Despite  the human tragedy of COVID, this crisis has shown how the  capabilities of engineers can be deployed at speed, to complex problems, to deliver great positive impact.

But  what are these capabilities, and can they also be used to help us address the existential challenges presented by climate change? If so, how do we ensure that the next generation of engineers have these capabilities?

This  talk will be in two parts: Firstly, examples of some of the outstanding engineering responses to the numerous challenges posed by COVID will be presented. Drawing upon examples of engineers working to improve logistics in hospitals, collaborating with F1 teams to develop new ventilator technologies, and supporting healthcare systems in Africa, the first part of the talk will explore the key engineering skills and capabilities that were needed in this fast moving, open and uncertain environment.

The  second part of the talk will explore how the capabilities used to engineer solutions to the diverse COVID-related challenges could be generalised. If we could do this, it would provide guidance for supporting future generations of engineers – throughout their careers – to develop these ‘dynamic’ capabilities for dealing volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous challenges, the biggest of which is that of climate change.

The  talk will be followed by a Q&A session.

Professor Tim Minshall is the inaugural Dr John C Taylor Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, Head of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) and Head of the IfM’s Centre for Technology Management (CTM).

His research, teaching and engagement activities are focused on the links between manufacturing and innovation working with the University and with companies in the Cambridge cluster, one of the largest and most successful technology clusters in Europe.

He is a member of several boards of directors, is a Fellow of Churchill College Cambridge and Chair of Trustees for the William Templeton Foundation for Young People’s Mental Health. He has Teaching awards from the Royal Academy of Engineering and is actively involved in outreach activities to raise awareness of engineering and manufacturing among primary and secondary school children and their teachers.

He has a BEng and PhD background and has worked in project management, and as a teacher, consultant, plant engineer and freelance writer.