Nick talks about the initiatives from government to make Universities broaden access to higher education, as well as to make a stronger contribution to economic growth and play a greater civic role. #EPCCongress25 #EANCongress25

Nick reiterates the financial challenges in the sector and his concerns about whether the UK will get the funding position right.

#EPCCongress25 #EANCongress25

Nick starts off talking about his own detailed knowledge of Manchester and that Professor Malcolm Press’s keynote show why is is the incoming Universities UK President.

#EPCCongress25 #EANCongress25

And we hear about the governments efforts in its AI Action Plan and challenges in Bioengineering (both close to the heart of @ulsteruni.bsky.social (pun somewhat intended)). @chionwurah.bsky.social at #EPCCongress25

#EPCCongress25

We hear how people now feel engineering and technology is being “done to them in opaque ways”. This was something that needed to be addressed. @chionwurah.bsky.social at #EPCCongress25

We know there is significant regional disparity that must be resolved in the funding of research and innovation. “We need the talents of our entire country”. @chionwurah.bsky.social at #EPCCongress25.

And we hear how @chionwurah.bsky.social heard too often that she was an exception. “Diversity is not a tick box or nice to have but an economic imperative.” #EPCCongress25

We hear about @chionwurah.bsky.social childhood experiments to reproduce the discovery of Archimedes, but with her Mum’s pots and pans, on her journey to becoming an engineer (and the only CEng in the Commons). #EPCCongress25

@chionwurah.bsky.social talks of the challenges the world faces and how Science and Engineering are at the heart of resolving these. #EPCCongress25

#EPCCongress25 getting off to an excellent start with a public lecture by @chionwurah.bsky.social introduced by Professor Nick Brook. Chi talks about her pride as a CEng and the engineering power of the UK.

Yesterday I finally scanned the answer sheets from the @niscifest.bsky.social quiz for some checking around calibration for next year, and put the originals in the recyclying.

This is my favourite bit of encouraging peer assessment, from another table marking, @profvicsimms.bsky.social.

Today is the day for the first meeting of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences in Northern Ireland. The meeting at Stormont will discuss how the Academy will operate in Northern Ireland. Suitable cufflinks chosen.

Merry Christmas folks. I appreciate this isn't an easy time for everyone or at least it can be complicated. So I hope you are well and if today is hard my thoughts are with you.

My weather station data confirms what you might have noticed. Yesterday was slightly damp in the morning. #stormbert www piglets.org/weather