Our CEO, Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, responds to the open letter on racial justice in higher education from ethnic minority staff in the UK (published 6 July 2020 in Times Higher Education).

I write in response to the Open Letter on Racial Justice in Higher Education. The Academy is strongly committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in engineering and welcomes this contribution to the effort to accelerate the pace of change. It is clear that our community has not made sufficient progress thus far on diversity and inclusion in general, and on racial justice specifically, and we are determined to play our part in changing that.

The Academy’s own research has demonstrated that black and minority ethnic engineering graduates are less likely to progress into engineering roles and that black and minority ethnic engineers have a less favourable experience in the workplace. As part of our response to these findings, we created the Graduate Engineering Engagement Programme, which aims to improve the transition of diverse talent into engineering roles. Of the 800 students who have participated in the programme to date, over 90% are black or from minority ethnic groups. Through our Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Group we also work with engineering employers to share best practice and co-create practical tools to promote inclusion in the workplace, including for black and minority ethnic engineers. Other aspects of our diversity and inclusion programmes are targeted at supporting professional engineering bodies and addressing our internal performance, which includes our grant making activity and our Fellowship processes.

These activities and our wider response are developed in partnership with others with relevant expertise and experience. In particular, we have benefitted from our longstanding relationship with the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers UK (AfBE-UK) who have led the way in raising awareness and catalysing action on this issue within the engineering community.

We already publish data and information about our actions to advance all aspects of diversity on our website and later this year will be publishing a report on the diversity data relating to our Fellowship, awardees, events and staff as part of our efforts to maximise transparency and in line with the recommendations in the Letter.

We will continue to seek out all available routes to eliminating racial injustice, bias and prejudice within our own activities and across the wider engineering community and as we do so will be sure to consider the recommendations made in the Open Letter. We stand in solidarity against racism and injustice as we strive for greater diversity in the engineering profession and to advance engineering’s contribution to an inclusive economy that truly works for everyone.

Understanding the supply chain vulnerabilities that emerged during lockdown will help us to prepare for future shocks, including a potential second wave of COVID-19, according to a National Engineering Policy Centre paper published today. Critical supply chains with immediate impacts on daily life demonstrated considerable resilience and adaptability during the disruption and the solutions adopted may also help address some of the key challenges in distributing a vaccine against the virus.

Supply chain challenges, lessons learned and opportunities looks at how UK supply chains were disrupted during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and assesses the success of mitigation measures from procurement to logistics and skills in the food, electronics, telecommunications, transport and energy sectors. The results, including spotlights on each of these sectors in the report, are based on evidence gathered from 60 different organisations, ranging from large companies to SMEs and micro-organisations.

Read the paper here

Industry was found to have responded well to the challenge, reducing uncertainty, developing networks for components and skills and sharing good practice. For example, electronics companies have been able to share information within their network, using it not only to source materials that were in short supply, but also to help to address future challenges such as skills shortages.

Sharing data and information across different sectors could also help to inform other areas of the COVID-19 response, particularly the l distribution of the vaccines currently being developed. This will require significant efforts in procurement, logistics, storage and delivery. Lessons learned from the food sector’s cold chain, for example, could be valuable in future deployment of a vaccine. Globally the cold chain is underdeveloped (only about 10% of the required cold chain capacity exists in some developing nations and up to a quarter of temperature-sensitive foods are lost). Vaccine cold chains are by no means comprehensive and up to 25% of vaccines in the developing economy are wasted owing to the lack of a suitable cold chain. The critical need to distribute large quantities of vaccine and test kits may require the requisition of cold chain assets from the food/pharma supply chain.

The paper makes recommendations for the engineering profession to prepare supply chains to weather future disruptions, including:

1. Communication across the supply chain network needs to be effective and capable of addressing the questions of future capacity and resilience;
2. Regulators have a critical role as stakeholders whose influence could drive innovation in both products and processes;
3. Knowledge sharing within and between different sectors is vital to facilitate innovation and adoption of automation and new technologies and to support companies in future resilience planning.

Nigel J Perry MBE, Director of CPI and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “It is vital that we understand the pressures that affect critical supply chains, so we can confidently navigate our way through the pandemic. Capturing lessons such as how distribution networks have responded and where communication has been integral can help us not only prepare for future shocks, but foster opportunities for more imaginative approaches to building back a greener, more resilient future.”

Notes for Editors

1. Supply chain challenges, lessons learned and opportunities

The report is available here. The recommendations form part of a paper prepared for the government and will inform future work by the Academy on strategic capabilities.

2. About the National Engineering Policy Centre

We are a unified voice for 43 professional engineering organisations, representing 450,000 engineers, a partnership led by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

We give policymakers a single route to advice from across the engineering profession.

We inform and respond to policy issues of national importance, for the benefit of society.

3. The Royal Academy of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact: Victoria Runcie at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 0207 766 0620; email: victoria.runcie@raeng.org.uk

• JCB’s innovation recognised as vital step in transition to a low-carbon future as UK gears up for construction-led economic recovery 

• The MacRobert Award is the UK’s most prestigious and longest running prize for engineering 

The Royal Academy of Engineering has today announced JCB’s electric digger (19C-1E) as the winner of the 2020 MacRobert Award, the most prestigious prize for UK engineering innovation. The winning team receive a £50,000 prize and a gold medal.  

The 19C-1E excavator is the world’s first volume-produced fully electric digger and with it, JCB has shown it is possible to make powerful construction machinery without an internal combustion engine. To date, the current fleet has saved the equivalent of 15,100kg in CO₂ emissions across 5,616 hours of work, but if used across the global construction sector, which contributes 39%¹ of all carbon emissions, these savings could reach billions of tonnes.

Attend the MacRobert Award online event – Powering Net Zero Britain

JCB’s winning team are; Tim Burnhope FREng, Chief Innovation Officer, Bob Womersley, Director of Advanced Engineering, Lee Harper, Chief Engineer – Electrified Machines, Lee Milward, Design Manager, and Corey Smith, Test and Development Manager. 

The announcement is especially timely following the Prime Minister’s commitment to putting building and construction at the centre of the government’s plan for the UK’s economic recovery.

As well as significantly reducing carbon emissions, the electric digger has zero exhaust emissions and very low noise levels. This combination makes it much better suited than traditional construction vehicles to operating inside buildings or in areas where noise must be kept to a minimum, for example near hospitals and schools. 

JCB, the iconic British brand and world leader in the manufacture of construction and agricultural equipment, launched the digger in 2019 and has already sold hundreds of the machines.  

The MacRobert Award judges lauded JCB for demonstrating the utility of electric machines in a construction setting and the potential for future innovation to boost sustainability in the sector.  

The hope is that this entry could do for the construction sector what the double MacRobert Award winner Johnson Matthey did for the motor industry with the catalytic converter, which has stopped hundreds of millions of tonnes of pollution from entering the atmosphere. 

Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng FRS, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award judging panel, said:  

“JCB’s electric digger is a huge engineering achievement. The team has developed all parts of the electric propulsion system to deliver system performance that matches real customer requirements. This is a huge achievement in itself, but the additional benefits of zero exhaust emissions and much lower noise has lifted the 19C-1E excavator to a new level. The digger is more than a great bit of engineering, however. It has the power to be the catalyst for change in an industry that is responsible for around 10% of all of the UK’s carbon emissions.”  

JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: 

“To win one of the world’s most respected engineering prizes is an outstanding endorsement for JCB’s electrification team, who have achieved so much in applying a science which was new to our business. JCB’s electric mini excavator will contribute to a zero carbon future and help make the world more sustainable. It’s a huge honour for our contribution to be recognised in this way.”

JCB’s electric digger was selected by the MacRobert Award judging panel in competition with the other shortlisted finalists: the all-electric I-PACE sports utility vehicle from Jaguar Land Rover and ecoSMRT® liquid natural gas reliquification technology from Babcock’s LGE business.

The MacRobert Award is run by the Royal Academy of Engineering with support from the Worshipful Company of Engineers. Since 1969 it has recognised engineering achievements that demonstrate outstanding innovation, tangible societal benefit and proven commercial success. 

The first award in 1969 was made jointly for two iconic innovations: to Rolls-Royce for the Pegasus engine used in the Harrier jump jet, and to Freeman, Fox and Partners for aerodynamic deck design of the Severn Bridge.  

Other former winning innovations include: 

• Allowing doctors to see inside the human body with the CT scanner invented at EMI (1972 MacRobert Award winner) 
• Raising one of the world’s largest structures – the Millennium Dome, now the O2, engineered by Buro Happold (1999 MacRobert Award winner) 
• Creating a computer the size of a credit card – Raspberry Pi (2017 MacRobert Award winner). 
• Diagnosing cancer through a simple breath test – the ReCIVA breath biopsy developed by Owlstone Medical (2018 MacRobert Award winner) 

MacRobert Award winners are chosen by an expert panel of Academy Fellows, who have vast experience across engineering industry and academia.  

Notes to editors

MacRobert Award for engineering innovation

First presented in 1969, the MacRobert Award is widely regarded as the most coveted in the industry, honouring the winning organisation with a gold medal and the team members with a cash prize of £50,000. Founded by the MacRobert Trust, the award is presented and run by the Royal Academy of Engineering, with support from the Worshipful Company of Engineers. 

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.  

The MacRobert Award 2020 Judging Panel

• Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng FRS (Chair)
  Cavendish Professor of Physics, University of Cambridge  
• Naomi Climer CBE FREng
  Chair of Council, International Broadcasting Convention (IBC); Former President Media Cloud Services, Sony 
• Professor Nick Jennings CB FREng
  Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise), Imperial College London 
• Professor Sir John McCanny CBE FREng FRS
  Regius Professor Emeritus, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast 
• Professor Gordon Masterton DL OBE FREng FRSE
  Chair of Future Infrastructure, University of Edinburgh; Former Vice-President, Jacobs 
• Professor Phil Nelson CBE FREng
  Professor of Acoustics, University of Southampton  
• Professor Ric Parker CBE FREng
  Former Director of Research and Technology, Rolls-Royce plc 
• Dr Liane Smith FREng
  Director, Larkton Ltd  
• Professor Sir Saeed Zahedi OBE RDI FREng 
  Technical Director, Blatchford 

For more information please contact:

Victoria Runcie at the Royal Academy of Engineering
Tel. 0207 766 0620
Email: victoria.runcie@raeng.org.uk

As the UK emerges from lockdown, the Royal Academy of Engineering is offering funding of between £3,000 and £30,000 to organisations with bright ideas for creative projects that engage the public with engineers and engineering under its Ingenious Public Engagement awards scheme.

The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on the important role engineers carry out in society, especially in times of emergency. From manufacturing ventilators and PPE to building the Nightingale hospitals, engineers have mobilised rapidly to add their expertise to the ongoing battle against the virus. For example, Ingenious awardee Professor Rebecca Shipley was on the front line working with Mercedes F1 to develop emergency breathing devices for the NHS in record time. Professor Shipley and her colleagues at University College London will use Ingenious funding to set up Tomorrow’s Home 2050: Visions of Home-based Healthcare; an innovative project that will create an immersive and interactive space showcasing the future of healthcare.

Other previously funded projects have included Migration and the Windrush Generation: New Ways of Communicating Engineering, a project that tells the story of diversity, migration, shipping and the engineering that underpinned it. The project will bring children and engineers together to explore science through transport, heavy-lifting and shipping, celebrating migration with elders from the Windrush generation.

This year, the Academy is seeking projects that can reach audiences of all ages across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They must be imaginative in telling the story of the diversity, nature and impact of engineering and also innovative in their delivery, continuing to interactively engage the public in any area of engineering.

Ingenious panel chair Professor Anthony Finkelstein CBE FREng said: “Engineers have been essential to the world’s ongoing battle against COVID-19, from the development of breathing apparatus to the provision of advanced imaging equipment. In these uncertain times, it is more important than ever for bold and creative engineers to come forward with innovative ways to engage and inspire the public with the hopeful message that engineering is providing practical and exciting ways to improve our lives in future, helping us to build back better.”

The Academy is especially keen to receive applications for public engagement projects that aim to reach diverse and under-represented audiences, including communities in deprived parts of the country, and projects that will engage people of different genders, ages and ethnic backgrounds. This could be in formal educational settings or informal settings such as museums, libraries, community centres and groups and with organisations such as Girl Guides and STEM clubs.

Funding of between £3,000 and £30,000 is available through Ingenious for projects to:

• Inspire creative public engagement with engineering projects across all areas of engineering
• Motivate engineers to share their stories, passion and expertise with wider audiences and develop their communication and engagement skills
• Raise awareness of the diversity, nature and impact of engineering amongst people of all ages and backgrounds
• Provide opportunities for engineers to engage with members of the public from groups currently under-represented in engineering

Ingenious has funded over 200 projects to date, providing opportunities for approximately 7,000 engineers to take part in public engagement activities, to gain skills in communication and to help bring engineering to the very centre of society. Ingenious projects have reached over 3 million members of the public.

Applications are welcome from engineers and creative or public engagement professionals keen to explore ways to provide public engagement training and opportunities for engineers and to engage new groups of people with their work.

Applications for this funding round close at 4pm on Monday 28 September 2020.

A list of current Ingenious projects can be found on our website.

Notes for Editors

About Ingenious

Ingenious is a grant award scheme, run by the Royal Academy of Engineering, for projects that engage the public with engineers and engineering. The scheme is supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

https://www.raeng.org.uk/grants-and-prizes/ingenious-grant

The Ingenious programme aims to:

• inspire creative public engagement with engineering projects
• motivate engineers to share their stories, passion and expertise with wider audiences and develop their communication and engagement skills
• raise awareness of the diversity, nature and impact of engineering among people of all ages and backgrounds
• provide opportunities for engineers to engage with members of the public from groups currently underrepresented in engineering.

Ingenious has funded over 200 projects to date, providing opportunities for approximately 7,000 engineers to take part in public engagement activities, to gain skills in communication and to help bring engineering to the very centre of society. Ingenious projects have reached over 3 million members of the public.

About the Royal Academy of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information, please contact:

Yohanes Scarlett at the Royal Academy of Engineering

T: | 020 7766 0618

E: | Yohanes Scarlett

Engineering X – an international collaboration founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation – has awarded nearly £1 million in grants to six projects in the UK and overseas aimed at tackling the complex social, environmental and engineering challenges of decommissioning ships and offshore structures.

From training to improve worker safety in ship recycling facilities in Bangladesh, to assessing the risks of structural failure of decommissioned offshore structures, the projects will tackle priority global safety issues as part of the Engineering X mission to achieve Safer End of Engineered Life.

Safe, modern decommissioning facilities are available around the world but most ships, as well as many offshore structures, reach the end of their operational lives on a handful of poorly equipped beaches in South Asia. The International Labour Organization has classified shipbreaking among the world’s most dangerous occupations, with unacceptably high levels of fatalities, injuries and work-related disease. The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships was adopted in 2009 but has yet to come into force.

To significantly improve safety, grants of between £50,000 to £200,000 in value have been awarded to the following projects:

1. Safety envelope for ship recycling practices in Bangladesh: hazard identification and risk evaluation

   Led by Newcastle University in Singapore (Singapore)

Partners: Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Bangladesh), Kabir Steel Limited (Bangladesh)

To achieve a better understanding of the relationship between ship recycling practices, their hazards and the safety and wellbeing of the people who work in ship dismantling/recycling facilities in Bangladesh.

2. Safe and sustainable decommissioning of offshore structures taking into consideration the peculiarities of the ASEAN & South Asia Regions

   Led by: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Malaysia)

Partners: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (Malaysia), PetroVietnam University (Vietnam), Newcastle University in Singapore (Singapore), Liverpool John Moores University (UK), Sea Sentinels Pte Ltd (Singapore), Mahidol University (Thailand) Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia), R.L.Kalthia Ship Breaking Pvt. Ltd. (India)

To develop technical guidelines for safe and sustainable decommissioning processes and develop safe and sustainable recycling facilities and safe downstream waste management facilities for decommissioned offshore structures in ASEAN and South Asia.

3. The risks of structural failure of decommissioned offshore oil and gas installations worldwide

   Led by Energy Institute (UK)

Partners: Regional Maritime University (Ghana), University of Strathclyde (UK), SEIP 7 (Brazil), Liverpool John Moores University (UK)

To investigate worldwide the major accident risks associated with the loss of structural integrity of oil and gas platforms during their decommissioning and assess whether the sector has adequate arrangements for managing these risks. Includes an international survey of stakeholders to obtain views on current practice with respect to structural integrity management.

4. Supporting the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative

   Sustainable Shipping Initiative (UK)

To build on the SRTI’s existing aims to accelerate a voluntary market-driven approach to responsible ship recycling practices. Includes improvements to the SRTI’s online platform through which shipowners can publicly disclose their ship recycling policies, and further development of their disclosure criteria to improve transparency in ship recycling value chains.

5. Establishing a global baseline and raising awareness to help deliver safety improvements

   Led by University of Southampton (UK)

Partners: Advisian (UK), University tec de Monterrey (Mexico), University of Teramo (Italy), NGO Shipbreaking Platform (Belgium)

To develop an open access, dynamic and graphical web-dashboard with associated evidential material and reports on a wide range of information including the number, age and location of offshore structures and ships globally, the materials they contain, their legislative contexts and who has ownership and other responsibilities.

6. Ensuring the rights of communities and workers affected by shipbreaking

   Led by NGO Shipbreaking Platform (Belgium)

Partner: Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) (Bangladesh)

To increase – in partnership with the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA) – awareness of existing workers’ rights, including occupational health and safety, to support demands for safer working conditions.

In 2019, 674 commercial ships and offshore units were sold to scrap yards, according to a recent report. Of these vessels, 469 large tankers, bulkers, floating platforms, cargo and passenger ships were broken down on just three beaches in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, amounting to nearly 90% of the gross tonnage dismantled globally.

The problem of disposing of ageing offshore structures is moving up the global agenda as an increasing number of oil and gas developments are reaching the end of their operational lives. Alongside the current wave of decommissioning from the offshore oil and gas sector, the growing offshore renewable energy industry is setting up new waves of decommissioning activity for the future.

William Powrie FREng, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Southampton and Chair of the board for this Engineering X programme, said “Achieving a safer end of engineered life for ships and offshore structures is a delicate balancing act. As long as these structures have residual economic value there is an incentive to recycle them. The alternative includes abandonment or deliberate scuttling on a large scale.

“But the challenge of improving safety during decommissioning is not one that can be hidden by displacing the safety risks to parts of the world least able to manage them—the danger to human life, health and the environment arising from current practices is a global problem and is too high. By awarding these grants and through the wider activities of this programme, Engineering X hopes to help all parties progress towards safer and more sustainable solutions that work for all.

“All those with an interest or stake in any stage of the life cycle of ships and offshore structures must understand their role in the processes that give rise to the poor safety record of decommissioning generally. They must also acknowledge a shared responsibility to raise standards and to develop and adopt best practices to improve safety wherever these structures end their operational lives. It is increasingly in their interests to do so.”

Safer decommissioning of offshore structures and ships will be the focus of number of Engineering X activities over the coming months and will include a global conference in 2022.

Notes for editors

1. Safer decommissioning of offshore structures and ships was the focus of the Safer End of Engineered Life programme in its first year. An international workshop held 8–9 July 2019 acted as the starting point of this activity, convening stakeholders from a broad range of disciplines and sectors to work together to identify fundamental safety challenges in the area and impactful ways to address them. 58 participants attended from 21 countries. After the workshop, a funding call was launched for participants and their wider networks for projects that addressed the workshop’s objectives and would create impact in this area.

2. Engineering X and the Safer End of Engineered Life Programme

Engineering X is an international collaboration, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, that brings together some of the world’s leading problem-solvers to address the great challenges of our age. Our global network of expert engineers, academics and business leaders is working to share best practice, explore new technologies, educate and train the next generation of engineers, build capacity, improve safety and deliver impact. 

Engineering X Safer End of Engineered Life is a five-year programme with the mission to reduce the number of incidents, accidents and casualties that happen as a result of safety issues by improving existing waste management practices and supporting design-for-waste principles and safer, more sustainable waste policies in the longer term. Its objectives are:

• to understand and apply practical interventions to improve safety at end of engineered life
• to build an international community of knowledge and good practice across national and sectorial boundaries for the improvement of safety in end of engineered life
• to raise awareness and public understanding of these issues

3. Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with its Fellows and partners, the Academy is tackling the greatest challenges of our age by growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

4. Lloyd’s Register Foundation is an independent global charity with a unique structure and an important mission: engineering a safer world. We reduce risk and enhance the safety of the critical infrastructure that modern society relies upon in areas such as energy, transport, and food.

Our vision is to be known worldwide as a leading supporter of engineering-related research, training and education that makes a real difference in improving the safety of the critical infrastructure on which modern society relies. In support of this, we promote scientific excellence and act as a catalyst working with others to achieve maximum impact. We meet our aims by awarding grants, by direct activity, and through the societal benefit activities of our trading group, which shares our mission. Through our grant making we aim to connect science, safety and society by supporting research of the highest quality and promoting skills and education.

For more information please contact: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 020 7766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes today’s publication of the UK Research and Development Roadmap of investment up to 2027, outlining a long-term plan to support an economic recovery founded on research and innovation.

The UK has a deep and broad research base with demonstrable excellence across many areas including science, engineering, mathematics, physics, medicine, social sciences, humanities, design and cultural research. However, our investment level is low compared to other world-leading nations. Innovation is a pillar of the UK’s economy but we face stiff international competition in the global market. Long-term commitment to innovation is essential to encourage businesses to invest here and help create new markets, supply chains and jobs, as the Academy emphasised in a report published last week following consultation with R&D-intensive businesses.

The roadmap reinforces the government’s commitment to increasing UK investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, building on the Chancellor’s announcement in March of a substantial increase in public funding for R&D to £22 billion per year by 2024/25. It sets out – and invites a nationwide conversation on – how this investment can best support the government’s efforts to address global challenges, from tackling climate change and developing new medicines to improving public services and increasing economic productivity and prosperity.

Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng FLSW, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Committee, says: “This is unquestionably a time of uncertainty and challenge for research and innovation in the UK, yet we are also faced with a great opportunity to build back better with R&D at the heart of the economy. The publication of the R&D roadmap confirms the government’s ambition to make that a reality. We are looking forward to working with the full breadth of the community and being part of the conversation that will follow. Investing in R&D is investing in the future.

“We are a community of many parts – from the researchers in our universities pushing the boundaries of knowledge, the start-ups and entrepreneurs embracing risk, the innovators and businesses that are powered by R&D, to the institutions providing expertise and facilities. But working in collaboration with government we can be greater than the sum of our parts and deliver even more for the economy and society. I am particularly encouraged by the ambition to work across the devolved administrations and key stakeholders, the opportunity to maintain the positive collaborative behaviours emerging as a result of COVID-19 and the recognition of equality, diversity and inclusion as a critical aspect of research culture.”

The Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, says: “People are at the heart of this. By making the UK the very best place in the world to be a researcher, inventor or innovator, we will inspire the next generation of engineers, biologists, designers, historians and entrepreneurs. We want to send a powerful signal to talented people around the world: come to the UK, be part of this exciting new future.

“The pandemic has been the greatest disruption to our lives and livelihoods for a generation. But this is not a moment to stand still. This is a moment of great reinvention. By confidently embracing the power of science, research and innovation, we will leap forward and build a brighter future for all.”

Notes for Editors

1. For more information on the Academy’s work on research and innovation policy, please see https://www.raeng.org.uk/policy/policy-themes/research-and-innovation-policy

2. The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact:

Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering

T: 0207 766 0636

E: Jane Sutton

Today, the prime minister has set out the first steps in the strategy to rebuild Britain and fuel economic recovery across the UK. In response, Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“The Prime Minister has set out his ambition to rebuild our economy. It is critical that the UK has a clear plan for recovery. While the pandemic has exacted a heavy toll, it also provides an opportunity for positive disruption. Engineers have the skills, insights and ingenuity to help tackle many of these challenges in ways that optimise efficiency, economy, safety and reliability – and they have been central to the pandemic response, from manufacturing ventilators in record time to building the Nightingale hospitals.

“We strongly support the drive to elevate the UK to be a science and engineering superpower. Engineering will be central to the success of the proposed radical innovation agency, providing the essential connection between research and innovation to enable technological and commercial breakthroughs. Such a funding mechanism will require cultural change but could address the UK’s historic under-investment in innovation, unlock positive disruption and enable step changes in technology that could reverberate far across society.

“Net Zero is an extremely tough but necessary target, and the future of the UK’s decarbonisation and path to net zero is contingent on key decisions made by the government during this parliament. Three decades is a very short time to completely renew, upgrade, install and secure entire parts of the UK’s national infrastructure but if government is willing to take a truly holistic view of the system then the engineering community stands ready to deliver on the promise and potential of decarbonisation.”

Notes for Editors

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact: Victoria Runcie at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 0207 766 0620; email: victoria.runcie@raeng.org.uk

National and local planning policies must be aligned around a common sustainability agenda for both housing and infrastructure, according to a report published today by the National Engineering Policy Centre, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering. The report, which was delivered in partnership with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, says that the planning system must be demystified and stakeholders empowered in order to unlock the potential benefits for society.

Read the report here

The current housing crisis provides a real opportunity for change in both the quality of living places and the scale of housing delivery in the UK, says the report, but the complexity of the housing problem demands a systemic approach. It is estimated that the UK needs 300,000 new properties a year to meet current demand, with one million homes projected for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc corridor alone.[1] Together with the imperative of a legal target for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the urgent requirement for more housing can be used to drive policy changes that will make the places where we live, work and play more sustainable. This can be done if the social, environmental and governance issues between planning, housing and infrastructure are better understood and people have the knowledge and tools to collaborate in finding workable solutions.

Using a participatory systems approach, engineers and professionals representing the multiple disciplines across the system of housing, planning and infrastructure, worked together to develop a shared understanding of the current system of the process. Engineers worked in collaboration with economists, planners, sociologists and community leaders to provide an independent, big picture view of the whole process. Together they created a detailed map that captured challenges and identified opportunities for change. The report identifies key elements of the system and how they impact and interconnect with one another, and pinpoints areas where change can be most effective.

The key leverage points for positive change include:

1. Encouraging the development of a sustainability agenda to support progress towards the target for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions to catalyse a coherent cross-government plan for housing, infrastructure and placemaking. This agenda would call for better integration between national and local planning policies for delivering places. At a local level, it would mean that development frameworks and local plans are aligned with this national sustainability agenda.
2. Facilitating support for local planning and better masterplanning to enable planning across local authority boundaries as well as efforts to level up by addressing regional disparities in productivity and access to social infrastructure.
3. Providing a flexible funding model to enable holistic business cases for place that can be administered nationally or locally. These would account for factors that enable high-quality developments, meet demands for public services and actively engage residents in delivering places.
4. Providing technical and financial support to planners in local authorities to address internal barriers to delivery. This includes resources for increasing the number of staff and providing technical and administrative capacity for existing staff.
5. Harnessing the power of data sharing to improve access to information about the planning process. This would include platforms for digital collaboration that can enable meaningful interaction and communicate the value of high-quality development to existing communities as well as empower those who are unable to access the planning process.

Tim Chapman FREng, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Director at Arup and Chair of the Sustainable Living Places Working Group, said:

“While there are no ‘silver bullets’ to solve the UK’s housing crisis, we hope this report inspires a shared understanding and brings together multiple disciplines and views to tackle the complex system-of-systems of planning, housing and infrastructure. The report shows how a cross-sectoral effort to work with government can succeed in embedding low carbon modes of transport and utilities into place-making and enable real progress in reducing carbon emissions.”

Notes for Editors

About the National Engineering Policy Centre

We are a unified voice for 43 professional engineering organisations, representing 450,000 engineers, a partnership led by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

We give policymakers a single route to advice from across the engineering profession.

We inform and respond to policy issues of national importance, for the benefit of society.

The Royal Academy of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact: Victoria Runcie at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 0207 766 0620; email: victoria.runcie@raeng.org.uk

The government has announced a package of measures to protect the jobs of highly skilled researchers and technicians working at UK universities. The Business Secretary Alok Sharma announced that research-active universities that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic will be able to access long term, low interest loans, supplemented by a small amount of government grants, covering up to 80% of their income losses caused by any decline in international students. A £280million package will also be made immediately available from the government and from UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) to support R&D projects.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “We welcome the government’s commitment to the UK university sector, particularly in providing funds to support vital ongoing research and development projects. This will help to compensate for a reduction in income and the impact of the pandemic on R&D partnerships with companies.

“The COVID-19 crisis has thrown into stark relief the vital role that engineering R&D has to play in the UK’s future, not only in responding to current and immediate future challenges of the pandemic, but also in driving the economic recovery, building back better, decarbonising our economy and enabling the nation to pursue its goal of becoming a global science and innovation superpower. We hope that these important near-term stabilisation measures will firm up the foundation to realise the government’s longer-term ambition for a knowledge driven economy.”

The government has also announced that UK Research & Innovation and the National Academies will receive some funds for costed extensions of some grants that were due to finish in the 2020-21 financial year, to help realise the benefits of activities disrupted by the pandemic. The Academy will contact eligible grant holders once details of these arrangements are confirmed.

Notes for Editors

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

What we do

TALENT & DIVERSITY

We’re growing talent by training, supporting, mentoring and funding the most talented and creative researchers, innovators and leaders from across the engineering profession.

We’re developing skills for the future by identifying the challenges of an ever-changing world and developing the skills and approaches we need to build a resilient and diverse engineering profession.

INNOVATION

We’re driving innovation by investing in some of the country’s most creative and exciting engineering ideas and businesses.

We’re building global partnerships that bring the world’s best engineers from industry, entrepreneurship and academia together to collaborate on creative innovations that address the greatest global challenges of our age.

POLICY & ENGAGEMENT

We’re influencing policy through the National Engineering Policy Centre – providing independent expert support to policymakers on issues of importance.

We’re engaging the public by opening their eyes to the wonders of engineering and inspiring young people to become the next generation of engineers.

For more information please contact:

Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering

T: 0207 766 0636

E:  Jane Sutton