Why human interaction is still vital in engineering the technology of the future

Before half-term, we were delighted to welcome Professor Calvo from the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College, London to talk with St Mary's Sixth Formers about the future of technology to support wellbeing in mental health and medicine.

As part of the Sixth Form "inspire my Future" programme, he spoke about the necessity of the interaction between both human and machine, firstly to fully understand the problems that affect humans and then to design useful technological solutions. 

He cited the example of dementia, which affects around one million people in the UK. Through 'living labs' - essentially smart homes with sensors on everything from the floor to the microwave - behaviour can be monitored and systems designed to aid the sufferer in living safely at home for longer, which is often preferable for both famiilies and the NHS.

A significant part of the ethos of Design Engineering, he explained, is the interaction with, and the understanding of people through workshops and field studies. The ICL degree course in Design Engineering offers that bridge between traditional maths and engineering with areas including psychology and the arts.

There was much discussion about the importance of communication skills in this field and how it differs from more traditional routes into engineering. Students were inquisitive, asking insightful questions on how to best prepare for Design Engineering courses and found out that, interestingly, personal portfolios often play an important part in the application process. The talk ended with a discussion of the need to reduce the gender imbalance within engineering, something Imperial are busy redressing with 42% of their 590 students being female.

Gaby M. in the Lower Sixth, said the talk was very useful in showing her the variety within engineering, because " you don't know what you don't know" until someone explains. She thought both the Sixth Form's "Inspire my Future" programme, and the recent Careers Fair were definitely very useful in providing a diverse range of career options to think about.  

We are very grateful for the opportunity to hear from Professor Calvo, whose own daughter is currently in our Year 11, on the future of engineering, leaving plenty for our students to consider as they prepare for life beyond St Mary's.