Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation - 10 Year Celebration Event

Online celebration and forward-looking event to explore how the Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation’s collaborative research, teaching and engagement over the last 10 years contributes to how we need to transform infrastructure towards 2030 (and beyond).

Date: 7th July 2020, Time: 9am – 12.30pm BST (GMT + 1)

Draft Agenda

09:00 – 09:30 Session 1: 10 Years of Systems Engineering and Innovation at Imperial College London
Introduction - How 10 years of the Centre’s research and leadership support achieving desired futures. The timeliness in light of systems shocks and the emerging research areas toward 2030.

Professor Jennifer Whyte (Brief introduction to the day), Professor Nick Buenfeld (Welcome), Handover to Panel: Professor David Gann (Chair), Ray O’Rourke (Laing O’Rourke) and Nadhim Zahawi (Minister for Construction)

09:30 – 09:50 Session 2: Complexity and Resilience
As infrastructure systems become seen as interconnected, open systems, the complexity grows. This session presents the challenge of complexity and how it can be tackled.

Panel:  Professor David Fisk (Chair), Professor Washington Ochieng and Dr Panagiotis Angeloudis

09:50 – 10:10 Session 3: Systems Integration
The process of making constituent parts of a system work together. Based on Research through the Laing O’Rourke / Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Systems Integration this session looks at the role of systems engineering leadership, projects as interventions in infrastructure systems and the  work of the Centre on modularity, design for manufacturing and assembly, roles and responsibilities and logistics.

Panel: Professor Karen Holford (Chair, Cardiff University), Professor Jennifer Whyte, Dr Chris Millard (Laing O’Rourke)

10:10 –10:30 Session 4: Data-Driven Systems Engineering
Digital technologies are transforming approaches to engineering, and provide new opportunities to use digital twins, and to understand patterns in complex infrastructure systems.

Panel: Professor Julie McCann (Chair), Dr Ivan Stoianov and Dr Kate Simpson

10:30 – 10:50 Coffee Break and Themed Break-Out Rooms

These sessions are not recorded and provide an opportunity for informal conversation and reflection on the related panels over coffee. Panellists will be in attendance where possible, but the discussions will be moderated. Notes will be taken to give a general overview of the discussion:

Breakout room links available here - https://www.imperial.ac.uk/systems-engineering-innovation/2020/breakout-rooms

10:50 – 11:10 Session 5: Restart, Reset and Reinvent: Transforming Construction
Pivoting towards the future of systems engineering and innovation – how does the sector reset, restart and reinvent itself over the next months, years and decades? 

Panel: Dr Luigi Mosca (Chair) with Fergus Harradence (BEIS) and Sam Stacey (Innovate UK)

11:10 – 11:30 Session 6: Infrastructure Life-Cycles
How are questions about infrastructure through life, starting with operating infrastructure, but also considering delivery and reuse of materials.

Panel: Professor Chris Cheeseman (Chair), Dr Rupert Myers and Pete Winslow (Expedition Engineering)

11:30 – 11:50 Session 7: Carbon Neutral to Net Zero Pollution: Built and Natural Environments
Can systems thinking lead to new ways to consider infrastructure that support a move towards zero pollution, and that recognize interdependencies, across different kinds of infrastructure systems, and between built infrastructure and natural environments?

Panel: Professor Mike Cook (Chair, Buro Happold), Dr Ana Mijic and Dr Marc Stettler

11:50 – 12:10 Session 8: Agenda for Systems Engineering to 2030
Building on 10 years of the Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation at Imperial College London, and looking towards 2030. Systems approaches and the College Academic Strategy. 

Panel: Professor Mary Ryan (Chair), Dame Judith Hackitt and Professor Jennifer Whyte

12.10-12.30 Over Lunch Discussions: Over lunch - Breakout Sessions – Post-Event Informal Chat

These sessions are not recorded and provide an opportunity for informal conversation and reflection on the related panels over lunch. Panellists will be in attendance where possible, but the discussions will be moderated. Notes will be taken to give a general overview of the discussion:

Breakout room links available here - https://www.imperial.ac.uk/systems-engineering-innovation/2020/breakout-rooms

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