PUBLIC EVENT
This event is free of charge, but registration is required. This event will be broadcast live on LinkedIn and a LinkedIn account is required to register and participate in the live event Q&A.
If you have any questions, please contact Beth Hagen, Events Coordinator, Royal Academy of Engineering at [email protected].
This Critical Conversation, chaired by Academy CEO Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, will examine how systems approaches can improve capacity building in skills and education. Case studies will illustrate successful applications in aligning workforce development with industry needs, drawing on findings from the GECR2 and Engineers for Africa report.
Our expert panellists include Cassandra Pagan, Principal Analyst, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Dr Julius Butime, Dean and Senior Lecturer, Strathmore University and Dr Rhys Morgan, Director of Education, Royal Academy of Engineering.
The discussion will focus on aligning education and training with workforce demands, as well as fostering collaboration between educators, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. The conversation will highlight examples of scalable and sustainable capacity-building programmes, which can serve as models for future initiatives.
The audience can pose questions to the panel during the live event via the comments section on LinkedIn. You can find further information about this mini series in the More details tab.
Critical Conversations
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.
Catch up on all previous Critical Conversations here.
Recording notice
Please note this event will be recorded and published on the Royal Academy of Engineering website. Your video will be off and your account will be muted throughout the entire event. Only the speakers and presentations will be visible on your screen.
Accessibility
It is very important to the Royal Academy of Engineering that our events are accessible to all. If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact the Events team at your earliest convenience so that necessary arrangements can be made. Contact details: [email protected].
Diversity monitoring form
The Academy is committed to building an inclusive economy that works for everyone. To help us achieve this, we would like to collect some basic anonymous data about the event attendees. If you would like to help, please complete the diversity monitoring form by logging into your user account on our website and completing ‘Update my D&I data’
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.
Cassandra Pagan
Cassandra is a senior principal analyst for the Models and Scenarios team and S&P Global Market Intelligence specializing in custom index models. Prior to working at S&P, she served as the data technical expert for the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars Middle East Women’s Leadership Initiative, the Latin America Program, Brazil Program, and the Mexico Program. She also led the development of the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative Index at the Wilson Center in partnership with UNDP. She also served the consulting data scientist for EDGE Strategy, the leading global assessment in gender equality for business, and Body of Knowledge consultant for the Center for International Private Enterprise. She additionally served as research lead for Digital Inclusion at the Institute for Business in the Global Context developing data toolkits including the Digital Evolution Index in collaboration with MasterCard's Global Risks Division. In addition to her experience in research, she has worked in women's leadership and at School of Leadership-Afghanistan in Kabul preparing teachers in STEM subjects, served as AmeriCorps Program Director for the Boston Teacher Residency and served as an AmeriCorps volunteer with Tahoe SAFE Alliance. She holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts and a degree in International Political Economy from the Colorado College.
Dr Julius Butime
Dr Butime is an Electrical Engineer with over 16 years’ experience in Engineering Education focusing on areas such as Spectrum Management, Computer Vision, Wireless Communication, and Curriculum Development. Dr Julius has Engaged in research in Engineering training, Data Protection policy development, Renewable Energy business incubation and Implementation of the SDGs in engineering practice. Dr Julius is interested in fostering partnerships across the public, private and NCO sectors in international Engineering practice and training.
Dr Rhys Morgan
Dr Rhys Morgan is the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Director for Education and Skills and is regarded as one of the UK’s leading experts on engineering and technology education. He is responsible for the Academy’s policy and programme work in STEM education - from elementary schools through to skills in the workforce. His portfolio of work includes analysis of the UK engineering and technology skills base and the capacity and capability of the UK education system to deliver the workforce of the future. Rhys advises various UK government skills taskforces including nuclear, quantum, semiconductor, 6G telecoms and future transport. He has led major projects including Formula 1 Champion Lewis Hamilton’s Commission into improving the representation of Black people in motorsport and the Formula 1 Diversity and Inclusion charter which was published last year. Rhys is a materials engineer by background, and developed one of the first metal 3D printers in 1996.
Conquering complexity through systems approaches
This three-part series will explore systems approaches to complex challenges, focusing on understanding systems, enhancing capacity building, and improving governance structures. Through these sessions, the audience will gain a better understanding of systems approaches and the long-term benefits of investing in them to tackle complex challenges.
- The first event will break down what complex challenges are and start showing how an engineering mindset- systems approaches- can benefit us when tackling them.
- The second event will apply a systems approach to capacity building, drawing on case studies from the Global Engineering Capability Review 2 and Engineers for Africa report.
- The third event will look at governance of complex systems, discussing what effective governance of complex systems looks like, and using the offshore wind sector as an example.