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“We’ve proved to ourselves that we can
undergo more radical transformation
than we ever felt possible”Watch the New Scientist Debate on the
Future of Engineering at: https://bit.ly/394gkZOThe Future of
Engineering panel
(clockwise from top
left): Lord Alec Broers,
Chair of the All Party
Parliamentary
Engineering Group;
Dr Hayaatun Sillem,
Chief Executive of the
Royal Academy of
Engineering; Justin
Mullins, consultant
editor at New
Scientist and debate
chair; Dave Short,
Technology Director
at BAE SystemsMETAMORWORKS/IS
TOCK
PHOTOcompanies should exploit SME-style
innovation by using their size and capability
to accelerate it.
That will require investment and the role of
government in planning for the future will be
crucial. For example, the panel discussed
how a technology roadmap would give
companies the confidence to invest in
research and development. Short agreed that
a long-term plan would bring greater
opportunities for investment in engineering
and the chance to capitalise on the country’s
newfound innovative spirit. “Let’s not let it
wither, let’s capitalise on it,” he said.
Incentivising investment is important,
agreed Sillem, warning that c ash f low is an
issue and research spending is one of the
easiest things for companies to cut. The panel
agreed that companies that continue to invest
in R&D will be more agile and resilient in the
face of future challenges.
One of the most important of these
challenges is to create a low carbon future.
At the peak of the confinement measures in
early April, daily carbon emissions decreased
by 17 per cent globally, providing a tantalising
glimpse of a lower carbon world. Indeed, the
UK is c ommit ted to ne t zero greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050.
But the engineering systems challenge is
enormous, requiring a transformation of
infrastructure systems from transport to
energy, and the development of new
technologies. Sillem believes the pandemic
may help leaders tackle this daunting task.
“We’ve proved to ourselves that we can
undergo more radical transformation than
we ever felt possible, at the pace we have
done, because we’ve had no choice,” she
said. “We have to carry on that ambition into
how we tackle our green recovery.”
The panel’s views resonate with a recent
Ipsos MORI poll for King’s College London,
suggesting two thirds of people in the UK
think the pandemic is a chance to build a
better country.
In many ways, the engineering community
has set the tone for this ambition. “I think the
UK has done a fantastic job. The time
restriction and acute need [for ventilators and
PPE] inspired engineers to create new ways
of working and allowed some processes to be
streamlined,” says Short. “We need to take
those lessons forward with innovative
approaches where we can break out into the
new world order.”