November 2021

News 0 8 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk November 2021 in 2009, igniting a passion for life. James graduated from Coventry University in 2011, after completing his degree in Automotive Engineering as well as a placement with BMW Oxfrd Mini Plant. He says the support he received at university was crucial to helping him reach where he is today. He commented: “My lecturers and peers were all really supportive, and given how tough the course was at times, that helping hand was really crucial. I spent a lot of time with my classmates in the maths support centre, where staff would answer any questions we had after lectures and that was really helpful. “The support we received replicated the support I now receive from professional peers and colleagues at work. Not only that, but the university also helped me secure opportunities to gain experience in the automotive industry, which really helped prepare me for work in the F1 industry.” Over 160 organisations have now committed to working together to increase the number and diversity of young people entering engineering careers it was announced by EngineeringUK on the first anniversary of the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code. Launched in October 2020 The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code asks Signatories to sign up and commit to four pledges: inspiring connection, driving inclusion, showcasing engineering and improving impact. Organisations range from large international engineering firms to SMEs, professional engineering institutions, and government departments including: the Department for Education, universities, including Anglo American, Airbus UK, Imperial College London, Make UK, Network Rail, Nissan, Shell and Siemens. Becca Thurston, early careers manager at Wessex Water said: “Joining The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code has helped add more structure and purpose to our careers engagement. We are going to start using the Impact Framework and the Measures Bank tool to help us to review the data we are collecting and the impact our activities and presence at events is having. Having access to the work of others is inspirational and reassuring.” The first anniversary of The Code falls as many Signatories are preparing to work together on the ninth annual Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, 8 to 12 November, which highlights to young people that engineering is a creative, problem solving, exciting career that improves the world around us and is playing an active part in achieving net zero. Dr Hilary Leevers, chief executive of EngineeringUK, which leads Tomorrow’s Engineers said: “The community that has built up through The Code allows us to bring together the expertise of engineers and educators throughout the UK and is helping to achieve the collective impact needed to see as step-change in the number and diversity of young people entering engineering careers. “As we celebrate Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, we hope to inspire the next generation about the vast range of roles that engineering can offer and the impact that they can have on the future, especially in achieving net zero. “As part of this we are asking Signatories of The Code and the wider engineering community to use their collective impact by reaching out to their networks and encouraging them to join and benefit from The Code community.” The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code is free and any organisation within the UK that funds, designs and/or delivers engineering education programmes to young people can become a Signatory. First anniversary of the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code IMechE publishes clean transport report to address emissions The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has published a new report taking a focused engineering look at transport system design, addressing how we can change our approach to reduce emissions across all transport modes. The report “The Transport Hierarchy – a cross-modal strategy to deliver a sustainable transport system” lays out a high-level structure for analysing transport with the goal of making it more sustainable in the future. Transport is the largest contributor to the UK’s emissions, accounting for around 27%, of which around 90% come from road vehicles. The Hierarchy highlights three priorities which can be used for coherent planning and engineering of transport systems to cut emissions. The first priority is to reduce demand for transport, followed by modal shift to encourage the choice of transport with the lowest environmental impact. The third priority is to improve transport vehicle energy efficiency and boost the use of renewable fuels. The paper develops the theme of modal shift from road and aviation to electrified rail as a key solution to reducing the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions from transport. Matt Rooney, head of policy at the Institution, said: “The Hierarchy is a powerful tool for thinking about how to make our transport system more sustainable. Demand reduction and modal shift are often low cost, sustainable solutions that are overlooked in favour technological fixes. Technology will be crucial to reducing transport emissions, but policymakers should look for low hanging fruit first.” Amol Gulve, co-author and IMechE COP26 Clean Transport Lead, added: “Empowering new technologies and renewable fuels are key contributors to achieve sustainable transport solutions that will not only meet net-zero emission targets but will also provide significant social benefits.” This Hierarchy has similarities with the Institution’s Energy Hierarchy (reduce demand, increase efficiency, use renewable and sustainable energy sources, use other low carbon sources, use conventional energy). The Institution’s goal is for the Hierarchy inform transport policies of all government departments and businesses when making decisions on their transport choices in terms of both use and planning activities. The release of the report was timed to coincide with the IMechE’s two-day pre- COP26 conference.