Editor’s comment: And now, the end is near…
Author : Mark Gradwell | Editor | EPDT
20 December 2022
Mark Gradwell, Editor, EPDT
After almost six years at the editorial helm of EPDT, the January 2023 issue (my 68th!) will be my last. It has been a privilege and an honour to be the Editor of EPDT, one of the UK’s leading monthly technical journals for electronics design, manufacturing & test engineers. So, what next for EPDT?...
Having spent more than two decades working in communications across the electronics, technology and engineering sectors, writing for and editing a trade press magazine has fulfilled a personal and career ambition. But now I’m going back to my roots for a role in agency-side communications, helping companies tell their stories and get their message out (and because I remain passionate about our industry, it’s still electronics-focused)...
Passing the baton
Taking the reins from next month’s issue will be a familiar name and face to many readers, as EPDT welcomes back industry veteran and former EPDT Editor, Alistair (Ally) Winning (alistair.winning@imlgroup.co.uk). Ally rejoins EPDT from the beginning of January as Interim Consulting Editor (alongside his role as European Editor of Power Systems Design), providing EPDT with a steady pair of hands as it continues its recruitment process. In my very first column, written as I took on the mantle of EPDT Editor back in the June 2017 issue, I wrote about standing on the shoulders of the editorial giants that had gone before me – including Ally, so it’s great to welcome him back for now.
That first column also talked about how ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ was (and is still) an appropriate metaphor for electronics design and engineering. Every day, I explained, consumers and industrial users who utilise electronic devices (or as is often the case these days, all kinds of smart devices with electronics in them) benefit from the amazing work engineers (like you) have done to create the technology they rely on to enrich their lives and run their businesses. And those creators themselves (like you), I continued, build on the work carried out by the scientists and engineers who preceded them.
Our role here at EPDT has always been to shine a light on the collective achievements of the electronics industry, hopefully helping to inform, educate and engage you, the reader, with relevant, valuable content to help you develop your skills, knowledge and careers. I think that will remain true as I pass the baton to Ally and the next editorial era.
Electronics everywhere
Electronics remains at the centre of everyday life for most people (whether they realise it or not!), underpinning and enabling many of the technologies we rely on every day for work, study, travel and leisure. Inside virtually every modern device, product and system (from home, building and industrial automation to wearables, medical devices and autonomous vehicles), they provide essential sensing, connectivity and intelligence – and crucially, power. If anything, with the proliferation of smart devices, the internet of things (IoT) and ubiquitous connectivity, as well as megatrends from AI (artificial intelligence), EVs (electric vehicles) and AVs (autonomous vehicles), 5G, renewable energy and robotics to the increasing digitalization of everything, the electronics industry is more critical now than six years ago – or indeed, ever before.
Over the last few years, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unprecedented lockdowns that followed, resulted in an immediate, substantial and arguably enduring hit on ‘normal’ day-to-day life for many of us – with technology (powered by electronics) stepping in to play a significant role, as many activities necessarily moved online. And as coronavirus continued to dominate the agenda deep into 2021, alongside other geopolitical factors – including Brexit and ongoing US-China trade tensions – this uncertainty and instability sent shockwaves through the global economy and supply chain. For electronics, this was felt keenly with the semiconductor chip shortage – and a realisation that our supply chains perhaps needed to become more distributed and resilient. And 2022 hasn’t provided much respite – with the Russia-Ukraine war, energy and cost-of-living crises, escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, ongoing political instability and even the death of the Queen. We certainly live in interesting times…
The future…
As we move into 2023, uncertainty continues – not only in our industry, but throughout society. But one thing is certain: technology, usually created by engineers and often underpinned by electronics, remains a vital part of the solution to many of the grand challenges facing society, from tackling global pandemics, addressing climate change and harnessing renewable energy sources, to combatting inequality and maximising the benefits of robotics and AI for all.
As I leave EPDT, I feel grateful to have witnessed so many incredible developments and innovations in our industry over the last six years – and thankful that my next role will mean I will still get to follow such progress up close, helping to tell those stories and perhaps even bring them to you. For now, it only remains for me to sincerely thank all the contributors to and supporters of EPDT over the last six years, the fabulous team that have worked with me to produce the publication – and, of course, you, the reader. Thanks for reading and for allowing us to bring our content to you. I leave you in good hands. Please keep doing the amazing, inspirational work you’re doing! À bientôt…
Mark Gradwell
Editor
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