The Sterling Group has its origins in the mid 1990’s. Mr Donald Hagger, then a World Bank Advisor to the Indonesian Government, perceived a need to reassure countries in the area, particularly Singapore, that the best university engineering departments in the UK were still meeting the highest standards of engineering teaching and research. Mr Hagger was closely involved with the organisation of a number of lecture tours to S.E. Asia whose members were drawn from top UK engineering departments, the purpose of these tours being to fulfil the perceived need for reassurance regarding quality.
The Sterling Group as it currently exists grew out of these early tours and dates from May 1998. There were about twenty university members chaired by Professor Brian Scott (University of Glasgow) with Professor Peter Goodhew FREng (University of Liverpool) taking over in 1999. The current chair, Dr Richard Scott (Durham University), assumed the role in 2003. Mr Hagger became a consultant to The Sterling Group in 2001 and continued to take an active interest in the Group’s activities until his retirement as a consultant in 2010. Professor Julia King CBE FREng (Aston University), The Sterling Group president, made a presentation to Mr Hagger at the Group’s annual plenary meeting in October 2010 in recognition of Donald’s fundamental involvement with the Group’s affairs.
Further details concerning The Sterling Group and its activities may be found elsewhere within these web pages.
Mr Donald Hagger and Professor Julia King CBE FREng