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The Royal Academy of Engineering has launched a new online series of topical fireside chats on current issues for the global professional engineering community. The series will bring together the thoughts of leading experts from across the Academy's networks including Fellows, awardees and engineering partners.
In this critical conversation, Academy CEO, Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, discussed decision-making for net zero in the face of uncertainty with special guests Dervilla Mitchell CBE FREng, Board member of Arup, and Professor Nilay Shah OBE FREng, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. Dervilla and Nilay are also Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the National Engineering Policy Centre’s net zero project. Find out more: net zero project
Synopsis
They discussed the top priorities in working towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050, from upgrading infrastructure to meet more ambitious environmental standards to decarbonising construction. The conversation focuses particularly on how to transform the whole system fast enough to meet the target so that it also paves the way for other interventions in future.
They highlighted the role of engineers and the need for a holistic approach that enables the whole ‘system’ of policies, technologies and sectors to work together, alongside societal and behavioural change, to ensure a just transition to net zero.
The event was hosted on LinkedIn Live. Follow us on LinkedIn to receive updates on future events.
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE
Hayaatun is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. She co-chairs with the Science Minister the government’s Business Innovation Forum and co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on improving Black representation in motorsport. She is a trustee of various charities, member of the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council and Digital Skills Council and NXD at construction company Laing O’Rourke. She has been named as one of the ‘Inspiring 50’ women in tech in Europe and one of the most influential women in both UK engineering and UK tech. She has a Masters in Biochemistry (MBiochem) from Oxford and a PhD from Cancer Research UK/UCL. She is a Fellow of the IET, Honorary Professor at UCL and Honorary Fellow at The Queen’s College, Oxford. She has received honorary doctorates from UCL, Imperial College London, Newcastle, Brunel, Huddersfield and Southampton, as well as a Science Suffrage Award and the Engineering Professor’s Council President’s Medal. She was a finalist for the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award and was made a CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019. Prior to her current roles, she was Deputy CEO at the Academy and served as Committee Specialist and later Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee.
Dervilla Mitchell CBE FREng
