STEPHEN Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock, recently hosted engineering students from Basildon Upper Academy in Parliament for a lunch on robotics.

On Tuesday 21 May, a group of students, all of whom are studying engineering at Basildon Upper Academy, were hosted by their local MP for a Parliamentary lunch on the topic of robotics.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Engineering, a cross-party group of MPs which encourages closer engagement between politicians and engineers, organised the lunch and invited world-leading university academics to speak on the opportunities and risks posed by the rise of robotics.

Speakers included Professor Fumiya Iida, Professor of Robotics at the University of Cambridge, Dr Dana D. Damian, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering at the University of Sheffield, and Amie Owen, Research Assistant and PhD student on Robotics and Computer Science at the University of Lincoln.

Mr Metcalfe said: "I am really glad that I had the opportunity to invite some aspiring Year 12 engineers to hear about some of the exciting routes into robotics and the opportunities presented by this fast-growing industry. We discussed the connection between robotics and artificial intelligence, the risks and possibilities, and it was great to hear their views.

"Many thanks to Ms Bowman for working to make this happen!

"It is fantastic that Basildon Upper Academy is working to expand students' horizons and give them insight into the world of opportunity that exists."