Academy responds to novel coronavirus and calls for ideas
Following the UK government’s advice on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Royal Academy of Engineering will close its London premises, Prince Philip House, to all regular business after today (20 March) until further notice, including the Fellows’ Room and Taylor Centre.
All Academy meetings will be hosted virtually, and all Academy eventsare being postponed or cancelled until the end of April 2020 unless they can be held online. Events between May and August will be assessed on a case by case basis and we will provide updates on our forward plan as soon as practicable.
Our absolute priority in this difficult period is the welfare of Academy staff, Fellows, awardees and other stakeholders and we are fully committed to supporting the UK government’s efforts to limit the spread of the virus. Grant holders should be reassured that the Academy will accommodate necessary changes to projects as much as possible.
Further information for grant holders is available here:
Call for ideas and expertise to help tackle novel coronavirus
The Academy also recognises the critical role that engineers can play in managing the impact of the pandemic, and is asking its Fellows, awardees and partners to use their combined engineering expertise and UK and global networks to help identify solutions, organisations and contacts that could help governments address challenges and assist the public health response.
The Academy is supporting the following calls for assistance:
- The UK government’s urgent call for assistance from engineering and manufacturing organisations around the UK to help boost the supply of ventilators and ventilator components across the UK to support the National Health Service in its response to COVID-19
- The Frontier Tech Hub’s urgent call to emerging markets for Rapidly Manufactured Ventilation Systems, inviting applications for an existing, proven technology that can be rapidly adapted to be built in the UK. The winning technology will be adapted for manufacture and use in the UK by a team at UCL’s Institute for Healthcare Engineering with GDI Hub, and will receive a licensing fee
- In addition, there are other key areas where the engineering community may be able to provide new approaches to specific challenges through technological developments. The Academy is calling on its Fellows, awardees and partners to help accelerate innovations, provide relevant policy advice and establish communications and engagement channels for people to share experiences and knowledge with governments and other organisations.
Anyone who wishes to share information or ideas can do so here:
Engineering response to COVID-19
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “The Academy is committed to supporting both the near-term and longer-term response to COVID-19 and to help build resilience against future waves of this or other pandemics. While there is an immediate need to support ventilator manufacture, we also want to encourage innovation and collaboration across all relevant areas of engineering, including healthcare systems, critical infrastructure, business management and the supply chain.”
For the latest updates and health advice on COVID-19, please visit:
Gov.uk: Coronavirus (COVID-19): UK government response
Notes for Editors
Royal Academy of Engineering
As the UK’s national academy for engineering and technology, we bring together the most successful and talented engineers from academia and business – our Fellows – to advance and promote excellence in engineering for the benefit of society.
We harness their experience and expertise to provide independent advice to government, to deliver programmes that help exceptional engineering researchers and innovators realise their potential, to engage the public with engineering and to provide leadership for the profession.
We have three strategic priorities:
- Make the UK the leading nation for engineering innovation and businesses
- Address the engineering skills and diversity challenge
- Position engineering at the heart of society
We bring together engineers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics, educators and the public in pursuit of these goals.
Engineering is a global profession, so we work with partners across the world to advance engineering’s contribution to society on an international, as well as a national scale.
For more information please contact:
Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering
T: 020 7766 0636
E: Jane Sutton
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