Curiosity, Collaboration and Four Decades of Engineering Change with Ian Duke

"If you are not curious, then you have got a big part of your armoury missing."

Ian Duke has been asking questions throughout a career spanning more than four decades.

He entered engineering as a 16-year-old apprentice, progressed through technical and operational roles and is now Managing Director at Alaris Linwave, a specialist RF and microwave technology business.

Joining Louis Parratt on The Route to Networking podcast, Ian looked back at how that journey began, how engineering has changed around him and why curiosity, practical experience and the confidence to make mistakes still matter more than any single route into the industry.

Their conversation also revealed how RF technology reaches far beyond the applications most people recognise, including one example that left Louis genuinely speechless.

Learning to ask for help

Ian began with a broad engineering apprenticeship at English Electric Valve, which later became part of E2V Technologies. Moving between departments introduced him to different skills, roles and ways of working.

"It gave us quite a broad appreciation of a wide range of skills and a lot of chance to be hands-on in different roles. It really got us working with other people and understanding their skills and their constraints."

Louis asked what stayed with him from that experience. Ian's answer was not about a particular tool or technical discipline, but learning how to work with people.

"Whenever you face a challenge or a difficulty, getting a team of people working together to try and resolve that problem is critical. The better you are at communicating with other people, the easier that process becomes."

Arriving at a site of around 1,200 employees at 16 was intimidating. Ian remembers having to push past his shyness and trust the people around him.

"When you are 16 years old and it is your first job, everything is brand new. You sort of have to get over your shyness and ask people for help, whether you want to or not."

"You do make mistakes, and if you are lucky, you have people around you who will help you get over those mistakes, learn from them and carry them forward. I was really fortunate in that respect."

There is no single route into engineering

The conversation naturally turned to apprenticeships and university. Ian admits he is biased towards the route he took, but decades of working alongside talented graduates have convinced him that neither path guarantees success.

"I think it is more about your attitude. If you are willing to roll your sleeves up, try things, work with other people and you have got a curious mind, you will do well whichever route you take."

For Ian, employers must then continue what schools, colleges and universities begin by helping new engineers turn core knowledge into practical capability.

"There is only so much that school, college or university can teach people. We provide those practical skills and train them in the specifics of our industry."

From a guarded mainframe to 3D models in hours

Few moments captured the length of Ian's career better than his description of the workplace he first entered.

"The drawing office I used to work in was very paper-based. People were still using drawing boards. We had a mainframe computer which was probably better treated than most employees. It had its own little air-conditioned room and there were only two or three people allowed to use it."

Ian and his colleagues were only beginning to introduce their first 2D CAD system. He has since watched digital design, simulation and data sharing transform how engineers work with customers and suppliers.

Asked which developments stand out, he pointed to additive manufacturing and the ability to turn a digital idea into something tangible almost immediately.

"You can produce a mock-up of a design quickly and have something physically in your hands that you can see, touch and work with in a matter of hours. That is a significant improvement over what was available before."

The pace has created new pressures too. Customers expect faster delivery, new products appear more frequently and components can become obsolete quickly. Ian does not present change as automatically good or bad. It brings new capability, but it also keeps engineering teams adapting.

Why smaller businesses can move quickly

Having spent 24 years at E2V Technologies before joining Linwave, Ian has experienced engineering businesses of very different sizes. Louis asked why smaller specialists can often make such a significant impact.

"They tend to have fewer employees and a simpler management structure. It is easier to get the right people around a table to make a decision than perhaps in some of the bigger organisations, where there may be multiple levels of authority."

"For small companies, speed and agility is a key skill."

That makes hiring especially important. Smaller teams need people who are willing to contribute broadly and become involved from the beginning.

"You want the right people. You want people who can come in and contribute, hands-on people who are going to deliver from day one."

The RF technology people rarely notice

Louis acknowledged that RF remains unfamiliar to many people, even though they use it constantly. He asked Ian to explain where it appears in everyday life.

"Whenever you are using your mobile phone, you are using an RF communication device. It is using radio frequency signals to communicate with base station towers located across the country. You are using that every day."

Ian also discussed radar used in search and rescue, including by coastguards locating people at sea. Then he introduced an application Louis had never heard of.

Ian explained that the principle used by a microwave oven can also be applied through a thin probe inserted into a tumour. The RF energy heats and destroys it from within, allowing some patients to receive treatment through less invasive surgery.

"Wow. I did not know that," Louis responded.

Tumour ablation is not an experimental idea. Ian said Linwave has supplied around 3,000 systems over the past decade.

"It is something we would never have thought of, but there are some very clever people looking after people's health who think of applying these technologies to things that you would never come up with in a million years."

"There are people walking around now who have been saved by that technology, which is quite amazing, really."

Balancing speed, safety and reliability

When Louis asked how Alaris Linwave manages innovation without compromising reliability, Ian brought the answer back to collaboration.

"We try to get involved with our customers right at the front end and heavily involve them in the development process. That allows us to prove out the riskier parts of the system at the early stages."

"We are the product and technology experts, but usually our customers are the experts in the application of that technology. Together, it works quite well."

AI entered the conversation as a tool that could support simulation, analyse large amounts of information and help teams identify potential risks. Ian recognises the concerns surrounding it, but his curiosity wins out.

"AI is the new kid on the block. It offers significant risks, but it offers significant opportunities as well."

"It will be interesting to see what our children are using in 10, 15 or 20 years' time. It could be very scary if I know my children and grandchildren."

What the next generation needs

Looking ahead, Ian believes engineers are entering the workplace with broader capabilities than earlier generations. Mechanical, electrical and software skills increasingly sit alongside one another rather than in separate boxes.

"You find younger engineers come in and they have got a much broader skill set. They are able to bring a wider set of skills to bear, and for any company that is really useful."

But developing future talent cannot be left entirely to education. Ian wants industry to help young people connect engineering with the technology already woven into their lives.

"What are we telling our schoolchildren about what engineering really is? Do we make that connection with the fact that they are using a mobile phone, where that comes from, how it is developed and what technology is involved? That is where industry comes in."

Do not be afraid to make mistakes

Louis closed the main conversation by asking Ian what advice he would give someone seeking a long career in engineering. His first answer was immediate.

"Develop curiosity."

"If you are the sort of person who likes to ask questions and understand how things work, that is a fantastic attribute to have, particularly in engineering and development businesses."

Asked what he wishes somebody had told him at the beginning, Ian thought back to the timid 16-year-old entering his first job.

"Do not be afraid. These companies do not want to see you fail; they want to help you."

"Do not be afraid to ask, do not be afraid to challenge and do not be afraid to make mistakes."

Quick Fire with Ian Duke

Before wrapping up, Louis put Ian through the podcast's Quick Fire Round, covering:

• The technology that has had the biggest impact during his career
• The biggest misconception about RF engineering
• The skill every engineer should develop
• The quality he always looks for when hiring
• The career he might have pursued outside engineering

You will have to listen to the episode to hear all his answers, including why Ian might otherwise have chosen a career that still involved making things with his hands.

Keep asking questions

Ian's career has taken him from a paper-based drawing office to leading a specialist business working with RF, software-controlled technology and emerging AI tools.

Yet the message running through his conversation with Louis is reassuringly consistent. Engineering will keep changing, but the people who thrive will be those willing to ask for help, work with others, learn from failure and remain curious about what might come next.

Listen to the full episode of The Route to Networking to hear Ian Duke's complete story, his Quick Fire answers and more from his conversation with Louis Parratt.