The government is looking to mark the opening of the £15bn Crossrail project by declaring 2018 the official ‘Year of the Engineer’.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced the policy intention in his speech to the Conservative party conference yesterday, although there was scant detail accompanying it.
He said: “We should recognise what brilliant engineers we have in this country. I am immensely proud of what they achieve. And so in 2018 – when Crossrail is complete – I want us to do something special. A year of the engineer – to excite a new generation of Brunels, Stephensons and Telfords.”
2018 will also be the bicentenary of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
According to Chinese astrology, 2018 will be a year of the dog.