What is engineering?
It is the stuff of our lives – transport, communication, the limitless range of products we use. But most of us give no thought to engineering – what we want from it, how it could change our world, what kind of future we want it to shape.

The cogs we want to engage are the ones in your mind.

How is technical progress linked to social progress? How far do we want to go in transforming Nature? What role will engineering play in writing the history of the twenty-first century and beyond?

All these questions, and more, are yet to be decided.

Through live events and online debates, we are beginning a process of discussion among engineers and the public. This is not a consultation, a snapshot of opinion as market research for engineering. We value all opinions enough to test them through argument and analysis, regardless of whose they are. Get those cogs turning, and let’s generate some new ideas.

Engaging Cogs is funded by EPSRC (the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council) as a forum to explore how society thinks about engineering, and hosted by the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford.

Engaging Cogs is a forum for free and open discussion. The views expressed are not necessarily those of Engaging Cogs, the University of Oxford or the EPSRC. All copyright resides with the author. Engaging Cogs is not responsible for the content of third-party websites.