Millennium Dawn -
The Next 1000 Years.

2nd November 1999

Flyer

Introduction to Millennium Dawn conference

Millennium Dawn - an evening conference staged in the Anglia region by professional engineers and those who work closely with them.

Engineers - and their partner professionals - fundamentally shape the very fabric of our society across every imaginable spectrum of human endeavour. They conceive, design, manufacture, test, improve, create and then re-create virtually our entire world.

In the course of the last millennium, engineers have token us quite literally from the Dark Ages into a present age packed with wonder. Trains, ships, 'planes and automobiles are our modern-day 'horses and carts'. Desktop publishing computers, CD-ROMs, television and video systems and digital transmission technologies have replaced illuminated manuscripts. In just 1000 years engineers have taken the human race a very long way indeed. To the stars and beyond, in fact.

So, as we stand perched on the brink of the next 1000 years - the Millennium Dawn - where will engineers take humankind next? And how will engineers themselves have to adapt and reorganise their profession to take us there safely?

With the profession of engineering increasingly becoming more widely acknowledged as an essential contributor to wealth creation, for both national and regional economies, our speakers tonight will highlight for you and debate with you:

"The important challenges and opportunities for the engineering industry and its professional bodies at the threshold of the new millennium" .

Millennium Dawn's speakers tonight work at the cutting edge of industrial commerce and represent the fields of Transport & Automotive, Industrial & Medical and Information & Communications Technology. They are:

- A leading speaker on Automotive Development, Ford Motor Co Ltd - Dr Martin Jones, Director of Technology & Innovation at the Industrial Group, Smiths Industries plc and Chairman of the East of England Innovation Society - Dr Richard Nicol, Head of Research at British Telecommunications plc

Our final keynote speaker, Malcolm Shirley, Director General of the Engineering Council, will update you on the profession's plans for the future and how government, academia, financial institutions and the world of business could, by working together, help make the next Millennium better for us all.

Young Engineers President and TV personality Kate Bellingham will set the scene for our discussions by outlining what Millennium Dawn hopes to achieve. She will also link and introduce presentations from other speakers, talk about Young Engineers Clubs and outline her views on a possible action plan for future schools activities.

Millennium Dawn's introductory welcome will be given by Professor Peter Lines, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.