Past Symposia
Perspectives on Development
The first Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place from 21-23 November 2016 at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus conference centre, Hinxton, UK. The themes were resilient development and low carbon development.
Clean and sustainable development
The second RAEng Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 13-15 February 2017. The three themes clean water, clean energy and economic sustainability.
Sustainable Global Wellbeing
The third Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place at the Oxford Union, Oxford University from 18-20 September 2017.
Agriculture, data and knowledge economy
The fourth Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place from Monday 4 December to Wednesday 6 December 2017, in Pretoria, South Africa. The fourth Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place from Monday 4 December to Wednesday 6 December 2017, in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Circular Economy
London Circular Economy ReportThe fifth Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place at the Academy's home, Prince Philip House, in early May 2018. The theme was The Circular Economy explored through sub-themes of Designing for Circularity, Learning from Natural Systems, and Dematerialisation.
Engineers as Healthcare Practitioners
The sixth Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from 31 October - 2 November 2018. This event is in partnership with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) Vietnam.
Wellbeing in the context of mass displacement
The inaugural Frontiers of Development Symposium took place from Monday 12 February - Wednesday 14 February 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, bringing together approximately 70 researchers and practitioners across a variety of disciplines from the UK and around the globe.
Coastal communities in a 3°C world
The second event in the Frontiers of Development series took place from Sunday 15 July - Wednesday 18 July 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and centred on climate change, a 3°C rise in global temperatures and the threats this poses to oceans, water resources and coasts.
WASHing away inequality
The seventh Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place in Mexico City, Mexico from 29 -31 May 2019. This event was organised in partnership with Fomento Mexicano and was the first symposium under the overarching theme 'From Recovery to Resilience'.
The first 2000 days of life
The third event in the Frontiers of Development series took place from Sunday 10 March to Wednesday 13 March 2019 at the Wellcome Genome Campus, outside Cambridge. This was the final event in the Inclusivity and Wellbeing series.
The urban opportunity for building a resilience
The fourth Frontiers of Development symposium was held in partnership with Heriot-Watt University and took place from Tuesday 23 July to Friday 26 July 2019 at the university's Malaysia campus in Putrajaya. This was the first event in the Building Resilience series.
From Feeding people to Nourishing people
The eighth Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium took place in Madagascar from 27-29 November, with participants arriving for the evening of 26 November for a welcome dinner and networking event. This event was organised in partnership with Welthungerhilfe (WHH) Madagascar and was the second symposium under the overarching theme 'From Recovery to Resilience'.
Disaster resilience
This Frontiers of Development symposium took place in Istanbul, Turkey from 2-4 March 2020 on the theme of Disaster Resilience.
Engineering inclusive cities
This Frontiers of Development symposium took place in Istanbul, Turkey from 2-4 March 2020 on the theme of Disaster Resilience.
Resilient resource use
Between 2 and 12 November, the Academy held its sixth Frontiers of Development symposium on the over-arching theme of Resilient Resource Use, organised in partnership with the British Academy, the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Smart communties
The tenth Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering for Development symposium was conducted remotely on a bespoke virtual platform in February 2021 on the theme of 'Smart Communities'.
From seeds to needs - regenerating ecosystems services to halt the biodiversity crisis
This symposium scoped out the challenges that would most benefit from engineering solutions, as part of interdisciplinary collaborations, exploring within the context of the different ecosystems: Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial.
What is next for engineering and the global challenges?
This symposium was the first Frontiers event to be held in a hybrid format, and was open to previous participants, awardees and collaborators of the Frontiers programmes. The symposium celebrated World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development 2022, and explored the question of what is next for engineering and the global challenges?
Engineering inclusive econonmies
Frontiers symposium: Engineering Inclusive Economies took place in Ethiopia from 12-14 October 2022 to look at how to halt that gap, with themes including economic infrastructure and services in LMICs, technology to support inclusive job markets with sustainable and diverse incomes, and tools that support economic inclusion for underrepresented groups, such as young people and women.
Digital Tools for Reversing Environmental Degradation
This virtual Frontiers symposium took place from 9 to 19 January 2023. It explored the next step and identified practical interventions that use digital tools to prevent and reverse environmental degradation in Asia and Africa.
Digital Futures: Infrastructure for Equity, Inclusivity, Sustainability
This symposium explored the use of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to advance social equity, economic growth, and environmental sustainability, while ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for all citizens as well as emphasising the importance of building digital infrastructure that is green, inclusive, secure, and resilient and promoting collaboration and innovation across different sectors and stakeholders.