PUBLIC EVENT
This event has passed, the recording is available below.
If you have any questions, please contact Beth Hagen, Events Coordinator, Royal Academy of Engineering at [email protected].
Much of the built environment is designed and built by engineers, and there is an ever-present need for a supply of engineers equipped with high levels of technical and social skills. At the same time, the rapid advances in science and technology mean that the skills and knowledge required by engineers is constantly changing.
This Critical Conversation, chaired by Academy CEO, Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, saw expert panellists discuss issues around globally recognised standards for engineering programmes, the quality of engineering education keeping pace with advances in technology and industry needs, and the need for investment, including in ongoing training and skills building.
We welcomed Dr Tim Slingsby, Lloyd's Register Foundation, Rosa Wells, UCB and Engineering Council, and Dr Dorothy Okello, Makerere University are our specialist panel for this event.
Critical Conversations series
Bringing together the thoughts of leading experts from across the Academy’s networks, our Critical Conversations explore issues of relevance to global professional engineering community and wider society. Fellows, awardees, and engineering partners gather to tackle topical issues of relevance to the global professional engineering community and wider society.
You will be able to pose your questions to the panel during the live event via the comments section on LinkedIn.
Catch up on all previous Critical Conversations here.
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Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE
Hayaatun is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. She co-chairs with the Science Minister the government’s Business Innovation Forum and co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on improving Black representation in motorsport. She is a trustee of various charities, member of the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council and Digital Skills Council and NXD at construction company Laing O’Rourke. She has been named as one of the ‘Inspiring 50’ women in tech in Europe and one of the most influential women in both UK engineering and UK tech. She has a Masters in Biochemistry (MBiochem) from Oxford and a PhD from Cancer Research UK/UCL. She is a Fellow of the IET, Honorary Professor at UCL and Honorary Fellow at The Queen’s College, Oxford. She has received honorary doctorates from UCL, Imperial College London, Newcastle, Brunel, Huddersfield and Southampton, as well as a Science Suffrage Award and the Engineering Professor’s Council President’s Medal. She was a finalist for the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award and was made a CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019. Prior to her current roles, she was Deputy CEO at the Academy and served as Committee Specialist and later Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee.
Dr Tim Slingsby
Dr Tim Slingsby is Director of Skills and Education at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, an independent global charity that supports research, innovation, and education to make the world a safer place. As part of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation leadership team, Tim provides expertise, strategic and operational leadership and is responsible for building and leading a substantial and diverse portfolio international programmes and activities to maximise impact in line with the Foundation’s charitable mission. Tim previously worked at the British Council, applying in-depth knowledge of the UK’s STEM education landscape to international collaborations. He has also been a researcher in industry and academia following his PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Leicester. He is also serving as the Chair of the Maritime Charities Group.
Dr Dorothy Okello
Dorothy is Dean, School of Engineering, and Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University. Within the department, she is a Researcher with netLabs!UG, a research centre whose model is to strive for a balanced critical mass of research, innovation and commercialisation in communications and networking. She is also Director of Innovation at ResilientAfrica Network (RAN), Makerere University School of Public Health. Supported by USAID, RAN seeks to identify and scale innovative solutions that will strengthen the resilience of African communities. Dorothy is a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (FUNAS).
Rosa Wells
A former Aerospace Manufacturing Engineer, Rosa is now the FE Principal & Dean for STEM at University College Birmingham and a Board Director for Greater Birmingham & Solihull Institute of Technology. Rosa has been appointed Vice-Chair, National Network of Institutes of Technology and Deputy Chair, Education and Skills Advisory Panel for the Engineering Council. Rosa was awarded a Technical Teaching Fellowship by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 which recognises high impact teaching practice and the delivery of effective outcomes for learners.