This prestigious event is a fantastic academic enrichment opportunity for Physics students.
They meet with figures from business, education and other organisations and institutions involved in engineering, with a particular emphasis on young engineers. Over lunch, students have the chance to speak with other students, as well as professionals who work in the sector and come away informed, enlightened and inspired. Read about Emily’s (L6) experience.
‘I and three other St Helen’s students were given the incredible opportunity to visit the House of Lords to hear three speakers on the topic of “Engineering for Net Zero”.
‘After an hour’s train ride (and a little bit of London sightseeing) we were packed into the Cholmondeley (pronounced ‘Chumly’!) room for a drinks reception and then led into the dining room where the talks were taking place. The food was fantastic (though several of us were perplexed by the multiple forks, knives and glasses) and the talks were fascinating.
‘The first talk, by Professor Paul Shearing, Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering at the University of Oxford, focused on the importance of why we strive for sustainability, as well as new methods of renewable energy. He had an eccentric interest in batteries and electric cars. Professor Paul had an obvious zest for his line of work, maintaining enthusiasm throughout every sentence of his talk, it was an excellent choice to pick him to speak in front of a room of aspiring scientists as he demonstrates that it is vitally important to never lose your sense of wonder when going into research and discovery.
‘Our second talk was from Dr Kristen MacAskill, Associate Professor in Engineering, Environment and Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge, who had a focus on integrating sustainability and nature alongside our current infrastructure, and the challenges that follow in it. Dr Kristen’s perspective is one we tend to overlook far too much in today’s society, and perhaps following it would solve a myriad of problems we didn’t even know we had, her presence at the talks was incredibly encouraging, as a woman in a very male-dominated industry is vital for representation.
‘The third talk was from the senior Vice president of COWI UK, Professor Andy Sloan, who spoke of the infrastructure COWI was using to reduce their environmental impact. Seeing active efforts on the part of the companies to increase sustainability was incredibly comforting, as many people of my generation seem to be under the impression that the responsibility of preventing climate change is being completely neglected by the corporations largely responsible for it, this talk was a good reassurance that this is not always the case.
