COMMUNICATIONS BRIEFING: 24 March to 6 April 2018

Over Easter, the de Havilland Mosquito received an Engineering Heritage Award and John Wood, Chair of the Heritage Committee and Past President of the Institution, appeared on BBC Radio Three Counties to discuss why the aircraft has been recognised by the Institution.

Following the publication of the Institution’s “Healthy Homes” report, Dr Helen Meese’s thought-leadership article was published, in which she explains that the development of smart homes could be part of the solution to reduce healthcare costs and enable older people to retain their independence for longer. Dr Jenifer Baxter also gave an interview about the Government’s plans to phase out diesel trains, which featured in the trade press. 

At the end of Radio 4’s In Our Time programme, Melyvn Bragg confirmed that the next edition, Thursday 12 April,  will be on George and Robert Stephenson. 

The Press Office’s Throwback Thursday Twitter campaign to celebrate the Institution’s heritage featured an image of St Louis World’s Fair and of the final gear being fitted into a phasing gearing assembly of a D.Napier&Son Deltic engine.

Institution in the News

• 31/03/2018 Nana Akua and Tim Wheeler (at 1:50:54) – BBC Radio Three Counties

  Discussion of why the de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito, one of the fastest operational aircrafts in the world when it entered service in 1941, was awarded an Engineering Heritage Award. Also featured in Herts Advertiser, Watford Observer, Design Products & Applications and Business Travel News.

• 05/04/2018 Smarter homes for our ageing population – Digital Legal Health

  Dr Meese explains that the Government must commit to modernising the UK’s building design and construction regulations, and create a kitemark for smart houses and its associated technology to both make life better for older people and help relieve the increasing burden on the NHS posed by our growing ageing population. Also featured in Raconteur.

• 28/03/2018 Goodbye diesel: what does the phase-out mean for UK rail innovation? – Railway Technology

  Article exploring the Government’s announcement that diesel-only trains will be phased out by 2040. Dr Jenifer Baxter explains what the phase-out will involve. Also featured in Translogistics.

• 05/04/2018 Oxford Flow starts gushing with $8.4m – Global University Venturing

  News that Oxford Flow, a UK-based pressure value manufacturing spinout from Oxford University secured has secured investment from the George Stephenson fund. Also featured in Energy Voice and Oil & gas technology.

• 04/04/2018 UK’s digital infrastructure at risk of attack – Modern Building Services
  
  Continued coverage of the Institution’s “Smart cities” report, which highlights that as the UK becomes more reliant on digital infrastructure, we are becoming more dependent on our electricity network and that this means it has never been more important to ensure we have secure and stable electricity supplies.  Also featured in Machinery Market.

• 06/04/2018 Award for Dowty sprung undercarriage wheel – Machinery Market

  Continued coverage of news that the Dowty internally sprung wheel for aircraft undercarriages – designed and built by Sir George Dowty in the 1930s – was presented with an Engineering Heritage Award in Gloucester in March.

• 26/03/18 The UK must do more to attract best talent to engineering – Engineering Specifier

  Continued coverage of EngineeringUK’s research which demonstrates the importance of the engineering sector to the UK economy, turning over £1.2 trillion a year and employing almost 19% (5.6m people) of the country’s workforce. Features a comment from Stephen Tetlow, who explains that the Year of Engineering is an important opportunity to inspire the broadest possible spectrum of people to pursue an engineering career.

• 02/04/2018 Coventry F1 simulator delivers all the thrills and spills of the race track – Coventry Telegraph

  Story about a state-of-the art Formula One simulator which has been installed at Coventry University and offers the closest experience possible to hurtling around a track in one of the fastest cars in the world. The article mentions that the simulator can also be used to design race tracks and develop vehicles, such as Coventry University’s Formula Student racing car.

• 03/04/2018 Why JCB wants to ensure it promotes women engineers – Derby Telegraph

  Article which highlights the 14.3% hourly pay gap between men and women at the company and highlights the work the company is doing to attract more girls into engineering at an early age. The article features Daisy Coombes, who was recently voted the Institution’s Apprentice of the Year. Also featured in Stoke Sentinel, Burton Mail, Express and Star and Uttoxeter Advertiser (print only).
  
  

Public Affairs

• Peter Finegold attended the APPG for Education with Anne Milton MP, the Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, to discuss the APPG for Education’s inquiry into how well schools prepare children for their future. Peter raised the Institution’s STEM Insight Programme to bring about a changed awareness amongst teachers of the nature of working in modern industry during a discussion of how to educate teachers of the engineering industry and the variety of careers available in it.
    
• The communications team received correspondence from Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State for the Department for Transport, after inviting him to meet the Chair of the Institution’s Rail Division. Jo Johnson thanked the Institution for the important work it has done in the area of Rail Capacity and Performance.