Panel Discussion: UK Manufacturing is Dead. Is Engineering Design Next?

The UK currently outsources much of its manufacturing to overseas plants with substantially lower overheads; some say we risk losing engineering design and R&D next. During this interactive discussion, the panel explores whether UK industry can afford to sustainably carry out engineering design and research locally and remain competitive. With government focus on the links between universities and the industry, will PhD research students come to represent a new kind of R&D outsourcing, and who will champion the role and value of British engineers? Should we rely on the government, public funding and education; professional bodies such as the IET, IMechE, IoP and ICE; or industry and private enterprise; or is it our own individual responsibility to safeguard the future of British engineering?