Engineering Professors’ Council Annual Congress 2015

 

The Engineering Professors' Council Annual Congress 2015 took place at the University of Salford's MediaCity Campus on 14/15 April 2015 with the theme: Skills for Impact.

The Distinguished Guest Lecture: The reality and perception of Engineering was delivered by Professor Dame Ann Dowling and this was followed by the Congress Dinner in the Imperial War Museum North. Professor Trevor Cox of our host institution, the University of Salford, delivered an entertaining and interesting after-dinner speech on acoustics.

The 2015 prize for the best student essay and video on the subject of Can engineers make a contribution to society? (sponsored by the Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow) was presented to first year MEng student Tim Butterfield of the University of Sheffield and the runner-up prize to PhD candidate Adrian Mallory of the University of Edinburgh.

You may view our finalists essays and videos via the ”20th Anniversary Awards / The EPC and Hammermen Student Prize 2015” tab.

You may download the presentation slides from each session via the ”Presentations and recordings” tab.

Please see the detailed schedule for this event, below.

Tuesday 14th April

Wednesday 15th April

A Mechanical Engineer by training, Dr Ruth Graham specialised in aeronautical fatigue, working with BAE SYSTEMS for a number of years. In 2002 she moved to Imperial College London and later became Director of the EnVision project, which sought to transform the undergraduate education across the universtity’s Faculty of Engineering.

Ruth has worked as an independent consultant since 2008. Her work is focused on fostering change in higher education across the world, helping to improve teaching and learning worldwide. Ruth’s recent projects have included:

•a global initiative to improve the reward and recognition of teaching in higher education that is now supporting reform to academic career pathways at over 50 universities worldwide (www.advancingteaching.com);

•a global study on the lessons learnt from the current period of ‘emergency teaching’ resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and how this might impact the trajectory of engineering education in the future (www.ceeda.org);

•a cross-institutional and multi-year survey to capture and track the culture and status of teaching amongst faculty, in which 21 universities from 10 countries are participating (www.teachingcultures.com).

Further details can be found on Ruth’s website – www.rhgraham.org – which provides an outline of recent projects as well as copies of her published reports.

Professor Perkins is the Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills; he took up this appointment in January 2012. Prior to this he was Provost at the MASDAR Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi (2009-10), leading the development of this new institution.

Professor Perkins’ distinguished academic career includes service as Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, The University of Manchester (2004-9); Principal, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London (2001-4) and ICI Australia Professor of Process Systems Engineering, University of Sydney (1985-88), as well as a period at the beginning of his academic career at the University of Cambridge (1973-7).

He has served as President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (2000-1) and as Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2007-10). Professor Perkins is currently an Honorary Professor at Manchester University, Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and a member of the EPSRC Council. He published his Review of Engineering Skills in November 2013.

I am Associate Dean for Research and Enterprise in the Faculty of Environment and Technology at UWE Bristol. A mathematician by training I have spent nearly 30 years in the university environment at a range of different universities in the UK and overseas (Nottingham, Oxford Brookes, Auckland, Bristol and now UWE Bristol). This has included teaching, research and consultancy and, for the last 15 years, management. As Head of Department for Engineering Design and Maths at UWE Bristol for 8 years I developed a very strong interest in engineering education and how we can prepare our engineering undergraduates better for the world of work. I also have a strong interest in increasing diversity in those studying and working in STEM subjects. Externally, I was a member of the EPC Task and Finish group responding to Prof John Perkins’ Review of Engineering Skills in 2013-14 and am a current member of the EPC Committee on Engineering Education, Employability and Skills (EEES). I am also Vice President of the London Mathematical Society and am on the Council of the Institute of Maths and its Applications.

Prof Stephanie Haywood CEng, FIET, FIoP is Emeritus Professor of Optoelectronic Engineering at the University of Hull and Honorary Treasurer of EPC. From 2010-2015, she was Director of the Centre for Adaptive Science and Sustainability (CASS), an industry-focussed research centre, with a broad remit, working on renewable energy and low carbon projects including offshore wind and energy from waste. In this role, she worked with the Spencer Group through a Royal Academy of Engineering secondment, to develop links between industry and academia in both research and teaching.

Prior to the role with CASS, Stephanie was Head of Engineering and Deputy Dean for Research in the Faculty of Science & Engineering at Hull and served on the board of HETA (Humberside Engineering Training Association), which trains apprentices for major companies. Stephanie’s own research expertise is in the physics and design of optical detectors, modulators and solar cells particularly in the mid IR.

She has experience of working in a broad range of academic institutions in the UK and Europe (including UCL, University of Oxford, Middlesex University, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and IMEC, Belgium). She has also worked in industry for Lucas Advanced Engineering (now TRW). Stephanie was a member of the REF2014 Sub Panel UoA 15 for General Engineering. A former Chair of PHEE for several years, she was EPC President from 2015-2017.

University of Sheffield

The EPC and Hammermen Student Prize (Winner)

The EPC and Hammermen Student Prize (Runner up)

Email
Royal Academy of Engineering / University of Cambridge

Website
University of Salford

Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF): Engineering Skills in the UK

UCAS

University of Liverpool

Aston University  

Intellectual Property Office

Aston University

UWE

Primary Engineer

Thales UK

University of Salford
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20th Anniversary Awards / The EPC and Hammermen Student Prize 2015

The Engineering Professors’ Council is delighted to announce that the 2015 prize of £1,000 for the best student essay and video on the subject of “Can engineers make a beneficial contribution to society?” (sponsored by the Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow) was presented to first year MEng student Tim Butterfield of the University of Sheffield and the runner-up prize (of £500) to PhD candidate Adrian Mallory of the University of Edinburgh during its annual Congress at the University of Salford on 14th April.

Expand the sections below to view the winning essays and videos.

First prize winner: Tim Butterfield

Connect, Supply, Protect

Tim impressed the assembled delegates at Congress with his presentation outlining the themes of his essay: “Connect, Supply, Protect” – you can read the essay for yourself here, his presentation slides are available via the ‘Presentations and recordings’ tab and the video is available to view, below.

 

Runner-up: Adrian Mallory

Can Engineers Make A Beneficial Contribution to Society

Adrian’s essay focused on the role of engineers in achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and in particular, ensuring environmental sustainability and halving the number of people without access to water and sanitation. Click here to read his submission. You may view Adrian’s video, below.

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