How to get involved with This Is Engineering Day 2021

This Is Engineering Day celebrates the work of engineers in the world around us.

Amazon is proud to sponsor the event, created and run by the Royal Academy of Engineering, on Wednesday 3^rd November as part of our long-term commitment to engage young people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and to drive diversity and inclusion in the technology and innovation sectors.

This year’s theme is inspired by COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, asking: What will a net zero world look like in the future, and how are engineers part of the picture?

Engineering is an integral part of our daily lives, and engineers of all kinds are working to tackle some of the biggest problems we face today.

However, the UK currently faces a major shortfall in engineering skills. Research has shown that the UK needs 21,000 more computer science graduates on average, every year, to meet the demands of the digital economy. In addition, EngineeringUK reports that only 12 percent of the UK engineering workforce are female and elements of the gender gap have been further widened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Amazon, we know that careers in engineering and technology are incredibly rewarding – and we want to play our part by helping to overhaul perceptions about engineering, innovation and STEM.

This Is Engineering Day offers plenty of ways for young people, parents, and industry professionals alike to celebrate the work of engineers – here are four ways you can get involved.

How will you shape a better future? Designing greener cars, saving our oceans from single-use plastic, producing clean energy, reducing food waste…?

These are some the questions addressed in three new films specially created for This Is Engineering Day 2021 which feature real life engineers and encourage younger people to shape a better, more sustainable future by choosing engineering.

The films feature Lucy Hughes, an entrepreneur, inventor and ‘ocean protector’, who created MarinaTex, a compostable alternative to plastic film made of fish waste.

George Imafidon, a performance engineer and ‘race car reinventor’ working in Sir Lewis Hamilton’s X44 racing team, also shares his experience with Extreme E, the electric racing series that aims to raise awareness of the impact of climate change.

Check out the full video’s on This Is Engineering’s YouTube channel.

The Museum of Engineering Innovation is a virtual museum created by the Royal Academy of Engineering to celebrate the often-unseen engineering that is all around us.

The Museum showcases exhibits from all over the UK to celebrate how engineering shapes our everyday lives – with innovations including an installation of the Severn Bridge and an interactive photo exhibition about the manufacturing of the COVID-19 vaccine.

This year the Museum has created its new Engineer the Future Exhibition, which aims to answer a key question: What will a net zero world look like in 2050?

To answer that question, the Royal Academy of Engineering has commissioned a digital artist to rework classic paintings by Van Gogh, Constable, Monet and Pissarro to incorporate the sustainable engineering innovations that could shape our future world.

Van Gogh's Factories at Clichy, Constable's The Wheat Field, Pissarro's La Rue Saint Honore and Monet's The Seashore at Sante-Adresse have been recreated to show how cleaner, greener innovations, created by engineers, could transform everyday life and landscapes in the future.

The reimagined artworks have been created with inputs from expert engineers in the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Fellowship and wider networks, as well as This is Engineering partners and supporters.

Visit the Museum of Engineering Innovation today.

We’re sharing a specially curated books list focused on sustainability engineering which aims to raise awareness of engineering careers and encourage young people from all backgrounds to take up exciting and rewarding careers in engineering.

The list includes Sustainable Materials – Without the Hot Air by Julian Allwood and Jonathan Cullen, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and There is No Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee.

Other engineering books featured include A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM by Gitanjali Rao, Thing Explainer by Randall Monroe and How was That Built? By Roma Agrawal, which shares the incredible stories behind awesome structures.

Find your inspiration with our curated books list.

Young people, teachers, parents, and industry professionals will be sharing their thoughts on incredible engineers who are helping to shape a better and more sustainable society with the hashtag #ThisIsEngineeringDay.

You can also share your vision of what a net zero future, shaped by engineering, looks like on Twitter using the hashtag #EngineerTheFuture. The most inspiring responses will be turned into a new digital artwork for exhibition in the Museum of Engineering Innovation.

Amazon is committed to building a sustainable business for our customers and the planet. In 2019, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge – a commitment to be net-zero carbon across our business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Join the discussion on This Is Engineering Day across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.

Visit the This Is Engineering homepage to find out more.