Energy conference starts today

22 Oct 2010

The University of Manchester is hosting a national conference for young engineers based around the theme of energy.

Starting tonight, the conference - organised by Engineers Without Borders (EWB-UK) - will feature speeches from key engineering figures around the theme of energy and its role in tackling world poverty.

The event will begin with a welcome from Engineering and Physical Sciences Vice-President and Dean Colin Bailey, and will also feature keynote addresses from Professor Paul Jowitt, President of the Insitution of Civil Engineers, and from Dr Tony Marjoram, Head of Engineering Sciences at UNESCO.

Prof. Jowitt will be announcing a new toolkit for the engineering profession – a toolkit to help professional engineers reduce poverty around the world.

Dr Marjoram will be launching the world’s first global report on engineering called ‘UNESCO Engineering Report: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for Development’.

In addition, the conference will see the launch of the new EWB-UK membership scheme, appropriate training for volunteer projects in developing countries and the chance to contribute ideas towards the organisation’s strategic review.

Delegates will be introduced to health and mobility technologies and have the opportunity to grill the National Executive in a panel style Q&A session.

There will also be the unveiling of a new photography exhibition showcasing EWB-UK’s 2010 competition winners, which is supported by Barclays Capital.

Global Poverty Project will be on hand to explain the '1.4 billion reasons' for fighting extreme poverty and Professor Peter Crossley, director of the Joule Centre at The University of Manchester, will be providing food for thought on how engineers can respond to the current challenges of energy.

The Friday evening event is free and open to the public. Tickets for the weekend conference are available to buy from the website: http://www.ewb-uk.org/event/nc2010