Research and development are industry’s promise for the future. Yet, a perfect storm is brewing. Rising costs, longer cycles, and higher sustainability and performance standards are increasingly compromising R&D budgets. Moreover, complex R&D problems can no longer be addressed inside neat, isolated technology tracks.

Simultaneously, technologies such as AI, high-performance computing, quantum methods, and automated testing offer the opportunity to help R&D face these challenges, but only if businesses can determine a way to bring it all together in a way that is scientifically sound, scalable, and realistic.

This episode of the New Era of Engineering explores how a longstanding partnership between academia and enterprise is enabling deeper thinking about such integration.

Guests: Julian van Velzen, Head of Capgemini’s Quantum Lab

George Booth, Professor of Theoretical Physics, King’s College, London

Host: Brian Doherty

Production & Realization: Brockhill Creative Ltd.

In part two of our Future of Engineering conversation, Keith Williams, EVP & CTO at Capgemini Engineering, and Akshat Vaid, Partner at Everest Group, shift from defining the future of engineering to tackling the real challenge: how to get there.

Building on the “nirvana” vision introduced in part one, this episode dives into the practicalities of road‑mapping and execution in a world where technology, macro‑economics, and geopolitics collide. Keith and Akshat explore what it takes for engineering leaders to translate ambition into action - designing resilient architectures, scaling AI responsibly, and creating knowledge-management systems that capture decades of organizational insight.

They also talk about the evolving role of major engineering tool vendors, the rise of AI‑led development, and how principle‑driven leadership helps teams deliver the now while preparing for what’s next.
If part one mapped the horizon, part two gives you the compass.

Guests: Keith Williams (EVP & CTO, Capgemini Engineering); Akshat Vaid (Partner, Everest Group)
Host: Brian Doherty
Production & Realization: Brockhill Creative Ltd.

Engineering leaders are under pressure to deliver today and reinvent tomorrow. In this episode, Keith Williams, EVP & CTO at Capgemini Engineering, and Akshat Vaid, Partner at Everest Group, join us to map the current state of play across fast‑moving tech horizons and the convergence of digital and physical innovation. Together, they discuss engineering’s role in sustainability, defense, and biosecurity, and explore how principle‑driven leadership transforms volatility into strategic advantage, setting up the “nirvana” challenge that leads into part two on road‑mapping and execution.

Guests: Keith Williams (EVP & CTO, Capgemini Engineering); Akshat Vaid (Partner, Everest Group)
Host: Brian Doherty
Production & Realization: Brockhill Creative Ltd.