Health of acoustics as discipline

There is a need for step-change in education, networking and two-way public engagement on topics of acoustics among the general public, politicians and in schools. There is still a relatively long-time lag between fundamental, applied research in acoustics and non-academic impact from it. There is a particular need to work towards faster adoption of new, more sustainable acoustic technologies and products by clinicians, industry and policy-makers. This includes provision of better education for engineers, designers and architects on the importance of acoustic considerations and new technologies for spaces and products that suffer from debilitating acoustics. This can be achieved by strengthening the link between pure analysis, applied acoustics research and knowledge transfer and via the more efficient development of better acoustic courses, standards, practices and legislation. There is a need to address EDI issues, to make the UK acoustics community an environment that is attractive and supportive to the widest talent pool,  for example to address underrepresentation in our discipline of many ethnic groups and women. New ethics and responsible innovation issues emerge from the advance of AI and need addressing.