Calling all Engineers: LSBU’s Thomas Empson urges creative contributions to sustainable development
Research Fellow and Doctoral Researcher, Thomas Empson, inspires an audience of contemporaries attending the Global Engineering CongressThe Global Engineering Congress - which convened in October at the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) in London - hosted 2,000 engineers from over 150 countries. The Congress was held to ensure the engineering industry is working to support delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It centred on the capacity of the global engineering profession to tackle five key SDGs including: #9 industry, innovation and infrastructure; #11 sustainable cities and communities; and #13 climate action.
Thomas gave his presentation to attendees at the ICE200 Symposium on Innovation in Engineering Education, hosted by LSBU’s Nathu Puri Institute for Engineering and Enterprise (NPI). Thomas discussed how the UN’s sustainability goals should be used to measure the creative impact of organisations working to balance ecological, economic and social sustainability.
“My research has been guided and shaped by SDG 12: ‘ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns’. I believe this is a key area the engineering industry is equipped to shape. The need to address current production and consumption habits, as the population reaches 9 billion and our natural resources are finite, is a ticking time bomb.”
Thomas proposed a framework by which he will map engineers’ creative contributions to sustainable solutions. His talk and subsequent networking efforts have led to some really exciting leads, and he’s now in touch with high profile engineering companies eager to be a part of his academic study.
Alongside Thomas were colleagues, Professor Shushma Patel, who presented on engineering curriculum for the 21st century, and NPI Director, Professor Simon Philbin, who opened and closed the ICE200 Symposium, prompting key topics for ongoing discussions amongst attendees.
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