IHEEM is one of several prominent UK engineering bodies to be a signatory to a recent Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) response to a consultation document on the future of science and engineering in the UK published by the Government’s Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) last July.
Engineering’s impact needs greater emphasis
The DIUS consultation document, “A Vision for Science and Society”, was put out for consultation in mid-July, with the closing date for comments 17 October. On launching the exercise Minister of State for Science and Innovation Ian Pearson said the importance of scientific engagement across society had “never been greater” In its official response, encompassing the views of several leading UK engineering institutions, the RAE argued that the “one size fits all” approach to public engagement on science issues advocated in the consultation document was “flawed”, while public participative engagement in science policy-making required “methods and techniques very different from the general promotion of engineering and science to the public”. The RAE, and the contributing institutions, also stated that, “while the ‘Vision’ document’s merging of all scientific-related disciplines under the umbrella term ‘science’ may be convenient, it does little to promote understanding and engagement with the differing nature, outputs, and impact, of pure science research, applied sciences, engineering, and the production of technological products and services”. The RAE’s response argues also that there is currently “very limited public awareness of the nature and scope of engineering and its impact on society”, especially among young people. A recent study by the RAE and the Engineering and Technology Board, Public Attitudes to, and Perceptions of, Engineering and Engineers 2007, had revealed that six out of 10 16-19 year-olds knew “very little” or “not very much” about engineering. The RAE’s conclusion is that pubic engagement activities “need to be based on topics that show science and engineering in context, raise awareness of their impact on society, and are relevant to individuals”. While engineering organisations can themselves proactively raise science and engineering’s media profile, the RAE emphasises that they can now also call on the services of London’s Science Media Centre (SMC). Originally established to provide rapid, accurate science advice and information to journalists, the Centre now has a full-time engineering press officer, who can call on a database of “increasingly media-savvy engineers” to identify engineering issues on which the SMC can contribute to public understating. The response argues that the engineers’ “message” is often “too quiet in policy discussions”, leading the RAE to recently launch a new source of funding to “support and foster a new generation of excellent early-mid-career engineers to explore the implications of engineering for society, develop excellent engagement skills, and proactively build dialogue and networks with the public and policy makers”. To secure engineering’s future, the response document says it is vital to engage with the “very young” in schools, while the Government’s “Vision” must recognise the engineering workforce is “the sum of craftspeople, technicians and engineers” – emphasising the importance of ensuring routes into “technician”, and other roles, are “well-defined and achievable”. Within education, linking science to engineering, so that the practical outcomes of science theory “may be seen in products, artefacts, systems, environment and inventions that surround children everyday”, must be a priority while, with the number of 18-year-olds set to fall, developing strong engineering skills among those already working is, the RAE argues, essential. The DIUS says that, following its wideranging consultation, it now plans to publish a strategy document “for further discussion”, in the first quarter of this year