Will the Olympics change the public's perception of engineering?

Credit: London 2012

The Olympics has been a brilliant chance for Britain to shine, not just in sport but also in culture, media, hospitality and, perhaps in some ways best of all, in engineering.

From the strikingly impressive venues at the Olympic Park, to the transport system that has (so far) coped so well in transporting record numbers of people around the capital, to the ingenious technology used to train our athletes with never-seen-before precision, Britain’s engineers have responded to this once-in-a-lifetime challenge in a way we can all be proud of.

Even Danny Boyle’s spellbinding opening ceremony managed to celebrate the vital role of Britain’s engineers from Brunel to Berners-Lee in shaping the world in which we live (even if some might have objected to the emphasis on dark Satanic mills).

But for all the successes of engineering in the Games, I wonder how many of the public will make the link and perhaps have their perceptions and preconceptions challenged.

Certainly the stadium, velodrome and aquatics centre are obvious examples and the most visible symbol of engineering achievement. A recent survey by the Institution of Civil Engineers found that more than a third of respondents thought the Olympic Park had helped them appreciate the importance of civil engineering to society.

The media have also given plenty of coverage to the technology behind the games, especially as Britain tends to excel in sports that use highly engineered equipment such as cycling and rowing. So much has been made of Team GB’s attention to detail in these areas that questions have been raised about whether this creates an unfair advantage, with some competitors going so far as to effectively accuse us of cheating.

But as those involved with the Park’s construction note in a great short film produced by the ICE (see below), much of the most impressive engineering – underground power cables, wireless communication systems etc ­– is invisible from the outside. Out of sight, out of mind. Other elements such as transport suffer from the problem that people only notice them if they go wrong.

Also there are the promotional restrictions placed on those engineering companies involved with the Olympics but who are not sponsors, an issue The Engineer has written about before and has been noted by the chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Sir John Armitt.

Once the Games come to a close and life returns to normal, engineers must seize the opportunity and continue to promote their achievements, highlighting the crucial importance of their role in pulling off perhaps the greatest advertisement for British skills and business in the last 50 if not 100 years. That would be truly worthwhile legacy for London 2012.

This article first appeared on The Engineer.