Engineers Assemble: Royal Academy of Engineering calls meeting on ethics

ENGINEERS from across disciplines are being invited to attend the launch of a new report and panel discussion on ethics in the profession, led by IChemE Deputy President David Bogle.

The virtual event is being held on 21 February and will include the launch of the report Engineering Ethics: Maintaining Society’s Trust in the Profession, a panel discussion, and an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. The panel speakers will include Bogle; Chi Onwurah, a UK Member of Parliament who has an electrical engineering degree; Engineering Council Chairman Chris Atkin; and Ollie Folayan who is an IChemE Fellow and co-founder of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK).

The report will set out actions for the profession to promote a more ethical culture within engineering. The report has been produced by the joint Engineering Ethics Reference Group (EERG), which was established by the Engineering Council and the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) in 2019 and is chaired by Bogle.

A poll of 2,000 British adults that Ipsos Mori conducted in 2021 found that 84% of respondents trust engineers to tell the truth. Engineering was ranked the sixth highest profession out of 30 behind nurses (94%), librarians (93%), doctors (91%), teachers (86%) and museum curators (86%). It is much more trusted than politicians (19%), journalists (28%) and business leaders (31%) towards the bottom of the index.

Bogle told The Chemical Engineer: “We are trusted as engineers by society but we need to work hard to keep it that way. I invite you to come and hear the launch and discussion of a report which proposes ways to keep that trust, and ensure we attract young people looking for an ethical profession that makes a positive impact on society.”

Register to attend the free event here.