UCL / Disruptive Thinkers

Challenging perceptions about engineering.

I developed and helped implement a strategy for the UCL’s Engineering Faculty to highlight their world-leading research.

The challenge.

UCL’s Engineering Faculty wanted to show how engineering not only touches everyday lives in subtle ways but is actively changing the world for the better. To challenge and change people’s perceptions of engineering, I commissioned the Disruptive Thinkers video series, which allowed Engineering Faculty to showcase their groundbreaking innovations. I engaged with academics to hone their message, I sourced and oversaw the work of designers and videographers, and I managed the storage and dissemination of the videos. 

The impact.

The Disruptive Thinkers video series highlights the human impact of engineering: engineers are building trust in autonomous cars, designing pandemic-proof cities, developing MRI technology for babies and engaging with industry to counteract the climate crisis by being more sustainable. By focusing on the real-world positive impact engineering has in our lives, the videos show that engineering is more versatile than people think and it underpins every aspect of our lives.  

Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series

Image from the Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series: How is innovative thinking changing forensic science? Brand identity was created by Boyle&Perks and filmed by Cinematic Pictures.

Calling all armchair detectives! Find out how Prof. Ruth Morgan and the team at the UCL Centre for Forensic Sciences are moving the sector forward.

Is there a trade-off between being a sustainable business and turning a profit? Prof. Paolo Taticchi of the UCL School of Management gives tips on how businesses can do better when it comes to sustainability - without compromising profitability.

Image from the Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series: How can we reimagine cities to create more inclusive spaces?

How can we reimagine cities to be more inclusive and include a feminist perspective? Hear how Dr Ellie Cosgrave and UCL STEaPP's research is changing the world.

How can engineers draw from the fundamental lessons of nature to create the transformative technologies of tomorrow? In the first of a new series of Disruptive Thinkers videos Prof. Marc-Olivier Coppens and colleagues from the Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering are exploring how the structures of trees can build new reactors, how kidneys can inspire water purification systems and how the structure of insect nests can influence the way cells communicate.

Image from the Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series: How can we build trust with autonomous vehicles?

How do we engineer a city, its architecture and its infrastructure so that it works socially in an era of physical distancing? In the third of our Disruptive Thinkers video series, we focus on the groundbreaking work from UCL PEARL (Person – Environment – Activity Research Laboratory) on designing a pandemic proof city. Prof. Nick Tyler, Dr Liora Malki-Epshtein, Prof. Thorsten Stoesser, and Dr Taku Fujiyama (UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering) talk about how we maintain social interactions in a physically distanced city, and how we can design better public transport to minimise virus transmission.

How can we engage safely and build trust with autonomous vehicles? We look at how Dr Bani Anvari (UCL Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering) and Prof. Helge Wurdemann (UCL Mechanical Engineering) are improving the way we as drivers interact with autonomous vehicles when we switch between manual and self-driving modes.