PR O M 0 TING EXCELLENCE

The rde of The Royal Academy of Engineering

‘The object of The Royal Academy of Engineering is the pursuit, encouragement and maintenance of excellence in the

whole field of engineering to useful purpose in order to promote the advancement of the science, art and practice of

engineering for the benefit of the public’.

by Sir W i a m Barlow, EEng.

he rather formal sounding description (given above) is laid down in a Royal T Charter granted to The Academy in

1983, and while recognising its importance, it does little to illuminate The Academy’s activities and growing influence.

Until the granting of its Royal title in 1992 The Academy had previously operated under the title of ‘The Fellowship of Engineering’. The Fellowship was founded in 1976 on the initiative of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. He had long felt that an organisation of distinguished engineers should be established mirroring The Royal Society and its work in the natural sciences. Prince Philip has held the honorary appointment of Senior Fellow since The Academy was founded.

An inaugural meeting was held at Bucking- ham Palace with 126 Chartered Engineers as the Founder Fellows. The group comprised the engineering Fellows of The Royal Society and others nominated by a range of engineering institutions as the most eminent in their professions.

Royal Charter The Fellowship was founded under the

auspices of the Council of Engineering

The Academy aims to take advantage of the enormous

wealth of engineering knowledge

possessed by Fellows

Institutions which ceased to exist following the creation of The Engineering Council. The Academy became an independent body and was granted its own Royal Charter which was revised in March 1992 to reflect the change of title to The Royal Academy of Engineering.

In the 18 years from being an ‘offspring’ of the CEI, The Academy has grown to the point where it has a turnover of some E6.5 million and a full-time staff of over 40. A range of activities has been developed across the spectrum of engineering interests. This level of growth has been achieved for one simple reason, and that is the efforts of the individual engineers who are Fellows working together to pursue our common objective.

There are just over 970 Fellows, from all engineering disciplines. Up to 60 are elected each year from nominations by the body of Fellovs, in recognition of their personal engineering achievements, which are of exceptional merit and distinction. Fellows are granted the designatory letters F.Eng. The Academy also has a small number of Honorary Fellows and Foreign Members.

The Academy aims to take advantage of the enormous wealth of engineering knowledge possessed by Fellows and their inter-

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Sir William Barlow disciplinary character provides a unique breadth of engineering experience to further all forms of engineering.

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Academy activities The Academy organises a range of activities

aimed sometimes at its own Fellows or, more often, for much broader audiences. A number of prestige lectures are held each year featuring distinguished speakers on a range of engineer- ing topics. In recent years The Academy has had growing success in attracting guests from the wider business and financial community, thus promoting understanding of the import- ance of engineering to this key group. The Academy has also joined others in sponsoring the DTI’s annual Innovation Lecture to the same ends. The Academy’s annual Soirees and Exhibitions (one held jointly with the Royal Society) play a similar r81e in providing a showcase for various practical aspects of engineering, but in a more informal and convivial setting.

From time to time The Academy runs specialist conferences and seminars looking at interdisciplinary matters and bringing together a range of experts in relevant fields. Through its

sponsorship it is also able to offer a degree of independence not otherwise possible. Most recently this area of its programme has included seminars on: engineering and sustainable development in the light of the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit; industrial research and development strategy; and safety critical systems in nuclear applications.

In addition to the events which it organises The Academy’s main spheres of activity are divided between engineering issues and engineering education matters.

The Engineering Affairs Department, not surprisingly, encompasses a wide range of activities. A significant part of the work is taken up by advising Government and other bodies on policy matters, and I deal with this more fully later.

A number of specific initiatives has been developed to examine particular interdisci- plinary issues in engineering:

A well received study on the Management of Technology in UK Manufacturing Companies is being followed up by a similar study on the training policies and practices of successful UK companies. An engineering in medicine group has been established under the banner of the UKFocus for Biomedical Engineering. Plans are underway for a major initiative in turbulence, with major industrial sponsor- ship, at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at Cambridge.

The Academy is also the administrator of Britain’s premier award for innovation in engineering, the MacRobert Award. Now in its 25th year this Award rewards those responsible for a significant engineering innovation of benefit to the community with a prize of 450000. Receiving the MacRobert Award is widely recognised in industry as a major achievement for a company, and this recognition is backed by support provided by the Department of Trade & Industry.

The Engineering Affairs Department is also responsible for a number of research and secondment programmes. On the research side The Academy currently co-sponsors with industry three personal research chairs in UK universities and ten senior research fellowships, one of which is in clean technology and which is part funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council.

Engineering secondments are supported and

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arranged to a number of countries but perhaps Awards are based on aphilosophy not of telling the most significant element is The Academy’s companies what they should do but rather operation, on behalf of DTI, of the Engineers to allowing them to come to us with their Japan Scheme (EJS). By the end of this year this proposals and to seek our backing. scheme aims to be seconding to Japanese Professional Development Awards are companies 20 engineers annually for periods of supported by the Office of Science and up to 12 months. One requirement of both the Technology while many of the other education EJS and Engineering Secondments Overseas is initiatives receive funding from Mr. David that the participants give a Sainsbury’s Gatsby Charity number of lectures on their The Academy Foundation. In all The return to help disseminate Academy’s programmes we information on their exper- recognises the seek additional support iences to the wider engineering through industrial co- community. POrtance Of sponsorship.

Educational influence The Academy is composed

of senior, experienced engin- eers and we recognise the importance of influencing the education process and the formation of new engineers. To this end, through its Education Affairs Depart- ment, The Academy has developed a range of edu- cational activities which aim to support young engineers and potential engineers in a number of ways:

influencing the Overseaslinks

education process The word ‘Academy’ often conjures up the image of a

and has developed teaching institution. Its use fbr a learned body is more often associated with other coun- tries, a number of whom also have engineering academies.

activities which aim Not surprisingly these academies from around the world have come together to provide an international forum for the discussion of engin-

potential engineers eering and technologicalissues. The Council of Academies

a range of educational

to Support young engineers and

0 The Engineering Education Scheme for first year sixth form students, which gives them a taste of practical engineering problems through working with companies, now caters. for over 1000 students each year.

*The Year in Industry provides industrial placements for over 300 students annually who wish to gain experience prior to studying engineering at university.

* A range of grant schemes provide opportunities which include support for undergraduate vacation activities, or inter- national travel to conferences, support for professional development at Masters level, or a Management Fellowship Scheme which gives major awards to Chartered Engineers wishing to study for MBAs at Europe’s top business schools.

A recent new venture for The Academy has been the establishment of Engineering Professional Development Awards. Aimed at improving industrial competitiveness, they are a means of channelling support to engineers in small and medium-sized enterprises. The

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of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS) now has 14 individual academies in membership. The Royal Academy of Engineering maintains links with all these and with others who are not in membership.

In 1992 The Academy was also instrumental in establishing a European-wide body, the European Council for Applied Science and Technology (Euro-CASE), with the objective of becoming the prime source of advice on engineering and related issues to the Parlia- ment, Commission and Council of Ministers of the EU. Euro-CASE has embarked on studies of technology diffusion and transportation and will shortly be taking on the administration of a Europe wide information technology programme.

Political influence The Academy has also broadened its

horizons to influencing the policy process through Parliament and Whitehall. It has had links with Parliament for a number of years as administrators of an all-party group, the Parliamentary Group for Engineering Development. This body seeks to inform and

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The Academy is regularly

invited to submit views

to Government departments

on a wide range of policy

proposals in engineering

fields

keep up to date members of both Houses on a range of engineering issues.

More recently The Academy has had a growing involvement with the affairs of Parliamentary Select Committees. In the past year written evidence has been provided for six inquiries and Fellows have given oral evidence on a further three occasions. The Academy’s views have also been sought on the selection of specialist advisers to a number of these Committees. We are regularly invited to submit views to Government departments on a wide range of policy proposals in engineering fields.

We have also sought to (1

maintain a higher profile in Parliamentary debates. When the opportunity arises The Academy makes direct contact with Members of Parliament encouraging them to take up specific points of concern which are relevant to the debate and to engineering.

In conjunction with The Royal Society, The British Academy and the Conference of Royal Medical Colleges, The Academy also helped to form the National Academies Policy Advisory Group (NAPAG). This body has the aim of providing impartial and expert advice to

Government and to others on a range of topics. A number of studies are currently underway.

The Academy has developed a far closer relationship with Government since the establishment of the Office of Science and Technology (OST) immediately after the last General Election. We have found the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, William Waldegrave, MP, and his officials keen to seek out our ideas and receptive to them.

The OST’s 1993 White Paper Realising our Potential was a strategy for science, engineeving and technology. In our own submission we pointed out that the three could not be embraced under the banner of ‘science’ and this seems to have caught on.

One of the key planks of this strategy has been the Technology Foresight exercisethe establishment of a range of panels tasked with identifying the areas of science and technology with the most promise of market success over the coming decade. Such an operation is not a new idea; many other countries have conducted

similar exercises, but it is new to Britain. Indeed, The Academy had already embarked on a key technologies programme before the White Paper’s publication. We felt that it was best to concentrate not on our own exercise but to offer our full support to the OST‘s efforts.

As an Academy our support is both internal and external to the process. We will shadow the work of the panels and offer assistance where possible; in addition 23 of our Fellows have been appointed to the 15 Foresight Panels, including two chairmen.

We always encourage our Fellows to have an active involvement in these top-level bodies and are proud of their achievements: five Fellows of The Academy serve on the Council for Science and Technology, and two are chairmen of Research Councils. Those readers who have noted that Sir John Cadogan, the OST’s Director General of Research Councils, is an Hon.F.Eng. should be aware that he was elected long before he was appointed to that post!

It is not only on those bodies which deal with engineering and related issues that we see The Academy’s Fellows taking an active r81.e. We now regularly receive requests to nominate suitable Fellows for positions which would not previously have been offered to engineers. This is only right as, by definition, our Fellows have been blessed with high ability and we have a duty to lead and to inspire engineers in general, young engineers in particular, and to show the public that engineers make an invaluable contribution to the quality of modern life.

Developing d e From a standing start The Academy has

come a very long way in its short life (we are, after all, over 300 years younger than The Royal Society). Our range of activities continues to broaden and while some of our programmes are small in scale it is clear that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Our rBle is still developing and will change over the years as new Fellows (and Presidents) are elected and apply their efforts. In my view, we are meeting our objectives: we are promoting excellence in many different spheres of engineering and now have the means to continue doing so for the benefit of our nation.

0 IEE: 1994 Sir William Barlow, EEng., has been President of The Royal Academy of Engineering since 1991. He is an Honorary Fellow of the IEE. The Royal Academy of Engineering may be contacted at 29 Great Peter Street, Westminster, London SWlP 3LW, UK, Tel: 071-222 2688.

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