EPC former President Helen Atkinson meets Will.I.Am

September 15/16 2015

photo 1The Chinese Academy of Engineering recently hosted a major international summit on Global Grand Challenges, a series inspired by the  NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering , 14 ambitious goals that are believed to be both achievable and necessary to help people and the planet survive.

There was a range of high profile speakers including Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, Jack Ma; EPC’s former President and Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Standing Committee for Education and Training, Professor Helen Atkinson; Princeton University sustainability expert, Professor Robert Socolow and Charles Holliday, Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell.

The Education segment of the event explored improved methods of teaching, including ways of tailoring learning to individual propensities and abilities on a mass scale.  Helen’s talk “The Beginnings of Wisdom…” outlined the challenges in engineering education.

Will.I.Am  – seen here with Helen – was another of the event’s high profile speakers.  In 2014, as part of a commitment to help inspire a generation of engineers, Will donated £500,000 into the Prince’s Trust to help disadvantaged young people join the digital revolution.  In an interview with the Metro, Will commented:

“Nowadays, the music industry isn’t healthy.  If you want to do music because you love music then that’s awesome but if you want to do music to survive and get out the ghetto then I have a better thing for you to do – consumer electronics.  Be a technician, be an engineer, be a mathematician. The world needs more engineers. It’s very important that kids be brought up to speed on where the world is going.”

 

 

 

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Related articles

Spotlight on ethics: Microplastics in cosmetics

You're an engineering student on an industrial placement year at a company that manufactures cosmetics. You notice that a batch...

Toolkits
Ya He receives Hammermen David K Harrison Award from Prof John Mitchell, EPC President

Hammermen David K. Harrison Award – Congratulations to winner Ya He

The Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC), the representative body for engineering academics in UK universities, has announced the winner of the...

News

Spotlight on ethics: How to integrate ethics into a module or course

If you’d like to improve your own ethics learning, then our guidance article How to integrate ethics into a module...

Toolkits

Why should you get involved with our Complex Systems Toolkit?

The Working Group Co-Chairs discuss why this is a vital resource and why you should get involved.

Toolkits
Let us know what you think of our website