VOICES NIGEL GILBERT Altering images
Professor Nigel Gilbert looks at the current perceptions of engineers and engineering in the UK and explains the contribution that the social sciences can make to our understanding of engineering and manufacturing as vital parts of the UK economy. By Martin Ince
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IGEL GILBERT is a professor of sociology, with a specialism in computer modelling and simulation. Unusually, he is also an engineer, having made
the transition from technology to the sociology of science as a PhD student. So he is uniquely well-placed to observe the UK’s current Year of Engineering, and in particular the contribution that the social sciences can make to our understanding of engineering and manufacturing as vital parts of the UK economy. Now head of the dozen-strong Centre for Research in Social Simulation at the University of Surrey, Gilbert comes from what he terms a “scientific family,” and wrote computer programs while still at school. He then took a degree in engineering, because “there were no computer science degrees on offer at any British university at that time.” The course included a segment on management, with lectures on organisational sociology, and it was these that inspired him to become a full-time social scientist. His research since then has made the most of the growing power of information technology
Linking engineering to the social sciences
In Gilbert’s opinion, social scientists have more than most to gain from a closer link to engineering. He says: “The best engineers are sympathetic to the social sciences and are well aware that they need to understand the social impacts and social contexts of what they are doing.” Gilbert points out that the social sciences need to know more about
engineering and manufacturing, which he identifies as a key area for future ESRC support. He says: “With research council funding coming from the UK Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, it is inevitable that research here will be a priority. At present, Science and Technology Studies (STS) tend to be aimed more towards science, with less emphasis on engineering and manufacturing.”
In fact, he adds, engineering is a fascinating area for social science research. “Engineering covers the whole spectrum from new medical devices to software and systems, as well as some things you might expect such as bridge-building.”
Indeed, he sees scope for the direction of travel he took from engineering to the social sciences to become a two-way street. “My business card says that I am a FREng [a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the elite UK body for the profession] as well as being a professor of sociology. It would be good if more FBAs [Fellows of the British Academy, the equivalent body for the social sciences and the humanities] were professors of engineering.” n
22 SOCIETY NOW AUTUMN 2018
systems. One of his early ideas was to write software for the then novel microcomputer which allowed social security claimants to calculate their benefit entitlements. More recently, his work has concentrated on the application of IT to the modelling of social science problems. The models he has built allow social theories
“ Social scientists have more
than most to gain from a closer link to engineering
to be tested without the ethical issues that arise when experiments are done with real people and communities, and have been adopted in government and elsewhere. One sign of their success is his role as director of the Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN), launched in 2016 to apply innovative methods to the evaluation of public policies in energy, environment and food. ESRC is among its principal funders. Asked about his own favourite finding from the
”
social sciences, Gilbert names “path dependency” as a vital consideration for industry and government alike. He explains: “Path dependency is really just the idea that what happened in the past affects what’s possible for the future. People tend to ignore this truth and think that they have a blank slate for their future decisions. Social science can help here by being less focused on describing the present, and taking up the challenge of analysing how and why society changes through time.” The kind of models and simulations that Gilbert and his colleagues build are one way of doing this. Given Gilbert’s long experience of studying change in social and business organisations, does he think that ‘Years’ such as this Year of Engineering do any good? In his view, they might. As he sees it, “they provide justification for people to do things they would not do otherwise,” putting a “stamp of approval” on novel activities. In this case, the key task is “to get engineering better recognised in society.” This is a big task and it is unreasonable to expect it to be complete in twelve months, but the Year of Engineering is still a valuable initiative. Gilbert feels that engineering and engineers in the UK suffer from a lack of respect that would not be found in other countries. “The confusion arises because in Britain, an engineer is the person who comes to repair your washing machine,” he says.
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