INVITATION ONLY
The Royal Academy of Engineering invites members of the Policy Fellowships alumni community to its annual Alumni Dinner and reception. This event brings together Policy Fellows, engineers, and leaders from across the Academy’s networks for an evening of conversation, connection, and reflection.
This year, the dinner will explore the alumni community as a collective force. Through discussion and exchange, we will consider what a connected engineering and policy community can achieve together, beyond individual roles, and the different ways alumni can contribute to shaping conversations, practice, and collaboration across government and public service.
The evening will also celebrate the achievements of the past year, officially welcome the 2025 cohorts into the alumni community, and offer the opportunity to reconnect with peers and strengthen relationships across our growing network of Policy Fellows, engineering leaders, Academy staff, and guests.
It will be a unique opportunity to strengthen the collective impact of the alumni community, bringing together engineering and policy expertise to shape conversations, collaboration, and practice across government and public service.
Programme
| 6.00pm | Registration and refreshments served |
| 6.45pm | Welcome address |
| 6.50pm | Keynote speech |
| 7.00pm | Dinner |
| 8.10pm | Alumni commencement |
| 8.20pm | Rounding up discussions |
| 8.40pm | Closing remarks |
| 8.45pm | Networking reception and alumni group photo |
| 10.00pm | Close of event |
*Programme subject to change
Photography/filming notice
Please note that photography/filming may take place during this event. All photographs and videos will be securely stored on the Academy’s servers and used for editorial, marketing and media use by the Academy and selected press or industry media. Please let us know if you do not agree to this processing. Please refer to our General Privacy Policy for more details.
Venue and 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 Ajo Kacmar more than one week in advance of this event so that necessary arrangements can be made.
Further information about accessibility at Prince Philip House can be found at: https://raeng.org.uk/about-us/accessibility.
Diversity monitoring form
The Academy is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and one of our goals is to develop an engineering community fit for the future. 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’.
Jo Shanmugalingam
Jo Shanmugalingam became Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport (DfT) on 1 July 2025 after being Second Permanent Secretary at DfT since 30 May 2023.
Jo was previously Director General for Science, Innovation and Growth at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) from its creation in February 2023, having originally been appointed in July 2019 as Director General, Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Before joining BEIS, Jo was Director of Corporate Effectiveness at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Strategy Director at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of a jobshare with Susannah Storey.
Jo started her career at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). She spent 6 years at the Shareholder Executive (now UKGI), where she was responsible for taking the legislation to privatise Royal Mail through Parliament and for the government’s shareholder interests in businesses, including Post Office Ltd and Ordnance Survey.
Dr Steve Denton FREng
Steve Denton is WSP’s Head of Civil Engineering in UK, leading a unit of over 750 staff. His expertise and experience span engineering and strategic consultancy, research and construction.
In addition to business and project leadership responsibilities, Steve retains a high degree of technical involvement in complex projects.Steve is an internationally recognised expert in bridge engineering and a global leader in the development and implementation of design standards.
He is the Chair of CEN/TC 250, the international committee with overall responsibility for the Structural Eurocodes. In this role, he has led the development of the second generation of the Eurocodes for over a decade. Steve is Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Institution of Structural Engineers. He is also a visiting Professor at the University of Bath, a trustee of Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust and a Non-exec Director of CIRIA.
About the Policy Fellowships programme
As the UK’s national academy for engineering and technology, the Royal Academy of Engineering brings together the most talented and successful engineers, finest systems thinkers and outstanding talent in engineering and technology for the benefit of society. The Policy Fellowships inspires policymakers to think differently and to use engineering and systems thinking to frame complex and wicked problems, and design resilient solutions. The programme has developed a unique network of policymakers, engineers and other experts who are working together to develop fresh insights and approaches to economic, social and technical problems.
Dress code
Business attire
Networking
Registration will open from 6pm for networking,