The Institution of Engineering and Technology has launched the 2026–27 IET Faraday Challenge with a new flexible format allowing schools, youth groups and home-educating families to run engineering design challenges on their own timetable rather than fixed competition days. Teams of 6–8 students aged 12–13 will work on a real-world brief from an industry partner, using standardised kits of electronic components and structural materials supplied by the IET. The format is intended to widen access beyond well-resourced schools and give more pupils early exposure to structured engineering problem-solving.

Development finance for critical minerals mines, processing plants and supporting infrastructure is expanding, while funding for transparency tools, civil society oversight and community participation is being cut, according to a Washington-based donor network. The group warns of a “second funding gap” in governance support as multilateral banks and state-backed lenders prioritise capital-intensive extraction and refining projects. For miners and engineers, this signals rising scrutiny risks around licence-to-operate, community consent processes and ESG reporting, even where project finance appears readily available.

Improved public–private collaboration, “smarter” financial risk sharing and better asset data are being urged by a new Lloyds Banking Group report to upgrade the UK’s ageing, climate-exposed infrastructure. The report calls for clearer allocation of construction, demand and climate risks between government, institutional investors and asset owners, moving beyond traditional PFI-style models. For engineers, this points to stronger requirements for whole-life performance data, climate stress testing of assets and more transparent condition information to unlock private capital for renewals and resilience upgrades.