The new president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Professor Danielle George MBE, will use her year-long term of office to champion engineering “difference makers” in a bid to spark young people’s interest in engineering and technology.
Prof George is professor of radio frequency engineering in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and associate vice president at the University of Manchester. Her term of office began on 1 October.
She will lead the IET’s 150th anniversary celebrations, which includes the #DifferenceMakers campaign to find those who are using engineering and technology solutions to solve a variety of problems around the world, and to publicise these stories to new audiences globally.
The anniversary year will recognise the IET’s history and feature unexpected partnerships in unexpected places to inspire the next generation of engineers. The institution is due to feature at the UK Pavilion at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, as well as launch a junior membership club.
Prof George said: “I will be working hard over the next year to help inspire the next generation and make sure they see all the different and exciting opportunities available in engineering and technology. We need to be telling the stories of incredible difference makers around the world so that young people become inspired to solve engineering challenges. Engineers have been solving the challenges facing communities for generations, and it’s these stories we need to tell. As engineers, it’s our duty to speak passionately about our careers so that more people join us and have the chance to change the world.”
In her inaugural address, 150 years of difference makers on 8 October, Prof George celebrated some of the most inspiring difference makers of the past and the people who informed her decision to become an engineer, and looked forward to the influencers of the future.