Ingenious Programme opens with grants of up to £30,000 for public engagement across the UK

The Royal Academy of Engineering is delighted to announce that applications are open for round 16 of its Ingenious Programme, with funding of between £3,000 and £30,000 available for public engagement awards for projects that transform imaginative ideas into inspiring activities that will connect the public with engineers and engineering.

Engineering will be at the forefront of solutions to the world’s greatest challenges including the global climate emergency and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ingenious awards give engineers the opportunity to show the public the wonders of engineering in action and inspire the next generation of engineers.

Ingenious projects that are currently underway include Engineering In Your Future: Sustainable City. In this project, engineers from Swansea University are developing several public engagement activities focusing on the role of engineering in working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including the diverse perspectives required to aid innovation and creative thinking.

In another project, BLAST Fest Youth Media Fellowships: Grand Challenges, Local Goals is engaging engineers with young creatives to explore the role of Engineering in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Working with engineers and mentors, four young creatives will explore the role of Engineering in responding to such challenges and how we can imagine, build, and communicate an inclusive economy and sustainable future for all.

We prioritise projects that reach diverse and underrepresented audiences including communities in the top 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. This could be in formal educational settings or informal settings such as museums, libraries, community centres, Girl Guides and STEM clubs.

Ingenious panel chair Professor Anthony Finkelstein CBE FREng said “In this past year we have seen on so many occasions how engineering and engineers are fundamental to providing solutions to the global challenges we face today. The Ingenious awards are a fantastic opportunity for engineers to showcase their work to the public, and we especially encourage creative ideas that will reach a large variety of audiences and focus on many different engineering areas.”

We are looking for projects that will reach diverse and underrepresented communities across the whole of the UK. The Ingenious awards programme aims to:

• Inspire creative public engagement with engineering projects 
• Empower engineers to share their stories, passion and expertise with wider audiences and develop their communication and engagement skills
• Raise awareness of the diversity, nature and impact of engineering among people of all ages and backgrounds

• Provide opportunities for engineers to engage with members of the public from groups currently underrepresented in engineering

Ingenious has funded over 200 projects to date, providing opportunities for approximately 7,000 engineers to take part in public engagement activities, to gain skills in communication and to help bring engineering to the very centre of society. Ingenious projects have reached over 3 million members of the public.

Applications are welcome from engineers and creative or public engagement professionals keen to explore ways to provide public engagement training and opportunities for engineers and to engage new groups of people with their work.

For more information on how to apply, please see https://www.raeng.org.uk/grants-prizes/grants/ingenious-grant

Notes for Editors

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact: Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0636; email: [email protected]