IET in the news

A healthy relationship with data 

Two developing stories around healthcare and cyber security required the input of our experts to help explain what was happening. Fears were raised around the volume of open-source British patient data being shared, with Chinese researchers accessing half a million records through UK Biobank. IET fellows Dr Rimesh Patel, Dr Prasanth Kamma and Nick Hunn all helped to allay fearmongering concerns by explaining what robust security measures are in place, while also reminding us of the need to remain vigilant with our data and how it is used. 

Another story saw concerns raised around plans for a predictive AI model to be used in healthcare to help inform patient needs and outcomes in the future. IET fellows Professor Peter Bannister and Dr Junade Ali complemented Dr Patel and Dr Kamma in explaining the current limitations and future hopes for such a model, while explaining what some of the issues could be. 

Informing the future of Britain’s power supply 

Our major media release saw the publication of our independent and comprehensive study on the costs of installing high voltage energy transmission lines overground, underground, and sub-sea to inform the government's ambitious plans to re-wire Great Britain in the largest grid upgrade since the 1960s. The report detailed how underground cables cost four and a half times as much as overhead pylons; offshore point-to-point cable costing around five times more; and offshore network connecting multiple sites to the onshore grid around 11 times more.  

Professor Keith Bell was among several IET members and fellows who spoke to media on this story, which saw a flurry or press activity and interviews taking part as the report featured prominently in national and regional news. 

Keeping the lights on 

With the breaking news that swathes of Spain and Portugal were being hit by power outages, media outlets were on the lookout for experts to explain what was happening; how it had happened; why the system did not have robust measures in place to prevent this; and if such an event was likely to hit Britain too. Following on from the news of our transmission report, this story increased its coverage with the opportunity to emphasise the need to invest in our grid to ensure resilience. Dr Robert Sansom commented in The Engineer afterwards to explain what had happened, and what the key lessons learnt are. 

IET making the headlines 

If you added together the total reach of all the media outlets we have appeared in, it would total an astonishing 4.6 billion people in the last few months; that’s equivalent to over half of the world’s population! Additionally, almost a quarter of the 527 articles that covered the IET were from leading publications too. 

This mammoth coverage was largely thanks to our transmission report, which outlined the various costs involved for Britain in how electricity is transferred, be it through overhead pylons; underground cables; or even subsea alternatives.  

Explaining the complexities around steel making 

When news broke that the Chinese owners of the steel making plant in Scunthorpe intended to shut down the facility, the headlines were filled with the developing story that the UK Government may take control of the site as British Steel to ensure its survival. 

Expert opinion to explain this was provided by IET members and professors John Patsavellas, Mark Jolly of Cranfield University, and our former president John Loughhead. They explained what the longer-term future could hold in store for British Steel, ensuring the IET a place as a prominent though leader in this developing story.

You can see our media coverage in the press release section of our website here