Firstly, and from an inward looking perspective, the Eureka 'portfolio' is going from strength to strength. We have just closed the doors on the Engineering Design Show (EDS), an exhibition and conference which has, in only three years, grown in status to genuinely lay claim to being an event that is both award winning and industry leading.
Having shown that engineers will come out to events if the content is right - 4000 engineers attended EDS in Coventry last month - we're now launching a similar event for the North East, an area rich in engineering heritage that is reinventing itself to address the modern industrial environment. 'Manufacturing and Engineering North East' will take place in Newcastle next July.
On top of that our website is undergoing a redesign, our sister magazine Engineering Materials continues to grow in reputation, the 2014 BEEAs programme revealed true excellence in UK engineering and, more than anything else, Eureka continues to be individually requested by over 16,400 readers - a true indication that the printed word is still of value to engineers!
Coupled with this are the changing dynamics within the engineering sector. After so many decades of industrial decline there now appears to be political consensus that we need to design and make things in the UK. Even in these times of austerity, the Government is making strategic investments in the technology sector aimed at stimulating growth.
Meanwhile the role of the design engineer is changing as more disciplines converge, and more products require greater functionality. Yet our ability as a country to fill these increasing engineering roles seems to be lagging by a decade, as engineering retains its male-orientated, oily-rag image amongst school children. It presents a huge challenge.
All these issues, along with the technology of course, will be explored by Eureka going forward. Exciting times, indeed.
