COMMUNICATIONS BRIEFING: 17 to 23 February 2018

The Institution issued a reactive statement from Peter Finegold in response to Theresa May’s proposal to cut charges for humanities degree courses as part of the Government’s review of the cost of tuition fees; the comment was picked up by the education press. There was also coverage in the trade press of the launch of the Railway Challenge which announced the teams taking part.

Institution in the News

• 19/02/18 Sector Response to Post 18 funding review: Prime Minister calls for parity of esteem between academic and technical education – Further Education News

  Features a comment from Peter Finegold in which he highlights that charging higher fees for STEM subjects will have a detrimental impact on the skills shortage in engineering industries and will further undermine social mobility for young people from poorer backgrounds.
  
  

• 21/02/18 IMechE Railway Challenge returns with focus on innovative locomotives – The Engineer

  An announcement that the Railway Challenge is returning in 2018 and lists the participating teams. Also featured in Process and Control and Environment Guru.
  
  

• 22/02/18 Rail industry must look post-diesel – Machinery Market

  Continued coverage of the Government’s announcement that diesel-only trains must be removed from the tracks by 2040. The article features a comment from Dr Jenifer Baxter outlining the fact that bi-mode trains (that can run on both electrified and diesel lines) emit even more emissions than diesel trains when operating in diesel mode.
  
  

• 21/02/18 How much money do businesses lose to power cuts? – North East Connected

  Article which highlights that power outages will be something that people from across the UK will need to tolerate due to the fact that over 170,000 km of electricity cables need to be maintained; features a comment from Dr Jenifer Baxter.
  
  

• 19/02/18 New Head of NDT and Corrosion Inspection Training Organisation – Scandinavian Oil and Gas Magazine

  Continued coverage of the news that The Institution has appointed experienced Chief Executive and General Manager Chris Kirby as the new General Manager for the NDT and Corrosion Inspection Training business: IMechE Engineering Training Solutions.
  
  

• 19/02/18 Nominations open for UK’s biggest manufacturing awards – The Manufacturer

  Features a comment from Dr Jenifer Baxter welcoming the Manufacturer MX Awards for not only celebrate the best of UK manufacturing, but also providing participants with valuable feedback from world experts.
  
  

Public Affairs