It stimulated their creativity and imaginations.
Intimately linked, still early in its industrialisation but a few stages ahead of smart-technology, is automation and digitisation.Certainly, for automation, there is more confidence and immediate view about the tangible benefits that it could bring.. ‘Automating out’ routine work can have a significant impact on cost where there is the scale to support the investment.
Routine laboratory work takes scientists away from research thinking and potentially is a turn-off to those considering a career in laboratories.However, this is not a simple path.It requires a change in the skill sets required in laboratories: scientists who develop skills in equipment engineering and coding or hardware and software engineers who develop skills in science.
The current education system does not produce cross-fertilised disciplines (although skills like coding are becoming more endemic in the cohorts entering the workforce today).. Perhaps a more pressing problem is the fact that the new workforce of the 2020s is not keen to travel into an office or laboratory to work, preferring working remotely.. For research work and smaller more specialised laboratories, the automation story is different.Without the scale, the investment in robotised systems against simple improvements in efficiency does not add up.
The released value of scientists being freed up to spend more time analysing, discussing, collaborating and thinking is not well quantified.
Islands of automation may be seen as investable to allow new science.. Added to this there is not a joined-up ecosystem that looks at today’s smallscale testing as tomorrow’s large-scale roll-out, meaning that testing protocols are often developed in ways that inhibit or slow future automation.. Change, adaptation and flexibility.She joined Bryden Wood shortly thereafter and now returns to her alma mater to help crit the next generation of architects.
We caught up with her to find out about her involvement in the Westminster program as well as to get her take on what young architects can learn from this seemingly daunting practice.. BW: How did you get involved with the University of Westminster's crit program and what do you enjoy about being involved?.M: As I studied at Westminster for both my undergraduate and postgraduate degree, I have come to know some of the tutors quite well.
On top of this, when studying for my Masters degree, I worked as a PAL (Peer Assisted Learning) assistant for undergraduate students.This is a new initiative set up by Westminster, which involves older students helping teach the younger ones.