Episodes
![Season 5 Episode 5: Enhanced by Engineering - Celebrating 105 Years of Pioneering Women Engineers](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/8963711/i2i_imeche_maroon8o2b8_300x300.png)
Monday Jul 01, 2024
Monday Jul 01, 2024
Sunday – 23rd June – marks the 11th annual International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), and as always we are celebrating the amazing contribution women engineers make, not just to the profession as a whole, but to society.
The 23rd June is significant as it marks the founding day in 1919 that a group of seven women from the National Council of Women met and signed a Memorandum of Agreement which created the Women’s Engineering Society WES.
The Original Pioneers - the gathering that became WES
WES’s early members were campaigners, hands on engineers, inventors, designers, electricians, pilots, managers and administrators. Many of its leaders and committee members were from the better-off industrial middle or upper classes, but the organisation’s work covered women working on the shop floor, making their way into management, those accessing formal education and even the female end users of engineering innovations such as the introduction of electricity into the home.
Since its inception, WES has become internationally recognised and continues to drive change in the industry; ensuring women have the opportunities to work and be educated in technical fields, and by campaigning for equal rights and equal pay in a sector which remains heavily male dominated.
2024 Winners of the Top 50 Women in Engineering Award - Seven of whom are IMechE members
My guests are Dawn Bonfield MBE president of the Commonwelth Engineer’ Council and past president and former chief executive of the Women's Engineering Society. Dawn was the founder of National Women in Engineering Day in 2014 and in 2015 established the inaugural 50 Women in Engineering List. A materials engineer by profession, working in the aerospace sector she now runs her own consultancy, Towards Vision, working on projects to improve inclusion in engineering
She was given an MBE in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours list for 'Services to the promotion of diversity in engineering'.
And Holley Reece-Barkell, is a fellow of the ImechE. She is Strategy & Growth Director for Frazer-Nash Consultancy and newly elected chair of the IMechE’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Holley has over 18 years experience in the consultancy sector and is responsible for developing the over-arching ‘’one Frazer-Nash strategy to drive growth across the business.
Holley brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her appointment as D&I chair from her role as part of the team leading diversity and inclusion in the company, and is keen to ensure its employees feel empowered to achieve their personal and professional goals regardless of their circumstances, identity or background.
Useful Links:
International Women in Engineering Day 2024
Women's Engineering Society Website
IMechE members recognised as 2024 Top 50 Women Engineers
IMechE appoint Holley Reece-Barkell as EDI Chair
![Season 5 Episode 4: Future-proofing the Profession - Talent Retention & Attraction in the Engineering Industry](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/8963711/i2i_imeche_maroon8o2b8_300x300.png)
Thursday May 30, 2024
Thursday May 30, 2024
In 2023 EngineeringUK commissioned a report focusing on the demand for engineers and the skills they would need in the coming decade. The report identified there were approximately 6.1 million engineering jobs (including tech roles) across all industries in 2021, representing around 19% of all jobs in the UK, 43% of those jobs were in ICT or software-related areas. At the same time the report found that between 2022 and 2023, recruitment activity for engineering roles accounted for a quarter (25%) of all job postings in the UK, suggesting that the skills shortage in engineering is greater than in any other area.
With the engineering industry becoming increasingly competitive, it is not surprising that many companies in the sector are fighting to find and hold onto the right people. The issue of talent retention is growing in importance, with many businesses looking at how they can invest in their employees for the long term.
I invited a number of engineers, recruiters and HR experts from across industry and business to share their thoughts on the challenges facing the engineering sector in maintaining its workforce.
Lauren Henwood - Business Manager - Head of Technology & Engineering Europe for Vantage Consulting
Laura Marston – Recruitment Specialist, Author and Trustee of Young Tongues cancer charity
Rob Armstrong - Vice President Mechanical Engineering at Leonardo
Bims Alalade – IMechE HR Director
Useful Links
EngineeringUK 2023 Report: Engineering skills needs – now and into the future
6 Ways to attract & retain talent in engineering
ASME - Training helps retain top talent - Article
We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this episode. If you would like to get in touch, email us at podcast@imeche.org
You can find more information about the work of the IMechE at www.imeche.org
![Season 5 Episode 3: Digitising Transport - The Rise of Mobility as a Service](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/8963711/i2i_imeche_maroon8o2b8_300x300.png)
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Season 5 Episode 3: Digitising Transport - The Rise of Mobility as a Service
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
With the recent acceleration of technologies such as IoT, cloud computing, and big data – people and services have become more connected than ever. In response to this increasing availability of data and digital services the transport sector is undergoing a sizable transformation as a result of the growing need for more sustainable and accessible travel solutions.
This has stimulated a considerable amount of research aimed at improving the connectivity of transport infrastructure and services, developing new business models that package different modes and services together into one mobile application or online platform to make the planning and payment of trips easier for people and businesses.
Such innovation has been termed ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS), and was outlined in the UK Government’s report Future of mobility: urban strategy, 2019 which aimed to help urban areas harness the benefits and opportunities of new transport innovation.
MaaS platforms integrate and analyse data from transport systems, such as rail, buses, taxis and even cycle hire, to offer the user a choice in journey planning.
The concept of MaaS is to make journeys more convenient through streamlining planning and payment and allowing people to tailor journeys to their specific needs.
In its drive to meet decarbonisation and net zero ambitions the UK Government produced a Code of Practice for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in 2023. This comprehensive framework focuses on convenience, accessibility and innovation to ensure that modern mobility apps meet the needs of the public. Indeed, the main objective is to make transport options accessible to all, paving the way for an interconnected, user-centric transport ecosystem.
But how effective would such a system be in the UK? what impact would MaaS have globally particularly in remote locations and low income economies? And is the transport industry really ready to integrate this level of digital interconnectivity into its services?
To answer these an other questions about MaaS I spoke with Dr Kate Pangbourne, associate Professor of transport governance at the Institute for Transport Studies at Leeds University and Sharon Kindleysides, Transport engineer and board member of the European Logistics Association to get their views on what implications it might have for the UK transport sector, the impact it could have on society in terms of accessibility and cost, and what challenges it might face in the UK and beyond.
Dr Kate Pangbourne Sharon Kindleysides
Useful Links
We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this episode. If you would like to get in touch, email us at podcast@imeche.org
You can find more information about the work of the IMechE at www.imeche.org
![Season 5 Episode 2: Potential Energy - Management & Infrastructure of Clean Energy Sources](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/8963711/i2i_imeche_maroon8o2b8_300x300.png)
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
This week (6th and 7th March) sees the IMechE host its fourth hydrogen economy conference in London. The international event will focus on infrastructure challenges as well as the storage and management of hydrogen as part of a wider ‘green energy’ supply.
iStock Image
Given the UK Government’s ambition for a decarbonised power sector by 2050, which will see the share of renewables in our generation mix increase significantly, a stable supply from these somewhat variable energy sources, will become ever more important. The UK will therefore need substantial investment in its energy infrastructure to ensure that energy can be efficiently stored for days, months even years at a time.
Engineers across the globe are looking at a range of technologies which incorporate not just hydrogen but compressed air, molten salts, and synthetic fuels to determine how energy could be stored in different forms, or for different durations, ensuring that our energy requirements remain affordable, secure and stable while delivering on crucial emissions reductions.
Home 3-phase battery storage installation - H Hudson & Imp Electrical
In this month’s episode Helen talks with Professor Tony Roskilly Chair of Energy Systems at Durham University about the future of energy supply decarbonisation and what engineers are doing to address the challenges of energy storage, management and infrastructure of clean energy sources.
Professor Roskilly has over 30 years experience in the design, control, and operational optimisation of energy systems and energy management, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology. He sits on the UK Government’s Hydrogen Advisory Council Research and Innovation Working Group,and is a Member of DfT Multi-Model Hydrogen Transport Hub Board.
Tony is also a Co-Director of the Durham Energy Institute, leading on Industrial and Internationalisation Strategy, and is the UK representative for the European Energy Research Alliance’s Joint Programmes for Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes and Energy Systems Integration.
If that didn’t fill all of Tony’s time he also leads the UK hydrogen fuelled transportation network and is responsible for a large team at Durham University which leads national research on the decarbonisation of heating and cooling, focusing on the utilisation of solar, thermal and geothermal energy, thermal energy recovery, storage and utilisation and energy systems integration.
Unsplash free image
Useful Links
Making Waves: The Future of Shipping
We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this episode. If you would like to get in touch, email us at podcast@imeche.org
You can find more information about the work of the IMechE at www.imeche.org
![Season 5 Episode 1: Going Beyond - The World of Metamaterials & How Their Extraordinary Properties are Set to Change Engineering](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/8963711/i2i_imeche_maroon8o2b8_300x300.png)
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
The ever-present challenges of climate change, over-reliance on limited resources and a global demand for new technologies, is pushing the engineering community to find more innovative ways to design and manufacture products.
Image Source: UK Metamaterials Network https://metamaterials.network/what-are-metamaterials/
Engineers and scientists working in the materials science sector have been exploring the properties of everyday materials such as metals, plastics and glass for centuries, to identify new properties and behaviours which might enable us to conserve the world’s finite resources.
In this episode Helen talks with three leading experts in the field of Metamaterials - engineered materials that have unique 3-dimensional structures, which cause them to behave in ways not found in nature.
Image Source:Exeter University Centre for Metamaterial Research and Innovation https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/groups/physics/emag/themes/mmto/
Their precise shape, geometry, size, orientation and arrangement gives them ‘smart properties’ capable of unconventional shape changes and the ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves: achieving benefits that go beyond what is possible with conventional materials.
With incredible versatility and innate sustainability built directly into their structures, metamaterials have the potential to be used in the electronics, communications, healthcare, aerospace, automotive, and energy sectors.
This episodes guests are:
Dr Claire Dancer - associate professor & reader in Materials Science & metallurgy at WMG – University of Warwick and vice chair of the Metamaterials Network, who is working on ceramic metamaterials and manufacture processes.
Dr Calum Williams – lecturer in Physics at the University of Exeter who is focusing on photonic and optical metamaterials and their surface properties.
Dr Tom Allen - Fellow of the IMechE and senior lecturer in sports technology at the Manchester metropolitan university who is looking at how mechanical metamaterials can change athlete’s performance.
Useful Links
https://metamaterials.network/
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/metamaterials/
We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this episode. If you would like to get in touch, email us at podcast@imeche.org
You can find more information about the work of the IMechE at www.imeche.org