Seminar and tour: The reality of digital transformation in engineering & BRL Tour

      Add to your calendar Last updated - 15/02/2026 08:02

Seminar
18 March 2026 17:00 - 20:00
This event has finished
Description

Seminar overview:

Digital transformation in engineering is rarely straightforward, especially in organisations where legacy systems remain critical to daily operations but are difficult to integrate with modern platforms. This session offers a real-world view of what it takes to deliver successful transformation without disrupting business continuity.  

The talk introduces five key steps to help teams move from ambition to execution: establishing a clear vision and ownership; assessing readiness and data foundations; prioritising high-value use cases; integrating legacy systems through phased delivery; and embedding governance and change management to drive adoption. We’ll also explore the most common reasons digital initiatives fail, including unclear scope, poor stakeholder alignment, underestimated integration effort, fragmented data, and weak outcome measurement.  
 

Attendees will leave with actionable guidance to reduce risk, accelerate delivery, and improve the likelihood of sustained success in engineering digital transformation.  

Tour overview:
Ahead of the seminar, at 5pm, we will have a limited number of spaces to tour the Bristol Robotics Laboratory. If you are able it would be great if you could join us at this time to get a behind the scenes look at the developments in this exciting space.

"Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) is the most comprehensive academic centre for multi-disciplinary robotics research in the UK. It is a collaborative partnership between the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and the University of Bristol, and home to a vibrant community of over 450 academics, researchers and industry practitioners. Together, they are world leaders in current thinking on service robotics, intelligent autonomous systems and bio-engineering. An internationally recognised Centre of Excellence in Robotics, BRL’s state-of-the-art facilities cover an area of over 4,600 sq. metres (50,000 sq. feet)." 


Event Schedule:
  

17:00 – 18:00 Group Tour   

18:00 – 18:30 Refreshments   

18:30 – 18:45 B&B IMechE Welcome and Introductions   

18:45 – 20:00 Seminar and Discussion

Speaker(s)

Dr Zeyad Al-Shibaany is an internationally recognised consultant and leader in Digital and Intelligent Systems and AI. He's delivered high-impact consultancy for governments, global organisations, and major engineering sectors, including serving as Lead Consultant to the UN Development Programme.

Address

University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol,
Room 3Z015
School of Engineering
Coldharbour Ln,
Bristol
BS16 1QY
United Kingdom

Contact Details

Owen Lewis
United Kingdom
Email: Send a message

Alternative contact Zeyad Al-Shibaany
United Kingdom
Email: Send a message

Cart Shopping basket (0)


© 2023 Institution of Mechanical Engineers. IMechE is a registered charity in England and Wales number 206882