Applications for 2014 Industrial Fellowships invited

What does the Great Exhibition of 1851 have to do with studying for an engineering doctorate in 2014?

Well, applications for 2014 Industrial Fellowships from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 are now being invited (see AEngD news). The Fellowships are worth up to £80,000 over three years, and the most recent cohort of successful candidates included three EngD candidates.

A 2012 Fellow, Maria Felice, will be at the AEngD conference in London on 26 November as one of the shortlisted finalists in the AEngD Engineering Research Writer of the Year competition (post).

Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 was established in 1850 by Queen Victoria to organise the Great Exhibition. Prince Albert was appointed President and took personal charge of the whole complex operation.

The Exhibition was an enormous success and made a substantial profit. The Commission, about to be dissolved, was enjoined by Royal Charter to remain constituted and to administer the profits for charitable purposes. The Charter charged the Commission with 'increasing the means of industrial education and extending the influence of science and art upon productive industry'.

To this end the Commission purchased 86 acres of land in South Kensington and established the unique cultural site of three great museums, the Royal Albert Hall and what have become renowned institutions of learning, including Imperial College and the Royal Colleges of Art and Music. It continues to own the freehold of, and manage, much of this estate.

When this huge undertaking was largely complete, there remained sufficient funds for the Royal Commission to set up, in 1891, an educational trust to perpetuate its aims. In spite of generous funding of many worthy enterprises right from the outset, these slender resources have been carefully husbanded over the years. Today, with capital assets of over £60m, annual charitable disbursement approaches £2m.

Giving fellowships and grants to pure research in science and engineering, applied research in industry, industrial design and other projects, the Commission supports the development of science and technology, and its profitable exploitation by British Industry. The first Industrial Fellowships were awarded in 1990

First, PubhD... What about InngD - pub talks on engineering research?

Thanks to a tweet from Professor Trevor Drage, "soon to be former Professor at University of Nottingham, in clean fossil energy and carbon capture... Relocating to Wellington NZ" (that's what his Twitter profile says), we have learned of the "PubhD".

From the PubhD blog, it involves explaining the subject matter of a doctoral research project in language intelligible to a layperson, and takes place, naturally enough, in a pub. It envisages:

"A monthly event at which 3 or 4 local PhD student speakers, from any discipline from Art History to Quantum Mechanics, explain their work to an audience of laypeople.
The talks would be about 10 minutes long and would be followed by up to 20 minutes of (friendly!) Q&A.
The “friendly” aspect is important. This isn’t about bringing PhD students into a “lion’s den” to be grilled about their studies. The audience, we hope, will be genuinely interested in hearing about a wide variety of academic areas."

PhD students would get a pint (seems fair!) plus some public speaking and public engagement practice, while the audience would have something interesting to listen to. The first event is provisionally schedule to take place in Nottingham (home of the Efficient Fossil Energy Technologies industrial doctorate centre) on 22 January 2014.

We like this idea, but think it needs to extend to Engineering Doctorates (EngDs), so would like to propose that our friends in Nottingham also allow some "InngD" talks by EngD research engineers.

It might also be something that could be taken up by other universities and/or industrial doctorate centre as part of their public outreach and STEM engagement work.

Improving public understanding of STEM subjects through communication

It's not just the AEngD which is focused on the need to improve public understanding of STEM subjects through communication (through, for example, our Engineering Research Writer of the Year competition, and local initiatives by industrial doctorate centres such as the Systems Centre).

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) recently announced that the 2013 winner of the CIPR President’s Medal will be decided by CIPR member nominations for an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the public understanding of science through effective communication.

This initiative, led by current CIPR President Sue Wolstenholme, intends to highlight the contribution of a non-professional communicator in the fields of medicine, mathematics, technology and engineering. If you would like to suggest a nomination, it may be worth seeking out a CIPR member (many university PR departments and in-house communications team include CIPR members), but do it soon; the deadline is 22 November.

The future of the EngD

The annual conference of the Association of Engineering Doctorates, to be held in London on 26 November, will debate the future of the EngD qualification in light of new research into EngD impacts and recent changes in EPSRC funding (AEngD news).

New AEngD/EPSRC-funded research from Manchester Business School looking at the impact of the EngD qualification (see previous post) will be presented by Dr Fumi Kitagawa at the AEngD conference at the Building Centre.

The event will also consider the Engineering Council's view of the route from EngD to Chartered Engineer status (recent post), and recent changes to the EPSRC funding affecting various industrial doctorate centres. Details of the full impact are currently sketchy; most if not all affected centres have been informed, but an official announcement is expected from EPSRC later this month - just before the AEngD conference.

The conference also aims to stimulate discussion among current and recent EngD research engineers about what the AEngD could do to support them during their four-year research terms. If you are a current RE, this is your chance to influence and get involved with the future activities of the AEngD.

Lastly, but by no means least, finalists in the AEngD Engineering Research Writer of the Year competition (shortlist post) will also present their papers at the conference - which, with the Manchester Business School research impacts presentation, makes it ideal for existing and potential industry sponsors to learn about EngD research benefits and outcomes.

Book your place at the AEngD 2013 conference here (opens in new window).

DesigningBuildings / Development Securities ideas competition: £500 prize

DesigningBuildings (an expert wiki devoted to the built environment - and so relevant to a good number of EngD research centres, though admittedly some more than others) is running an ideas competition, in conjunction with Development Securities focused on the question: How do we keep investors interested in UK property?

It's different to our recent Engineering Research Writer of the Year award (finalists to present in London on 26 November - book your seat now) which looked for 800 word essays. Instead, short and fresh ideas are welcomed, and there is a £500 prize for innovative ideas.

Julian Barwick, Director, Development Securities says:

“We need to harness the creative thinking of practitioners if the UK is to succeed in the global market. This competition is about harvesting good ideas and a bit of crystal ball gazing. We are looking for free and lateral thought, particularly from those with a fresh view.”

Sounds like a good place for EngD researchers and alumni to show their originality....