The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 69

Guest:  Sir Jim McDonald, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering

The power of professional engineering

In today's podcast we talk about the power of professional engineering and explore why a largely unseen and unsung profession increasingly has the power to change all our lives.

If you think about the major issues and challenges facing the whole of society today, they all seem to come back to infrastructure and engineering. 

While the headlines may be being grabbed by pre-Election party politics, it is the need to tackle climate change and meet our net zero targets, the cost of energy, the challenge of mobility and public transport, that really stand in the way of our future well being.

And the list goes on. The health and well-being implications of water and air pollution, the demand for decent affordable housing, the need to rebuild the nation’s biodiversity. All are key issues that simply will not be solved without the input from and, critically, the leadership by professional engineers. 

Yet as we see right now as the General Election moves into full swing, when it comes to discussing the big issues facing the UK - and the world for that matter - those professional engineers are largely in the shadows. Working hard and brimming with solutions but nevertheless resigned to taking instruction rather than leading. 

To discuss whether this is fair - or even whether it matters, my guest today is Sir Jim McDonald, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the fellowship organisation dedicated to and focused on championing excellence in all fields of engineering. 

As one of the UK’s most accomplished engineers, Sir Jim co-chairs the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board with the First Minister, is Chair of the Independent Glasgow Economic Leadership Board and holds senior business appointments with the Weir Group, Scottish Power, the UK Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, and the National Physical Laboratory.

So in short, Sir Jim is an authority on professional engineering and its power to make change – particularly when it comes to energy transition.

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