Friday 13 June, 11am-12.30pm
Bio: Dr Rebecca Weston is an industrialist and engineer working in the heart of government, as a Director-General in the Defence Nuclear Organisation in the Ministry of Defence. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the nuclear sector having worked across the fuel cycle and is respected internationally across both civil and defence sectors. Her experience at the Sellafield site, one of the world’s most complex industrial and nuclear sites – she joined MoD from the Chief Operating Officer role there – and in the MOD as the UK begins to spend significantly on a new generation of the nuclear deterrent – is at the heart of the challenges of delivering major infrastructure projects and programmes. This is a timely discussion given the launch of the PM sponsored nuclear regulatory taskforce.
Theme description: This dialogue will explore the challenges of delivering very long programmes, how to maintain pace and urgency over decades; how to innovate in an environment that demands compliance and the public risk appetite is low and the interest high. Using case studies from the UK nuclear sector, the session will explore challenges facing large complex programmes applicable to many industrial and regulated sectors. As well as exploring the role of innovation, the importance of systems thinking, it will share thoughts on how such mega-programmes can and should drive social value and economic growth. This session will be suited to academics and innovators seeking to introduce innovations into a longstanding regulated system and across the range of career experience with an interest in complex or complicated programme management with an engineering focus.