COMMUNICATIONS BRIEFING: 3 to 9 March 2018

In National Apprenticeship Week, the Institution received coverage in the trade and local press for comments from Stephen Tetlow and Peter Finegold who responded to EngineeringUK’s report about the state of engineering. The Institution was also a signatory of a letter to the Government calling for it to rethink its cap on skilled workers’ visas and launched its Smart Cities report, which was picked up by the trade press. There was also regional coverage of an Engineering Heritage Award for the undercarriage aircraft wheel designed and built by Sir George Dowty. The Institution also received coverage in The Times and The Daily Telegraph as The Princess Royal attended an event held at One Birdcage Walk

Institution in the News

• 09/03/2018 South East's engineering sector crying out for new recruits – Andover Advertiser

  Story about EngineeringUK’s The State of Engineering report which features quotes from Peter Finegold and Stephen Tetlow calling on the Government to work with the sector to examine how it might change the narrative around engineering in schools and wider society, so that it can attract and retain the brightest and the best talent. Also featured in New Electronics, Process and Control, the Southern Daily Echo, the Romsey Advertiser and the Hampshire Chronicle.

• 08/03/2018 Sci-tech wants skilled worker cap on PhD and shortage jobs scrapped – The Register

  News that forty industry bodies, including the Institution, have called on the UK Government to rethink its cap on skilled workers' visas.

• 09/03/2018 IME wants networks to improve digital infrastructure – Network

  News that the UK needs to increase the resilience and reliability of its electricity networks to support the country’s increasingly digitalised infrastructure and protect it against cyber threats. Also featured in Energy Live News.

• 08/03/2018 Heritage honour for Dowty aircraft wheel – The Goucstershire Echo (print only)    

  An announcement that the undercarriage aircraft wheel designed and built by Sir George Dowty in the 1930s was presented with an Engineering Heritage Award.

• 09/03/2018 Court Circular – The Times

  News that the Princess Royal attended an event being held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Also featured in The Daily Telegraph (print only).

• 09/03/2018 Smart homes to save elderly care costs – Modern Building Services

  Continued coverage of the Institution’s report which highlights that smart technology will play a crucial role in helping the elderly remain in their own homes – reducing pressure on NHS resources.

• 06/03/2018 Captain’s blog – Bath team leader on defending IMechE drone crown – The Engineer

  Continued coverage of the Institution’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS challenge) which last year saw the drone team from the University of Bath take top prize. Also featured in Environment Guru.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

• The Institution hosted a Breakfast Briefing to discuss the Institution’s Smart Cities report and its findings. The briefing was attended by Stephen Metcalfe MP, Government Envoy for the Year of Engineering, Centre for Cities and Fawley Waterside, a development in Hampshire.
• Dr Jenifer Baxter attended the Euratom Industry Forum, a Government-led key stakeholder event attended by Richard Harrington MP and the Directors of the Exiting Euratom Team. The Government outlined that it is making good progress in delivering new a new Safeguards Office and new nuclear co-operation agreements. The issues of an EU single market and movement of people, which are being negotiated as part of the wider Brexit talks, were also raised.
• Chi Onwurah MP, Shadow Minister for Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation contacted Peter Finegold to discuss asking Parliamentary Questions. Chi Onwurah was interested in posing questions which focused on the steps the Government is taking to address the mainstream school experience of engineering for all pupils and whether the Government would convene a UK-wide expert group to explore imaginative ways of embedding engineering in mainstream school education.
• Peter Finegold also was a keynote speaker at a Promoting STEM in Schools Summit, where he discussed the culture of engineering in schools and worrying findings that Year 9 girls and 75% of Year 9 boys knew little or nothing about the subject