Category : News

Two years on from welcoming its first students in 2021, NMITE (New Model Institute for Technology & Engineering) is thrilled to launch its Life Changer bursary initiative and is showcasing the impact it has achieved locally with a supporting campaign ‘Changing Lives’.  Launching on 6 November 2023, the campaign aims to encourage aspiring students from or studying in Herefordshire to seize the opportunities available for the September 2024 intake by highlighting the stories of many lives already changed by NMITE. 

The 30 bursaries offer local students a unique chance for higher education within their own community. Upon acceptance, each student will receive a non-means tested cash bursary, ranging from £7,000 to £10,000, depending on their chosen degree programme, providing them with the launchpad needed to embark on their Higher Education journey.   Generating awareness and engaging with the local community, ‘Changing Lives’ will be visible across the county. NMITE will be sharing authentic perspectives and stories from students, staff and industry partners, helping to demonstrate what an impact NMITE has already made.  

Commenting on this news, Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon said: “I am an enormous advocate of social mobility through education, and it’s fantastic to see this investment in future talent from NMITE. This new bursary scheme will help change people’s lives in the local community and beyond, giving them a ladder of opportunity into dynamic and competitive industries.”

James Newby, President and Chief Executive, NMITE, added “The Life Changer bursaries are more than just financial support; they are an investment in the future of Herefordshire.  The generous donors behind our bursaries are not only helping us to foster local talent through education, they are nurturing a skilled workforce right here in our community. “We believe in removing barriers and creating pathways to success.  And nothing could be better than using our current student community to tell their compelling stories about the changes and impact NMITE is already achieving.”

These stories will be seen and heard throughout Herefordshire via NMITE’s social channels  including videos on Youtube, with posters displayed by local businesses and supporters and at local Herefordshire locations and landmarks.  The plan is to ensure that everyone locally will have the opportunity to see, hear and read what a difference NMITE is making and intends to make in the future via the new bursary initiative.

An example of one of the students who will feature is Dan James, a local NMITE student pursuing an MEng degree since 2022, who is enthusiastic about the opportunity that NMITE has brought “NMITE is offering higher education on our doorstep, something I never thought possible growing up. The opportunity to connect with local business partners is invaluable, especially for someone like me seeking a career in the area.”

Peter Jelf, Founder and Director of Visicon, an employer partner of NMITE for over three years explains their support for this initiative “NMITE is attracting students from all around the country, but having this resource on your doorstep for students in Herefordshire is a brilliant thing.   With these bursaries, you don’t have to pay to stay away, it’s just a real win for folks looking to get into engineering in Herefordshire. What initially drew me to NMITE was the way they’re approaching degree level engineering education. What NMITE are doing differently is embracing the best of both worlds and they are bringing hands-on, actual project-based engineering to degree level courses”.

The Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, who originally conceived the idea of a new, higher education offering in Hereford, said “NMITE has always had a core mission to create life-changing educational and school opportunities for young people living in studying in Herefordshire. That’s just what these new Life Changer bursaries will do. Anyone local who is interested for themselves, for their children or grandchildren should take a look.”

For more information, to hear the Changing Lives stories or to apply for the bursaries, please visit: nmite.ac.uk/HomegrownEngineers

The latest edition of the Guide to Professional Registration has just been published. A free, comprehensive guide to professional registration and the professional engineering community, the Engineering Council has updated its annual guidance for 2023-2024.

Professional registration identifies an individual as a competent and committed engineering professional, and this guide provides a useful overview of the process of becoming professionally registered and the institutions that can support achieving this internationally recognised mark of quality.

The Guide to Professional Registration is designed to help everyone from school leavers, careers advisors and STEM ambassadors, through to employers and HR professionals, to navigate the organisations and resources available to support and develop engineering talent. Whether searching for the right apprenticeship or university course, applying for a promotion or a new job, or taking on the next big project, professional registration is a framework that supports study, training and career development, demonstrating competence and commitment to ethics and continual improvement.

The first step to professional registration is joining a professional engineering institution (PEI) licensed by the Engineering Council, or a Professional Affiliate (PA) with a registration agreement. To help guide the process of registration and select the right professional body, the Engineering Council’s Guide to Professional Registrationcovers:

•        how the different engineering organisations work together
•        what professional registration is:

o   information about each professional registration title

o   benefits for registrants

o   benefits for employers

o   benefits for society

•         how to become professionally registered
•         profiles of all licensed professional engineering institutions and professional affiliates, including:

o   their specialisms and missions

o   what professional titles they offer

To download your copy, visit: Pocket Guide to Professional Registration

Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes 73 new Fellows

At its AGM on 19 September 2022 the Royal Academy of Engineering elected 73 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology to its Fellowship. The group consists of 60 Fellows, eight International Fellows and five Honorary Fellows, each of whom has made exceptional contributions to their own sector, pioneering new innovations, leading progress in business or academia, providing high level advice to government, or promoting wider understanding of engineering and technology.

This year’s new Fellows continue to reflect the Academy’s ongoing Fellowship Fit for the Future initiative announced in July 2020, to drive more nominations of outstanding engineers from underrepresented groups ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2026. This commits the Academy to strive for increased representation from women, disabled and LGBTQ+ engineers, those from minority ethnic backgrounds, non-traditional education pathways and emerging industries, and those who have achieved excellence at an earlier career stage than normal.

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on 28 November, when each Fellow will sign the roll book. In joining the Fellowship, they will lend their unique capabilities to achieving the Academy’s overarching strategic goal to harness the power of engineering to create a sustainable society and an inclusive economy for all.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“Engineering is everywhere, but nowhere the same, and our new Fellows represent the great breadth and diversity of engineers who are striving to address some of the world’s most complex challenges – benefiting society and the economy in the process. From next generation power networks and water systems to quantum computing and artificial intelligence, our new Fellows are shaping the future.

“We live in an era of rapid change across our communities, our country, and of course our planet. Today we welcome to our Fellowship an inspiring group of people who are harnessing their creativity, courage and commitment to drive positive change in the world around us and we look forward to their contribution to our work.” 

The complete list of Fellows elected in 2023 is as follows:

Fellows

Professor Timothy Abram FREng 

Professor in Nuclear Fuel Technology, The University of Manchester  

Jonathan Baggs FREng 

Head of Nuclear, ARC 

Desmond Balmforth FREng 

Director of Engineering and Project Management, Leonardo Electronics UK 

Professor Harish Bhaskaran FREng 

Professor of Applied Nanomaterials, Department of Materials, University of Oxford 

Professor Julian J Bommer FREng 

Senior Research Investigator, Imperial College London 

Professor Joseph (Joby) Boxall FREng 

Professor of Water Infrastructure Engineering, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, University of Sheffield 

Professor Ruth Cameron FREng 

Head (Joint), Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge 

Professor Michael Clinch FREng 

Senior Consultant and Materials Group Leader, Innoval Technology 

Professor Richard Dawson FREng 

Professor in Earth Systems Engineering and Director of Research and Innovation, School of Engineering, Newcastle University  

Professor John Dear FREng 

Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London  

Peter Dearman FREng 

Independent Consultant 

Professor Robert Deaves FREng FLSW 

Senior Principal Engineer, Dyson; Honorary Professor, University of Birmingham 

Professor Vikram Deshpande FREng FRS 

Professor of Materials Engineering, University of Cambridge 

John Downes FREng 

Chief Information Officer, SSE Renewables 

Air Vice-Marshal Simon Ellard CB FREng 

Director Combat Air, Defence Equipment and Support, UK Ministry of Defence 

Professor Wenfei Fan FREng FRS FRSE 

Professor of Web Data Management, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh 

Professor Michael Fitzpatrick FREng 

Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Lloyd’s Register Foundation Chair in Structural Integrity and Systems Performance, Coventry University 

Dr Rosemary Francis FREng 

Chief Scientist, High-Performance Computing, Altair  

Professor Alejandro (Alex) Frangi FREng 

Bicentennial Turing Chair in Computational Medicine, The University of Manchester 

Ian Funnell FREng 

Chair, National Nuclear Laboratory 

Professor Shaogang (Sean) Gong FREng 

Professor of Visual Computation, Queen Mary University of London 

Professor David Greenwood FREng 

CEO, WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult and Director for Industrial Engagement at WMG 

Professor Ashwani Gupta FREng 

Distinguished University Professor, Minta Martin Professor of Engineering, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland  

Dr Marc Harper FREng 

Senior Director of Wireless Development, Microsoft 

Dr Simon Harrison FREng 

Group Head of Strategy, Mott MacDonald 

Dr Caroline Hazlewood FREng 

Group Manager, Flood and Water Management, HR Wallingford 

Professor Graham Hutchings CBE FREng FRS 

Regius Professor of Chemistry, Cardiff University 

Professor Robert Killey FREng 

Professor of Optical Communications Optical Networks Group, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London 

Professor Ahmed Kovacevic FREng 

Howden/Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Compressor Technology, City, University of London 

Professor Stepan Lucyszyn FREng 

Professor of Millimetre-wave Systems, Imperial College London 

Dr Joshua Macabuag FREng

Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Renew-Risk; Engineering Manager, Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID) 

Professor Malcolm Macdonald FREng FRSE 

Professor, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde 

Dr Andrew Mackintosh FREng 

Chair, UKI2S; Board member: ACF Investors and Thames Ventures VCT2 plc 

Professor Wyn Meredith FREng FLSW 

Director, The Compound Semiconductor Centre, IQE Plc and Cardiff University 

Professor Paul Needham FREng 

Head of Engineering for Air and Space Products and Chief Engineer for Historic Aircraft, BAE Systems  

Professor Bashar Nuseibeh FREng 

Professor of Computing, The Open University; Chief Scientist, Lero – The Irish Software Research Centre; Professor of Software Engineering, University of Limerick, Ireland 

Professor Timothy O’Farrell FREng 

Chair in Wireless Communication, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield 

Professor William (Bill) O’Neill FREng 

Professor of Laser Engineering, University of Cambridge 

Professor Bikash Pal FREng 

Professor of Power Systems, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London 

Gwen Parry-Jones OBE FREng 

CEO, Great British Nuclear 

David Peattie FREng 

Group CEO, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 

Professor David Phoenix OBE DL FREng 

Vice Chancellor and Group CEO, London South Bank University 

David Quarton FREng 

Visiting Professor and Senior Teaching Associate, University of Bristol; Independent Engineering Consultant, Renewable Energy 

David Riordan FREng 

Senior Technical Fellow, Spirit AeroSystems 

Dr Chris Robinson FREng 

Director, PCA Engineers Limited 

Professor Catriona Savage FREng 

Chief Technical Officer, Silverstream Technologies 

Professor Felix Schmid FREng 

Professor Emeritus of Railway Systems Engineering, University of Birmingham 

Professor Ashwin Seshia FREng 

Professor of Microsystems Technology, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge 

Dr Jon-Paul Sherlock FREng 

Executive Director, Manufacturing Technology Strategy, AstraZeneca 

Professor Barbara Shollock FREng 

Professor and founding Head, Department of Engineering, King’s College London 

Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan FREng 

Founder and President, PervasID Ltd 

Jack Stockdale OBE FREng 

Chief Technology Officer, Darktrace 

Dr Ken Sutherland FREng FRSE 

President and CEO, Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd 

Professor Ashutosh Tiwari FREng 

Royal Academy of Engineering/Airbus Research Chair in Digital Manufacturing, University of Sheffield 

Professor Iain Todd FREng 

Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Processing, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield 

Mark Wild OBE FREng 

Chief Executive Officer, SGN (Scotia Gas Networks) 

Professor Daryl Williams FREng 

Professor of Particle Science, Imperial College London 

Professor Keith Worden FREng 

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield 

Dr William Andrew (Andy) Wright FREng 

Founder and Director, WAW Innovation 

Christopher Young FREng 

Group Chief Engineer, Rolls-Royce Group  

International Fellows  

Professor Nadine Aubry FREng 

Professor, School of Engineering, Tufts University; George and Virginia Bugliarello NAE International Secretary, U.S. National Academy of Engineering

Dr Pavel Cheben FREng 

Principal Research Officer, National Research Council, Canada 

Dr Dennis Ganendra FREng 

Chief Executive Officer and Director, MINCONSULT SDN BHD, Malaysia   

Professor Georgios Giannakis FREng 

Professor, McKnight Presidential Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Minnesota, USA 

Dr Marlene Kanga AO FREng 

Director, iOmniscient Pty Ltd, Rux Energy Pty Ltd; Non-Executive Director, Endeavour Energy, Airservices Australia, Standards Australia

Professor Wolfgang Marquardt FREng 

Former Chair of the Board of Directors, (Vorstandsvorsitzender), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany 

Professor Richard Miller FREng 

Emeritus President, Olin College of Engineering; Founding Chair, Coalition for Transformational Education, USA   

Professor Viola Vogel FREng 

Professor, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Switzerland  

Honorary Fellows 

Professor Jim Al-Khalili CBE HonFREng FRS 

Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in Public Engagement in Science, University of Surrey 

Dame Kate Bingham DBE HonFREng 

Managing Partner, SV Health Investors 

Baroness Martha Lane Fox CBE HonFREng 

Co-Founder of Lastminute.com; Non-Executive Director of Twitter; Chancellor of the Open University; Founder and Executive Chair of Doteveryone 

Dame Angela McLean DBE HonFREng FRS 

Government Chief Scientific Adviser 

Lord David Willetts PC HonFREng FRS 

President of the Resolution Foundation Chair, UK Space Agency, Innovate Cambridge and The Foundation for Science and Technology

WES are running a project aimed at providing correctly fitting PPE to both women and men across the engineering industry. Firstly in order to gauge the true extent of the problem we are conducting a nationwide survey to find out your experience of PPE. Whether you wear it daily or only occasionally we would like to hear your thoughts. Complete the survey below. Deadline 30th November 2023.

Further information can be found here

Click this link to open the survey

The Parliamentary & Scientific Committee’s STEM for BRITAIN 2024 will take place in the Houses of Parliament on Monday 4th March, during British Science Week.

STEM for BRITAIN is a major scientific poster competition and exhibition which has been held in Parliament since 1997, and is organised by the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee. Chaired by Stephen Metcalfe MP, its aim is to give members of both Houses of Parliament an insight into the outstanding research work being undertaken in UK universities by early-career researchers.

A wide range of important scientific, engineering and mathematics institutions and organisations lend their support to this event, including:

The Royal Society of Biology, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, The Royal Academy of Engineering, the Council for the Mathematical Sciences, The Nutrition Society, Dyson Ltd, The Institute of Biomedical Science, The Clay Mathematics Institute, , The Heilbronn Institute, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, The Biochemical Society, The Society of Chemical Industry, British In Vitro Diagnostics Association, AWE and Warwick Manufacturing Group

This reflects the importance we all attach to the encouragement of researchers at this stage in their careers.

Prizes are awarded for the posters presented in each discipline which best communicated high level science, engineering or mathematics to a lay audience.
The Westminster Medal for the overall winner is awarded in memory of the late Dr Eric Wharton, who did so much to establish SET for Britain as a regular event in the Parliamentary calendar.

Applications are invited from early-career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians for the opportunity to exhibit in one of the five areas:

Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Chemistry
Engineering
Mathematical Sciences
Physics

The deadline for applications is Monday 27th November 2023.

For further information please visit the STEM for Britain website STEM For Britain – EXHIBITION OF POSTERS BY EARLY-CAREER RESEARCH SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS AND MATHEMATICIANS.

Not-for-profit EngineeringUK has today announced it’s entering a new strategy period – which will set the direction of the organisation over the next 5 years.

With a core purpose of driving change so more young people choose engineering and technology careers, EngineeringUK’s refreshed vision is for the UK to have the diverse workforce needed for engineering and technology to thrive and to drive economic prosperity, improve sustainability and achieve net zero.

Engineering and tech are critically important for the UK, with huge opportunities and responsibilities over the coming years, but the sector continues to face significant workforce challenges.

Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, explains “For engineering and technology to really thrive, we urgently need more people and more diversity in our workforce. Our new strategy provides us, and importantly all of our partners, with a renewed focus on what we’re trying to achieve, and clarity on how we’re going to get there.

“We’re determined to achieve our mission of enabling more young people from all backgrounds to be inspired, informed and progress into engineering and technology. But this will only be possible by working in partnership – we all have a part to play in this.”

Dr Alice Bunn, Chief Executive of the Institution for Mechanical Engineers and EngineeringUK Trustee, comments: “Engineering is an exciting, rewarding career and engineers have a key role in solving many of the complex global challenges we face today. We need to encourage many more young people into the profession, and it is vitally important we work together to drive change and ensure that young people have the right skills to make a difference. EngineeringUK’s new strategy will engage more young people with engineering and technology, helping to inspire a new generation of innovators.”

EngineeringUK’s strategy from 2023 to 2028 consists of 4 key strands of activity including:

• Research and evidence – establishing the composition of the current engineering and technology workforce, future workforce needs and how to address them   
• Leadership – leading efforts to grow the collective impact of all engineering and technology inspiration and careers activities with young people of school age     
• Activities for schools – expanding its activities to encourage more, and more diverse, young people into engineering, technician and tech roles        
• Advocacy – providing advocacy and support to address policy and delivery challenges in STEM and careers education and workforce planning for engineering and tech

Ed Almond, Chief Executive of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and EngineeringUK Trustee, said: “With clear aims across research evidence, leadership, activities for schools and advocacy, this new strategy ensures it is providing an in-depth and multifaceted approach to inspire the next generation of engineers to deliver the solutions required by society.”

He continues, “The demand for engineers is only increasing, so the work that EngineeringUK does – along with all engineering PEIs across the UK – is critical. We need to promote the range of science, engineering and technology careers to young people from all different backgrounds. We also need to show society its impact and importance in tackling world challenges, and advocate for policy and education in engineering. It’s a collective effort so collaboration is key in driving real change. We look forward to continuing our work with EngineeringUK to engineer a better world together.”

Dr Janet Young, Director General of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and EngineeringUK Trustee, commented: “The world is facing unprecedented challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss. Engineers have the skills and drive to change the world, and are in a unique position to address these challenges head on. This renewed strategy will encourage and inspire the engineers and infrastructure professionals necessary to build the cleaner, greener future we all need.”

Benj Sykes, Head of Environment, Consenting and External Affairs at Orsted, commented: “As one of the world’s leading renewable energy developers, a diverse, innovative, collaborative group of engineers lies at the very core of our business. These teams drive forward our projects turning concepts and plans into vital green energy generating assets, such as offshore wind, so we’re delighted to see sustainability and net zero feature so prominently in the EngineeringUK vision. A diverse pool of future talent is crucial for the success of our business and many industries alike. By boosting engagement and aspiration in STEM-based careers, we can open up the world of possibilities to future generations of scientists & engineers.”

Hear directly from EngineeringUK’s Chief Executive Hilary Leevers in this video. For more information visit: EngineeringUK’s website.

Dr Sam Collins, CEO and Founder, Aspire writes:

Over the past 22 years of Aspire, I have been blown away by the extraordinary yet everyday women who let us know about the projects they are doing that make a difference to women and girls. Often these projects are done in addition to their day jobs and are born out of a passion and desire to see change. One of the biggest challenges is often raising visibility of this work and receiving the positive acknowledgement that they truly deserve.

As part of our efforts to empower and inspire women, we are seeking to raise the profile of amazing women and organisations that are doing work that contribute to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. This could be individuals, corporations, businesses, charities or governmental organisations.

We will feature the person and their project on our website homepage as part of our campaign aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 “To Create Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls”.This campaign will cover the following areas:

1. Ensuring full participation in leadership and decision-making
2. Universal access to reproductive health and rights
3. Equal rights to economic resources, property and financial services
4. Promoting the empowerment of women through technology
5. Adopt policies and legislation for gender equality
6. Valuing unpaid care and shared domestic responsibilities
7. Ending discrimination against women and girls
8. Ending violence against women and girls 
9. Eliminating harmful practices such as forced marriages and genital mutilation 
10. Something else, you let us know!

We will provide visibility of 10 projects to our community of over 250,000 people across the world. It will also serve as a source of inspiration and ideas for others who might like to do work in these areas.

If you are interested and would like to have yourself and/or your organisation featured, then please contact us for more information. We are looking for 10 projects and will choose those who we believe are most aligned with our mission.

For further information about Aspire please click here

EngineeringUK have published an extensive new report on ‘Engineering skills needs – now and into the future’. The research explores changing engineering & technology skills needs, as the UK ramps up its focus on becoming a #netzero economy. Find out more in their discussion paper, available to download here.

Calling all North East Engineers! We are reaching out to all North East Engineers who want to connect together and form a collaboration to improve LGBTQ+ inclusion in North East England. If you are interested in connecting to other North East engineers, please reach out to team@interengineeringlgbt.com

Congratulations to all of the 1,792 engineers and technicians who have become professionally registered with the Engineering Council during the first three months of 2023, following a successful assessment of their engineering competence and commitment.

Professional registration is an internationally recognised mark of quality, as it is a standard set by the engineering profession. In 2022 a total of 9,215 people achieved professional registration.

Unlike a purely academic qualification, registration demonstrates a person’s competence (gained through practical experience) as well as their knowledge and understanding. The engineers and technicians who achieve professional registration are skilled professionals who have chosen to have their expertise independently verified. Registrants are able to use post nominal letters after their names to show they hold one of these legally protected titles, demonstrating their professional status:

• Chartered Engineer (CEng)
• Incorporated Engineer (IEng)
• Engineering Technician (EngTech)
• Information and Communications Technology Technician (ICTTech)

In the first quarter of 2023:

• 971 people achieved CEng
• 262 people achieved IEng
• 517 people achieved EngTech
• 42 people achieved ICTTech

Engineering Council CEO Alasdair Coates BEng(Hons) MSc CEng FICE MCIHT CMIOSH said:

“Congratulations to everyone registered in the first few months of 2023 on their achievement! We understand what a professional and personal milestone professional registration is.

“Registration sets individuals apart from their non-registered colleagues, as every professionally registered engineer and technician has chosen to have their competence independently assessed. As a condition of maintaining registration, registrants commit to maintaining and enhancing that competence, as well as to working in an ethical and sustainable way. This means society and employers can have confidence in registrants as engineering professionals.”

To verify an engineer or technician’s Engineering Council registration, use our online tool RegCheck: www.engc.org.uk/regcheck

The Engineering Council licenses 39 professional engineering institutions (PEIs) to assess individuals for professional registration, which is open to any competent practising engineer or technician, with different levels and pathways to registration available. For your next steps to becoming professionally registered, see: www.engc.org.uk/professional-registration