The immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are being acutely felt across all aspects of our daily lives. This public health crisis will transform and leave an enduring impact on industry, business and enterprise, infrastructure and security, and on public behaviour and social attitudes. The pandemic’s legacy will be experienced by all generations across the whole of society.
This paper summarises how engineers can transform their ideas into advice and action, minimising the risks and impact of COVID-19 for the UK, beyond the immediate crisis response, to secure a more resilient future. 1 It draws upon evidence and insights from Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering and partners to the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC), which collectively represent 450,000 engineers across the UK.2
This paper contains several case studies that illustrate how the engineering community has already provided rapid support and advice on the COVID-19 pandemic.