SpaceX Starbase facility in South Texas at 7.48am (local time), marking its 14th test flight to date. The aim of this Flight 14 test was to deposit 26 next-generation V3 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO). But it was also seen as a critical test of the vehicle’s readiness to fulfil Musk’s longer-term plans to make long-haul trips to Mars. The supersized ‘Ship’ rocket uses a two-stage design. The lower stage is the Super Heavy booster, which has 33 Raptor engines to accelerate the payload into space. The upper stage is the spacecraft itself, which has the ability to carry a payload of 100 metric…

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