#EngineeringX – A new collaboration to promote engineering knowledge, innovation and skills for the benefit of society

Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the Academy launch Engineering X to address global safety challenges

The Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the Royal Academy of Engineering have today launched ‘Engineering X’, a new international collaboration that brings together some of the world’s leading problem solvers to address the great challenges of our age.

The collaboration will see a global network of expert engineers, academics and business leaders working in partnership to share best practice, explore new technologies, educate and train the next generation of engineers, build capacity, improve safety and deliver impact.

The Engineering X community will bring together partners from around the world, building on a network of global alliances to tackle the most pressing engineering, safety and sustainability problems, and developing practical, sustainable and accessible solutions for the engineering profession worldwide.

Engineering X will launch with four programmes:

1. Safer Complex Systems

We live in a world where the critical infrastructure we depend on is made up of increasingly complex interconnected systems. Our safety is endangered when localised issues result in wider, often unanticipated consequences. Run by the Royal Academy of Engineering in partnership with the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, this programme will develop and implement practical solutions to improve the safety of complex systems.

2. Safer End of Engineered Life

End of life and decommissioning bring safety challenges across many industries, ranging from hazardous medical waste to decommissioning of offshore structures. These issues often displace safety risks to parts of the world least able to manage them. Run by the Royal Academy of Engineering in partnership with the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, this international programme will improve safety by improving practices in the places where the safety challenges are most acute.

3. Engineering Skills where they are most needed

Population growth in emerging economies is driving huge investment in critical infrastructure. However, a skills gap that is exacerbated by a reliance on multinational organisations and temporary, non-domestic workforces is limiting capability to operate and maintain such infrastructure safely. Run by the Royal Academy of Engineering in partnership with the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, this programme will implement capacity-building programmes to address these needs.

4. Transforming Systems through Partnership programme

Transforming Systems through Partnership programme – To solve today’s most pressing development and sustainability challenges, academics need to work with industry, government and the public to build trust, design appropriate solutions and scale their uptake. Run by the Royal Academy of Engineering, supported by the Newton Fund and delivered in partnership with innovation agencies in seven countries, the Transforming Systems through Partnership programme will build engineering teaching, research and innovation capacity within partner countries’ universities to collaborate with local stakeholders and UK academics in meeting local development challenges.

As well as these initial programmes, proposals are welcome from additional partners who share the Academy and Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s vision to engineer a better, safer world and are interested in joining the Engineering X alliance.

Dr Hayaatun Sillem, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:

“We are delighted to announce the launch of ‘Engineering X’, a collaboration that will enable forward-looking engineering organisations from around the world to work more effectively together. As international markets and systems become ever more complex and intertwined, we believe that collaboration, shared responsibility and mutual support between diverse communities is the only way to safeguard our future and drive positive change.”

Richard Clegg, Chief Executive at the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, said:

“This partnership is an exciting new vehicle for high impact engineering programmes that promote engineering knowledge, innovation and skills for the benefit of society. We are confident that the combined convening power of Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the Royal Academy of Engineering will lead to impactful interventions in engineering around the world.”