The Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC), the representative body of engineering academics in UK universities, has announced that its biennial President’s Prize has been awarded to Prof John Perkins CBE FREng for his outstanding contribution to engineering education.
Media release
DATE: 00:01 Wednesday 10th June 2020
For more information: Johnny Rich 078 1111 4292, j.rich@epc.ac.uk
The Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC), the representative body of engineering academics in UK universities, has announced that its biennial President’s Prize has been awarded to Prof John Perkins CBE FREng for his outstanding contribution to engineering education.
Professor Perkins’ illustrious career includes roles at Imperial College London, the University of Manchester and the University of Sydney as well as serving as Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
From 2012 to 2015, Professor Perkins was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for Business Innovation & Skills and was commissioned by the Government to author a landmark report into engineering skills, known as the Perkins Review, which was published in 2013.
The continuing impact of the Perkins Review was confirmed by the 2019 report, Engineering Skills for the Future: The Perkins Review Revisited, which Professor Perkins produced for the Royal Academy of Engineering, including contributions from the EPC.
The EPC has also worked closely with Professor Perkins in recent years when he acted as the inaugural chair of ‘New Approaches to Engineering Higher Education’. This joint initiative with the Institution of Engineering & Technology has had a wide and lasting influence on innovation in the teaching of engineering in universities in the UK and beyond.
The announcement of the President’s Prize was made by the EPC President, Professor Colin Turner, who is also Interim Dean of Learning Enhancement at Ulster University, at a live webcast last Friday (5th June) during which Professor Perkins gave an address on ‘Engineering Skills for the Future’.
In the address to mark the award, Professor Perkins, said: “I can’t begin to say how touched I am to receive this award, particularly as it decided upon by my engineering professorial peers.”
Previous recipients of the President’s Award in recent years include Dame Anne Dowling (2018), Sir William Wakeham (2016), Sir John Parker (2014), Prof Julia King (2012) and Lord Alec Broers (2010).
EPC President, Professor Colin Turner, commented:
“There was no doubt about who should receive this year’s President’s Prize. No one has done more in the past decade to further the learning experience and skills development of tomorrow’s engineers than John Perkins. He has achieved change for students, for academics and for employers that will help our wider society to become more sustainable and prosperous for many generations to come. I am very proud to have the honour of awarding this prize to an engineer who has been a most deserving friend, mentor and role model to so many colleagues.”
A presentation ceremony and celebration is planned to take place in the coming months when public health control allow.
