Getting ready for London 2012

The IET has a wide range of initiatives to showcase the importance of engineering and technology in delivering the 2012 Olympic Games. From special Faraday Challenge materials to a new award, the IET is making the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

A series of events that cover before, during and after the actual Games has now kicked off. Many of these projects are already detailed on the IET Engineering the Olympics webzone.

Recently, the IET was appointed an official Olympic Learning Legacy Partner for sustainable utilities. That means the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is using the IET to disseminate information to the wider science, engineering and technology community that has been gathered during the construction of the Olympic Park in East London.

Two ODA events are running at IET London: Savoy Place each month from November 2011 to March 2012, full details of which will be listed on the website.

Commenting on the IET’s efforts, IET Sector head Bruce McLelland said: “The IET is extremely pleased to be playing such an active role in supporting and promoting London 2012 and its legacy, which has proved to be one of the greatest engineering challenges of our times.”

This year’s Innovation Awards will also include a category of ‘Sports Technology’, which will be sure to attract many exciting entries. The category will be judged by Professor Steve Haake, head of sports technology at Sheffield Hallam University.

Olympics-related front covers are also planned for the IET’s three flagship titles, Flipside, E&T, and Member News, and the Faraday website and content will include case studies of the ‘real stars’ of the Olympics.

A special 2012 Prestige Lecture on ‘Paralympic sports technology: enabling, enhancing, or cheating?’ will be delivered by Dr David James from Sheffield Hallam University.

There are numerous other Olympics projects including the joint IET and UK Trade & Investment  publication Delivering London 2012: ICT Enabling the Games.

The Olympics engagement programme is coming to fruition through the hard work of many IET volunteers and staff who belong to the Olympics Working Group.

Programme manager Ben Rudd said: “I’ve been very impressed with the pro-active work of people in this Working Group which will result in the IET being closely associated with the engineering behind the 2012 Games. This is a great opportunity to show the UK and the watching world how important engineers and technicians are in creating world-class environments.”