Member News

Transcription

Member News

Issue 35 Spring 2014
The magazine for members from
The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Member
News
Swindon’s online success story
Page 16
India reaches signficant
membership milestone
Page 19
11 The ICT professional
registration puzzle
15 Is it time that you
volunteered?
19 Is China leaping ahead?
21 Would you fly in an
unmanned plane?
Trailblazing the way
UK Government approves new IET-led apprenticeship standard for electricians
Page 4
2
3
Welcome
This edition
News4-5
Welcome to
our new-look
Member News.
We hope the refreshed
magazine will better
demonstrate how the IET
can help our members at
every stage of their careers,
and also showcase the
full breadth and depth of
what the IET does – from
our work to influence
and inform government
policy, to inspiring the next
generation of engineers and
technicians, and everything
in between.
We want to make sure that
you are kept up-to-date with
all the value that your IET
membership can provide,
including new products and
services.
Importantly, we will
be profiling member
achievements and the
excellent work of our
thousands of volunteers
across the world.
The magazine will now be
published every quarter and
we are updating our Member
News web area and monthly
emails to complement it.
6
Members Annual Information Event notice
6
Features
Introducing the new YPC Committee
Does the ICT profession need registered technicians?
President Barry Brooks on volunteering
The China Century
HS2: Vision into reality
Autonomous vehicles
Y
ou will see that we
have made some
changes to the
magazine, to focus
on bringing you
news of how the IET and its
members are delivering our
new vision of “working to
engineer a better world”.
Council update
Nigel Fine BSc MBA CEng FICE FIET
Chief Executive and Secretary
If you’re not already
subscribed to our Member
News emails I would highly
recommend signing up via
the ‘Interests’ section of
MyIET (www.theiet.org/my).
This is a simple and quick
way to ensure you have the
latest IET news in between
print editions.
The magazine is being
overseen by a new steering
group, made up of both
IET volunteers and staff.
The steering group really
does encourage you,
our members, to submit
ideas and content for the
magazine. The best way
to contact them is to email
[email protected].
In this edition you will
find many examples of
how the IET, through our
members and volunteers,
is working to inspire,
inform and influence
the global engineering
community, of which we
can all be proud. I hope
you enjoy reading it and
we always welcome your
feedback.
Nigel Fine
Chief Executive and
Secretary
10
11
15
19
20
20-21
From the president
16
Communities
Swindon’s online success story
Annual Healthcare Technologies Awards
Robotics and Mechatronics Network
Professional registration in the Middle East
16
17
17
18
Obituaries22
Events23
For more news and features
visit: www.theiet.org/membernews
You can contact Member News by emailing
[email protected].
Member News is edited by a steering group of IET members and staff. The group includes:
Viki Bell Head of MPD Marketing
Kate Berry Corporate Marketing Manager
David Biggins Marketing Executive
Lisa Churchill Marketing Executive
Margo Davis Internal Communications Manager
Anne Fitzsimons Membership Manager
Sandra Godman Programme Manager-Global
Agenda & Talent, Governance
and Policy
Laura Glibbery Marketing Campaign Manager
Isabella Mascarenhas Young Professionals
Engagement Manager
James McLouglin Head of Knowledge Marketing
Rhys Phillips Young Professionals Representative
Helen Rognaldsen Head of Communications
Richard Spalding Council Representative
Alex Taylor Head of Communities
Member News has been produced by:
George Redknap Production Controller
Ken Dobson Designer
Content has been coordinated by David Biggins +44 (0)1438 765632.
Member News is a news magazine for members of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET). The IET
is not as a body responsible for the opinions expressed in Member News. The IET is registered as a Charity
in England & Wales (no 211014) and Scotland (no SC038698). ©2014: The Institution of Engineering &
Technology. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means without the permission in writing of the publisher. Multiple copying of articles is not permitted
except for personal and internal use. Multiple copying of the content of this publication is always illegal.
Printed Wyndeham Group
UK ISS N 1752-5594
www.theiet.org/membership
Spring 2014 – Member News
4
MEMBER NEWS
IET headlines
IET Annual Dinner
IET members in the news
T
he IET continues to appear
in the news on important
engineering related topics.
Jeremy Acklam from the IET’s
Transport Policy Panel appeared
on BBC One’s Breakfast
television programme, talking
about the need to make the rail
network more resilient.
During January there was
considerable coverage in the
UK’s national newspapers
of Facebook’s takeover of
WhatsApp, featuring comment
from the Chair of IET’s
Communications Policy Panel.
In total, 36 pieces of coverage
included a comment from the
IET in newspapers such as
The Times, the Daily Mail, the
Daily Telegraph, and the London
Evening Standard.
In December, the Chief
Executive of retail giant
Amazon, Jeff Bozos, announced
the company could start using
unmanned aerial vehicles to
deliver parcels to customers
within 30 minutes. The IET’s
Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal
commented on the issue in
a number of publications,
including The Independent,
Yahoo, MSN and City A.M.
Also in early December, a
structural engineer from
Hertfordshire, Abbie Hutty, was
named the IET’s Young Woman
Engineer (YWE) of the Year.
Abbie was interviewed by the
Daily Mail, and her win was also
mentioned in The Sun. She also
appeared on BBC Breakfast and
BBC Newsround talking about
her work on the ExoMars Rover
mission, Europe’s first Rover
Mission to Mars.
Yasmin Ali, winner of the
Women’s Engineering Society
(WES) Award, appeared in
the Nottingham Post and the
Mansfield Chad.
This year a total of £8,961.90
was raised for the IET Benevolent
Fund, IET Connect, from a charity
collection made during the
evening.
Jim Al-Khalili OBE presenting
at the IET Annual Dinner
A F Harvey Prize Winner Professor Stuart Wenham
A F Harvey
Engineering
Research Prize
new apprenticeship standard
for electricians, led by the IET,
has been approved by the UK
Government.
In a bid to improve the quality of
apprenticeships the UK Government
called upon figures from industry to
design apprenticeship standards
– known as Trailblazers – across
eight sectors.
majority of which were small and
medium sized businesses (SMEs).
The Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills (BIS) asked
the IET to lead the Electrotechnical
Trailblazer. The standard was
developed in close consultation
with over 300 employers, the
The IET’s Director of Membership and
Professional Development, Michelle
Richmond, met with John Hayes MP
and other industry figures at the
launch of the Trailblazers project
at 10 Downing Street (pictured).
Member News – Spring 2014
The Annual Dinner is one of
the most prestigious events on
the Institution’s calendar and
demonstrates how the IET is
able to bring together the key
people from the engineering and
technology community.
Sara Underwood, an apprentice
from Rolls-Royce, received the
Mary George Memorial Prize
at the awards. Sara appeared
in the Yorkshire Post and the
Craven Herald and Pioneer.
Apprenticeship Trailblazers
A
This year’s IET Annual Dinner, held in London on 20 February, was again
a great success, with around 1,000 guests and an inspirational guest
speech from theoretical nuclear physicist and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili.
Trailblazers at Downing Street
An Australian engineer, whose
team has discovered a way of
increasing the efficiency, while
reducing the cost, of solar panels,
has been awarded the IET A F
Harvey Engineering Research
Prize of £300,000.
Professor Stuart Wenham, from
the University of New South Wales
(UNSW Australia), was chosen
from high calibre candidates from
across the world to be awarded
the prize.
He will deliver a special lecture
for the IET in London on 21 May.
EngTechNow
The IET is also involved
in another initiative,
EngTechNow, which
aims to encourage the
registration of over
100,000 Engineering
Technicians by 2020.
The campaign is a joint
effort by the IET, the
Institution of Mechanical
Engineers (IMechE) and the
Institution of Civil Engineers
(ICE), in conjunction with
the Engineering Council,
and with support from
the Gatsby Charitable
Foundation.
5
Working with The Perkins’
Review:
UK Government next steps
14
News from the IET’s Policy team
The IET has called for
the UK to champion the
global potential of smart
superfast systems.
The IET’s Communications
Policy Panel has launched
a new thought-leading
concept, Demand-Attentive
Networks (DANs), to tackle
the growing strain on the
UK’s existing telecoms
networks.
Carmichael MP, Andrew
Miller MP, Angela Smith
MP and Peter Luff MP.
DANs will anticipate
and respond rapidly to
users’ needs as they
arise, as a quicker and
more affordable option
to simply increasing
bandwidth across
networks.
The DAN launch event
attracted a wide range of
MPs, Lords and industry
leaders, brought together
by the IET to discuss the
implications of the concept
and the opportunity it
presents for the UK to take
the global lead in setting the
agenda for future telecoms
and mobile networks.
A DAN is not a specific
technology but an
architectural approach
to create a network that
recognises and responds
to the demands users and
applications place on it,
to optimise the allocation
of network resources
through a series of smart
terminal devices.
Parliamentarians in
attendance included Neil
By efficiently allocating
resources, a DAN should
be able to provide the
impression of limitless
bandwidth and ensure
that user perception of
network performance is
always sufficient.
Further work over the next
few months will include
meeting with senior
government officials to
promote the vision of the
concept, while seeking
backing to bring key
stakeholders together to
agree a way forward.
The IET’s DAN report is
available online at
www.theiet.org/dan.
There was an active question and
answer session between the invited
stakeholder audience (including
members of the Scottish Parliament,
government, industry and academia)
and a panel comprised of cross-party
members of the Scottish Parliament,
Professor Lunn and the IET’s Professor
Robin MacLaren.
Head of the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at the
University of Strathclyde, Professor
Rebecca Lunn, chaired the event
while Murdo Fraser MSP was the host.
I
n November Professor John Perkins, Chief Scientific
Advisor to the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills (BIS), published his long awaited
of engineering
Engineering
The Review
pipeline for
skillsSkills.
leading to professional registration
Inspiration
GCSEs
Vocational
Education
Work-based
technical training
(eg NVQ)
HND/foundation
degree
Engineering
technician role
and registration
Fracking in Scotland
The Scottish Parliament held its
first debate on shale gas extraction,
also known as fracking, in February.
This debate was arranged by the IET’s
Engineering Policy Group Scotland,
as the latest of its flagship Holyrood
Briefings.
| Professor John Perkins’ Review of Engineering Skills
A possible interpretation of the
outcome of the debate was that, given
Scotland’s statutory commitment to a
42 per cent carbon dioxide emissions
reduction between 1990 and 2020
[Climate Change (Scotland) Act], shale
gas extraction might be a useful short
term solution to the projected energy
gap, while alternative energy sources
are developed.
However, while most agreed that the
technology is mature and could be
controlled by regulation and inspection,
the main barrier to implementation
remained public acceptance. If shale
gas does not gain public support
Scotland would have to re-evaluate its
stance of ‘no new nuclear’ or be highly
reliant upon the import of energy.
A levels
Apprenticeship
1st degree in
non-engineering
subject
1st degree in
engineering
2nd degree in
engineering or
other conversion
Professional
engineer role and
registration
Image credit: Professor John Perkins’ Review
of Engineering Skills November 2013
The report set out recommendations for the Professional
Engineering Institutions (PEIs) to work with industry
and the UK Government to overcome predicted skills
shortages and skills gaps in the engineering sector.
Since then, the IET has been working with BIS, and the
wider engineering community, to set up three ‘task and
finish’ groups to identify and facilitate actions that
will have an impact on areas including inspiration,
vocational education and higher education.
In addition the UK Government is also providing
support through: £30 million in funding for employers
to address engineering skills shortages in sectors with
specific needs; £200 million for STEM teaching capital
for high cost subjects such as engineering; and £185
million over four years for teaching high cost subjects
such as science, technology and engineering.
6
MEMBER NEWS
Why “Council Matters” and what members
can do to contribute to the future of their IET
M
ost members are
aware that the IET has
a high level body that
advises the Board of
Trustees: Council. It is
one of the bodies that forms part of
the governance structure of the IET
and is the primary voice for all IET
members. Its roles, responsibilities
and structures are defined in the
Royal Charter and Bye-laws of the
IET. Its role is:
t endering advice to the Board
of Trustees concerning the
conduct of the IET’s affairs
generally, including its
direction and strategy, and on
any other matters referred to it
by the Board of Trustees;
c ommunicating views that are
representative of the range of
views of members of the IET on
these and other matters to the
Board of Trustees;
onitoring the governance of
m
the IET and promoting a culture
of continuous improvement.
NOTICE
Council matters because it
consists of members like you and
me who have committed their
time, energy and enthusiasm to
ensure that the Board of Trustees
and the other boards hear and
consider members’ views in
guiding the IET’s direction and
governance. Currently Council
includes 66 elected members
drawn from Local Networks,
Technical & Professional Networks
and the membership at large.
Each year a third of the members
retire and are replaced with newly
elected members. Council also
includes members of the Board
of Trustees, appointees from the
two Main Boards and the two most
recent past presidents.
Council meets in person three times a
year for a day and participates in an
ongoing discussion forum between
meetings using conference calls,
MyCommunity groups and other
network-based technology. We also
review and contribute to the IET’s
Strategic and Corporate Plans, review
and note the IET’s Annual Report and
provide a report of Council activity
for the Annual General Meeting.
To ensure continuity and to manage
our workload more effectively,
Council has standing Working
Parties, including Current and
Future Strategy, Communicating
the Views of Members, Monitoring
Governance and Global Support.
The first three are aligned with
Council’s core mandate, and the
fourth one is a forum for issues and
actions associated with our non-UK
members.
Wherever you live and work I
encourage you to share your
views of what the IET can do
for you and what you can do
for the IET.
We plan on ensuring that you
hear from Council on a regular
basis by publishing a regular
article in each issue of Member
News. Please read it and
contribute to the future of your
Institution, the IET.
Edwin Morton
Chairman - Council
How you can become more involved:
G et up to speed on Council activities read the Council Minutes on the IET website
(www.theiet.org/about/people/council)
Stand for election to Council
C ontact Council through a Council member you know, a Working
Party Chairman or to me ([email protected]).
MEMBERS ANNUAL INFORMATION EVENT
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Members Annual Information Event, including the Annual
General Meeting of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, will be held on Wednesday,
25 June 2014 at 5.30 pm at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George Street, London
SW1P 3AA, United Kingdom, for the following purposes:
1. To receive the minutes of the previous
meeting.
2. To receive a report from the Chief Executive
and Secretary on the IET’s achievements in
the previous year.
3. To receive a report from the President about
the Institution’s plans for the future.
4. To receive a report from Council.
5. To receive a report from the Young
Professionals Community Committee.
6. To receive a report from IET Connect.
7. To receive and consider the Trustees Report
and Financial Statements for the year ended
31 December 2013.
8.
9.
10.
(a)
To appoint auditors for 2014.
Q&A session.
Vote of thanks to:
the honorary officers and members of all
Institution Boards and Committees;
(b) the staff of the Institution.
NOTES: The Annual General Meeting will be held in accordance with Bye-laws 52-53. The quorum shall be 25 members. The Annual
General Meeting does not have the power to accept or reject the Trustees Report and Financial Statements.
Copies of the Trustees Report and Financial Statements will be available at the meeting. Advance copies can be obtained on
application to the Chief Executive and Secretary approximately 14 days before the date of the meeting.
There will be a live webcast of the Members Annual Information Event at www.IET.tv. Members may submit questions beforehand.
By order of the Board of Trustees
Mr Nigel Fine
Chief Executive and Secretary
18 April 2014
7
Latest news on
the refurbishment of
IET LONDON: Savoy Place
J
ly 2013 saw the start
u
of an exciting two-year
refurbishment project for
IET London: Savoy Place,
the IET’s historic home.
Following the closure the
building was fully stripped
out revealing some previously
hidden original features
including high ceilings,
archways and fireplaces.
At the beginning of 2014, the
IET announced the award
of the main works building
contract for the project to
Gilbert-Ash Limited. Work
commenced on site on
27 January, and is due to
complete in mid-2015.
The plans for the building will
see much-loved architectural
features, including the main
lecture theatre and heritage
New Faraday Centre
library, retained. At the same
time, the building’s layout will
be reinvigorated, with new
passenger lifts and a new
space on the second floor
named the Faraday Centre.
This facility will provide a
café/bar, networking lounge,
and knowledge and library
services, and will be a great
space for IET members.
The second floor will also
include a new 180-seat
lecture theatre, which will
be built above the existing
ground floor theatre.
Where possible, new window
designs will capitalise on
the building’s excellent
views of London. Upgrades
in IT and AV functionality
will also be key to the
success of the project.
Delivering benefits in use
Over the past nine months,
a team of IET volunteers
and staff has been
working to ensure that
the project delivers an
enhanced experience for
users of the building.
They have been surveying
IET members and have run
a series of focus groups. Key
recommendations accommodated
within the plans for the building
are an expansion of its café
facilities to include a varied
selection of meal options, integration
of a members’ bar, and ideas on
managing bookings and guest visits.
A new pricing structure for events
has also been announced, with
preferential rates for IET and
other engineering activities.
When the building reopens, a 50
per cent discount on room hire
rates will apply to IET events
(including Local and Technical
Network events). Room hire
discounts ranging from 20 to 30
per cent will also be extended
to IET Corporate and Academic
Partners and, for the first time,
other Professional Engineering
Institutions (PEIs).
A strong theme that came across
from the focus groups was a
desire for the building to act as a
‘global engineering hub’, and to
showcase the achievements and
challenges faced by engineers
around the world. The team
is currently looking at ways to
inject examples of engineering
excellence back into the building,
and for opportunities for IET
members from around the world
to showcase their work within it.
Encouragingly, survey results have
also shown that, when questioned,
over 91 per cent of IET members in
south-east England intend to use
the refurbished building’s facilities,
compared to just 52 per cent who
were using it prior to July 2013.
For more information on the
project, including details of
the IET’s temporary London
home at One Birdcage Walk
in Westminster, please visit
www.theiet.org/sp-upgrade.
New Riverside Suite
8
MEMBER NEWS
Newly Elected Fellows
January - February 2014
Leading by
example
Jeremy Watson
CBE FREng FIET
Jeremy became a Fellow at
the age of 41. Since then he
has been involved in the IET
both locally and centrally as
an active volunteer, while his
career has gone from strength
to strength. He offers the
following advice to new Fellows
based on his own experience.
“One of my key motivations for being
a volunteer comes from seeing
bright young engineers building their
careers and growing in capability and
confidence. Developing the capacity
and reputation of our profession is very
important. So, I welcome new Fellows to
the IET and offer my example to young
engineers – lever your industrial and
institutional reputation off each other.”
Jeremy Watson is responsible for Arup’s strategy for
Science & Technology. He is Vice Dean of Engineering
Science at UCL.
Jeremy is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
and Vice-President elect of the IET. He was awarded a CBE in
the Queen’s 2013 Birthday honours for services to engineering.
Mr Kenneth Adams –
England, Cumbria
Mr Brian Addison –
England, West Yorkshire
Mr David Adolphus –
England, London
Mr Alasdair Anderson –
England, Surrey
Dr Philip Bagley –
Scotland, Aberdeenshire
Mr Nigel Barnes –
England, London
Mr Alfred Brand –
England, Somerset
Mr David Brown –
England, Merseyside
Dr Hing Kai Chan –
England, Norfolk
Professor George Chen –
England, Hampshire
Mr Martin Cotterell –
England, Cumbria
Mr William Dawber –
England, West Sussex
Mr Andrew Edmondson –
England, Cumbria
Dr Alexander Ellery –
Canada, Ontario
Mr Ahmet Erkan –
England, Dorset
Professor Steven Gao –
England, Kent
Mr Anoop Gupta –
India, New Delhi
Mr Steven Hale –
England, Kent
Mr Trevor Harvey –
Ms Tanya Hedley –
England, County Down
Eur Ing William Hewlett –
England, Kent
Mr Paul Hinchliffe –
England, West Yorkshire
Mr Richard Hughes –
England, Buckinghamshire
Mr Stuart Jack –
England, Cambridgeshire
Mr Keith Joughin –
England, North Yorkshire
Mr Mansour Karkoub –
Qatar, Doha
Dr Gopichand Katragadda –
India, Bangalore
Professor Miroslav Krstic –
U.S.A. California
Dr Parag Kulkarni –
India, Maharashtra
Professor Yu Kwong Kwok –
Hong Kong
Professor Richard Leach –
England, Surrey
Dr Elaine Leith –
Oman, Muscat
Professor Xidong Liang –
P.R.C., Beijing
Professor Erwu Liu –
P.R.C., Shanghai
Mr Graeme Marriott –
England, Cumbria
Mr David Martin –
England, Oxfordshire
Dr Matthew Maynard –
England, Nottinghamshire
Mr David McMillan –
England, South Ayrshire
Reverend Christopher Miles –
England, Kent
Professor Yong Min –
P.R.C., Beijing
Mr Tharaka Gajaba Mohotty –
Sri Lanka, Pitakotte
Mr Jayakumar Natarajan –
England, Staffordshire
Professor Qiang Ni –
England, Lancashire
Mr Edward Orr –
England, Derbyshire
Eur Ing Paul Parkinson –
England, Leicestershire
Dr Jacquelyn Portman –
Qatar, Doha
Dr Mark Prudden –
England, Gloucestershire
Dr Yasser Qureshi –
Brigadier Robert Talbot Rice –
England, Hampshire
Mr Paul Sayer –
England, Shropshire
Mr Duncan Scott –
England, Cumbria
Eur Ing Lakmal Senanayake –
Sri Lanka, Gampola
Mr Jianxin Shen –
P.R.C., Zhejiang
Mrs Jane Simpson –
England, West Midlands
Dr Norman Smith –
England, London
Mr Michael Summers –
England, West Sussex
Professor Wen-Pei Sung –
R.O.C., Taiwan
Brigadier Allan Thomson –
England, Avon
Professor Zanji Wang –
P.R.C., Beijing
Mr Michael White –
U.S.A., California
Mr Michael Whittaker –
England, Surrey
Mr Justin Wiedemann –
England, Derbyshire
Professor Cheng Hong Yang –
R.O.C., Taiwan
For the complete list of elected Fellows visit www.theiet.org/new-fellows.
If you’re a Fellow, join the IET Fellows LinkedIn group and
keep in touch with more of the most influential people in the
world of engineering and technology.
www.theiet.org/fellows-linkedin
www.theiet.org/fellows
9
Professional registration
through the IET
433
345
380
2,332
99
488
Total new registrants
through the
2,097
13
12
159
336
57
1,980
2011
12
31
12
13
356
2011
YEAR
YEAR
CEng
EngTech
IEng
ICTTech
2012
2012
2013
2013
66
Total female
registrants
88
10
12
74
105
12
19
86
16
20
122
For the complete list of new registrants visit www.theiet.org/new-registrants.
Social round up
Communicate with the IET in real time. If you have a view that you want
to share either with The IET – or other members – please get in touch.
Share your IET experiences by tweeting @TheIET
Jimmy Gallagher IV
@jimmy_jjg4
Applied for Mentor Registration with @TheIET today. Excited about
giving something back in lieu of the countless Engineers who assisted me.
Simon Yarwood
Are we wasteful when it comes to e-waste?
Mobile recycling is not only a cost-effective practice but it is also very
important for the benefit of our environment. Recycling electronic
devices helps in controlling the leak of harmful chemicals into the
atmosphere. If we look at the UK market, the country’s population is
63.23 million but there are 82.7 million mobile subscriptions. This
means that there are more mobile phones than people in the country.
Given our ever increasing hunger for digital gadgets, it’s even more
important that we discard mobile phones safely and responsibly.
What kind of e-waste policies do you think should be implemented
in a workplace?
Like · Comment · Share · 5h ago
Visit www.linkedin.com and search for The IET to respond to Simon.
10:17 AM - 10 Mar 2014 · Details
2 RETWEETS 1 FAVOURITE
Suzanne Flynn
WHAT and WHO inspired you to become an engineer
David Whale
@whaleygeek
Well, a really useful consultation with @TheIET in Chelmsford tonight.
Getting all excited about filling in my CEng app form (really!)
2:11 PM - 10 Mar 2014 · Details
3 RETWEETS 1 FAVOURITE
I am carrying out an unscientific piece of research. Please can you
help me by telling me WHAT inspired you to become an engineer and
WHO inspired you to become an engineer? I am hoping to use the
anonymized information at a networking event for IET Fellows later in
the year. Thanks for your help. Suzanne Flynn, Deputy Chair, IET
Fellows Panel.
Like · Comment · Share · 6h ago
Can you help Suzanne? If so, head to www.theiet.org/MyCommunity
If you have an idea for an article that you would like to see in Member News please email [email protected].
10
MEMBER NEWS
Introducing
the new Young
Professionals
Community
Committee
A bright new era is on the horizon for our
IET Young Professionals with the creation
of the newly formed Young Professionals
Community Committee (YPCC).
The purpose of their first
meeting was to identify key
areas that the YPCC should
focus on. Five clear work
streams were defined and
a lead Young Professional
assigned to each of them.
These are: Present Around
the World; the Global
Challenge with RedR; joint
working with a particular
focus on building a robust
relationship with the IMechE’s
Young Members; actively
engaging YPs worldwide to
improve recruitment and
retention; and effective
communications.
The Young Professionals
previously had two
main groups, the Young
Professionals Coordination
Team (YPCT) and the
Young Professionals Forum
(YPF). It was recognised
that the operating model
and reporting lines of these
groups within the governance
structure of the IET needed
to be reassessed in order to
be more effective and ensure
better communication. By
rolling the YPCT and the
YPF into one committee, the
YPCC was formed which now
reports into the Communities
Resourcing Committee.
This new reporting line has
enabled better integration of
the committee into the wider
IET governance structure.
The revamped committee
is truly international with
representatives from
all of our regions and
Communities Committees
bringing their respective
viewpoints to the table.
Keen to ensure good links
and communications
are maintained, a Young
Professional representative
from each of the main
Boards and Committees is
included in the YPCC as
well. Isabella Mascarenhas,
the new Young Professionals
Engagement Manager
working within the
Communities team, is
the Senior Staff Member
on the Committee.
The Young Professionals Community Committee March 2014
Isabella commented:
“I am so pleased that the
YPs now have the full time
dedicated staff support
that they deserve and I
am really looking forward
to helping them carry
their initiatives forward
with relevant colleagues.
Promising and exciting
times lie ahead!”
The first meeting of the
new committee was held
on Sunday 2 and Monday
3 March in London with
members flying in from
all around the world. The
final day coincided with a
meeting of the Board of
Trustees, which meant that
Dr Simon Hart, the BoT
representative, was able to
give them an immediate
update on initial YPCC
activity.
Chairman Tim Ludikar, said:
“The new
committee brings
a fresh look at
IET services and
product offerings
for our Young
Professionals.
We are ready
and excited to
show the IET
membership
what young
professionals can
accomplish.”
www.theiet.org/volunteers/young-professionals
11
Does the ICT profession need
registered technicians?
Future of ICT
The last decade has
seen information and
communications technology
develop at an increasingly fast
pace. This poses a challenge
for technicians wanting to
demonstrate current skills as
technical certifications may
become out of date quickly.
For organisations, one key
challenge is maintaining the
ability to take advantage of
the opportunities that new
technology brings. There is
a risk that technicians and
engineers stick with what they
know without considering
whether newer approaches
may offer an advantage. If
the pace of technological
change continues to
increase then demonstrating
adaptability and awareness
of new technology becomes
increasingly important
to ICT professionals.
Andrew Webb CEng CITP, Chelmsford City Council
Andrew Webb explores the value of professional
registration in an industry that’s constantly changing.
A
s an employer of ICT
technicians, I look for
a balance of technical
skills, aptitude and
character when
recruiting. It’s often said that
you can teach technical skills
but you can’t teach attitude. The
ICTTech standard seeks evidence
of technical competence as
well as professional behaviour
and interpersonal skills.
While it could be a stretch too
far to say that professional
registration tests attitude,
experience suggests that
professional registration tends
to be evidence of an underlying
personal commitment to quality
and development. Candidates
who care about their own
professional development are
more likely to exhibit the same
kinds of behaviour in other
areas of their professional life.
ICTTech registration is already
associated with apprenticeship
programmes for early career
professionals and there are clear
advantages for employer and
apprentice. For the employer the
registration process provides
www.theiet.org/careermanager
the basis of an early career
development programme that
can help embed good practices
and an expectation of ongoing
learning. It can also motivate
apprentices with the promise of
a respected professional award.
For apprentices and those early
in their career, professional
registration can help make
the most of limited experience
and registered technicians
stand out from others who hold
technical qualifications alone.
Opinion is more divided about
the value of ICT technician
registration for those who have
several years’ experience under
their belts. Currently, the ICT
profession does not mandate
professional membership or
registration. The link between
ICTTech, apprenticeship schemes
and level three qualifications
makes registration particularly
attractive to early career
professionals. If this is over
emphasized, the impact could be
that experienced professionals
perceive technical registration as
significantly beneath their level
of competence and therefore of
questionable value. Indeed, many
highly competent technicians
may have no particular interest
or need to pursue deeper
learning and higher levels of
accountability in the workplace.
Perception of the ICTTech
standard is perhaps the key
here. If registration is seen as a
‘destination’ there is a risk of the
standard progressively losing its
attractiveness to unregistered
technicians who press forward
in their careers gaining valuable
experience. If registration is
viewed as one piece of a puzzle
that makes up a professional
picture then it remains relevant.
That picture could include aspects
such as technical certifications,
experience, volunteering,
professional memberships
and self-initiated learning.
Perhaps technician registration
is what you make of it, much like
membership of a professional
institution. If all it is to you
is a badge then it’s good, but
of limited value. If it’s part
of a professional lifestyle
it can offer a lot more.
Advances in software
platforms make it increasingly
easy for suppliers of all sizes
to bring solutions to market
and difficult for customers
to judge their overall
quality based on product
trials and conventional
methods of selection.
As businesses look to the
cloud to provide utility
computing, they also look to
their suppliers to demonstrate
professional depth behind
attractive products. There
are many questions that
should be asked of suppliers
including questions about
the quality of technical staff
working behind the scenes to
support hosted hardware and
software platforms. One way
a supplier can demonstrate
commitment to developing
quality staff is to cite the
number of professionally
registered technicians and
engineers they employ.
Andrew Webb works for
Chelmsford City Council,
who are running the first IET
approved apprenticeship
scheme for ICT technicians
in local UK Government.
12
MEMBER NEWS
Knowledge
Packs
You can now take the credit with the world’s
leading engineering and technology digital
resource.
In response to IET
members’ requests for
more flexible access to the
IET’s significant knowledge
resources, we have recently
launched Knowledge Packs.
The IET’s Director of
Knowledge, Tim Hamer,
confirms: “Our members
have told us that they need
easier access to our Digital
Library content. Knowledge
Packs are designed to do
just that, not only for our
members but also for the
wider engineering and
technology community.
They deliver bite-sized
digital content on key topics
– making our world-leading
engineering and technology
content available in a more
flexible and accessible way.”
This new initiative gives
members access to the
high quality content in the
IET Digital Library; a global
collection of leading science,
engineering and technology
content, with over 190,000
technical documents,
including nearly 400 eBooks,
over 1,300 conference
publications, and over
70,000 journal articles.
All members have been
given five free credits to
download journal articles,
book chapters or conference
proceedings across a wide
range of subject areas from
electrical and electronic
engineering to mechanical
and production engineering
- with an additional option to
purchase top-up packs for
just £25 for 25 downloads.
Knowledge Packs were
designed through a
collaborative process
involving IET staff and
volunteer members on the
Knowledge Management and
Membership Professional
Development boards, as
well as involvement from
IET Council.
Knowledge Packs are
primarily designed to assist
engineers and technicians
in their everyday challenges,
to further their own research
and also to contribute
towards their Continuing
Professional Development
(CPD) as part of the IET’s
CPD Monitoring Scheme,
by giving them the Essential
Engineering Intelligence®
they need, when they need it!
IET members: how to
access your credits
You first need to log into
the IET Digital Library
website with your normal
IET website details
In your account, you will
see your five free credits
You can then use these
credits across the IET
Digital library, wherever
you see the credit icon
displayed
Start using your credits
today by visiting
www.theiet.org/
knowledge-packs.
www.theiet.org/
knowledge-packs
Knowledge Packs: latest usage stats
H undreds of articles have already been downloaded by hundreds
of members all around the world
S ome have started to take advantage of the preferential
member packs containing an additional 25 credits for just £25
J ournal articles are most popular with 40% of downloads,
followed by eBook chapters and Conference Proceedings
7 0,000 people visit the IET Digital Library every month for their
knowledge needs
O ur promotional video has had 1,261 views and our
video tutorial has had 433 views – see them for yourself
at www.theiet.org/knowledge-packs.
“I found the knowledge credits a far easier way of
purchasing access to the necessary papers. It was
much easier to pay for the credits and go through
that process once and then be free to download the
documents as required. It also felt like better value for
money instead of trying to work out if £10 or £15 was
worth paying to view a document that may or may not
be of use. With the credits already purchased it was a
more straight forward decision.”
Matthew Corbridge MIET, first member
to buy a pack of additional 25 credits
IET members: positive survey feedback
“ Main challenge for accessing engineering knowledge is cost of
paying individually” – which is why we’ve made any associated
costs as attractive as possible
“ Relying on the internet alone wastes time and effort” –
which is why we’re encouraging all our members to see
the IET Digital Library as their first choice
“ It’s important for an organisation such as the IET to provide to its
members valuable information and resources for their professional
development” – which is why all knowledge accessed via the IET
Digital Library can count toward your CPD
“ The IET is part of a learned society so it needs to continue to
develop methods to improve the spread of knowledge” – which is
why we’re making the IET’s Essential Engineering Intelligence®
available via Knowledge Packs.
13
Canterbury trio
set to compete at
LEGO festival
By Katie Stanton
T
hree teens from the
Simon Langton schools in
Canterbury, twins Oli and
Emma English and Carlos
Purchase-Galarza, will head
to America to compete in the FIRST®
LEGO® League (FLL®) World Festival.
The three talented finalists, who made
up the ‘Invicta’ team, clinched the
title of UK and Ireland FLL Champions
in February, having impressed judges
across all judging criteria.
The IET is the operational partner
for the FLL competition and
organised the event.
The team described themselves
as “surprised and shocked” to
have won, after competing against
29 other teams from the event at
Loughborough University.
This year’s UK competition
had a topical theme that
challenged teams to find a solution
to tackle the effects of natural
disasters. Team Invicta researched
the effects of earthquakes in
Indonesia, and invented a hi-tech
wristband designed to help rescue
workers find people trapped under
rubble using radio waves.
Each team, made up of 9 to 16 year
olds, had to design and programme
a LEGO MINDSTORMS® robot. The
robot had to then solve a range
of problems and tasks, like lifting
a small house, or moving pets
Team Invicta won the FLL UK and Ireland Championship
and people to safety. Teams were
judged on their ability to build
and programme the robot, their
presentation and research skills,
and how well they cooperated with
each other and their competitors.
“It is my first year competing
in FLL and I can’t describe how
excited I am to be representing
the UK at such a huge event!”
Expectations are high for this
year’s finalists, after last year’s
UK winners, Untitled-1, became
the first UK & Ireland team to win
the FLL World Festival..
For more information on
FIRST LEGO League, visit:
http://firstlegoleague.theiet.org.
The festival takes place on 23-26
April in St. Louis, Missouri. Emma,
the only girl in team Invicta, is
looking forward to the challenge.
Students become
real-life engineers
for a day
By Katie Stanton
I
Student enjoying 2013’s June Faraday Challenge Final
n March, students from
South Croydon raced against
the clock to solve a reallife engineering problem,
putting their engineering
and technology knowledge and
skills to the test as part of an IET
Faraday Challenge Day.
The day was part of a wider
programme of Challenge Days
that encourage young people to
consider exciting and rewarding
careers in science, technology,
engineering and maths (STEM) by
using creativity, innovation and
problem-solving skills.
Delivered in 45 schools and 12
universities free of charge by
the IET, the Faraday Challenge
Days are one day STEM activities
designed for six teams of six
students aged 12-13 years.
our everyday lives,” said Gareth
James, IET Head of Education.
The winners of each event win
prizes for themselves and a
trophy for their school.
“There is huge demand for
new engineers and technicians
and we’re confident that this
will challenge young people’s
perceptions of engineers and
hopefully make them consider
engineering as a career choice.”
The top three teams from across
the UK get an all-expenses paid
trip to the National Final in June
2014 to compete for a cash prize
of up to £1,000 for their school.
“Students who take part in
the Faraday Challenge Days
experience hands-on design and
practical work giving them a peek
into the life of a real engineer, the
variety of engineering out there
and the central role it plays in
For more information, visit:
www.theiet.org/faraday.
14
MEMBER NEWS
What types of CPD
activities do you do?
“I’ve recently used the
IET’s Career Manager
system to try and get
myself up to date; it’s a
great way of storing your
records and reviewing
the CPD you’re doing.”
Richard Briars CEng FIET,
Career Manager user
L
ast year, the IET introduced
a Voluntary (opt-in) CPD
Monitoring Scheme for
TMIETs, MIETs and Fellows
and we asked you how you
were getting on. We had a range
of different responses, as everyone
does their CPD in different ways.
Self-employed Richard Briars
takes the opportunity to undertake
formal training whenever he
can. “My main areas of CPD are
self-study to prepare for new
assignments as well as work
experience being involved in the
implementation of new technology
on the railway.”
Sean Moules, who works for the
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority,
doesn’t just undertake CPD at work.
“I’m active in leading a number of
Community Projects,” said Sean,
“which is a great way to operate
in entirely different environments,
and with different stakeholders. It
allows you to give something back
in a practical hands-on way.”
Since the early 1900’s, International Women’s Day has promoted
greater awareness of women’s equality. To celebrate this
important day, the IET Women’s Network launched a campaign
to promote a positive image of women in science, technology
engineering and maths (STEM). They asked female members to
send in images of themselves holding up plaques with positive
messages, such as why they are proud to be an engineer. The
finished product will be available to view in June later this year.
David Parr uses the tool to record
his CPD. “Being so intuitive and
easy to use, there is little effort
involved in recording all my CPD
activities.”
To join the IET CPD scheme and
start recording your CPD online
please visit www.theiet.org/
cpd. To read more professional
development case studies head to
www.theiet.org/pd-case-studies.
Clockwise from top: Nichola Pellow Associate,
Rhea Flarry de D’Jesus MIET, Mavis Rowland Amadi MIET
Colin Cunningham CEng MIET
Colin has been busy bringing the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones up to
date on telephone security breaches during World War One.
By Jo Foster, Diversity Membership Executive
CPD is recorded on our online
professional development tool,
IET Career Manager.
Member Spotlight
“On one occasion, when we
overran a German position, we
discovered a complete transcript
of the British operation order. A
brigade staff officer had dictated
the entire operation order over
the telephone, and the Germans
of course had heard that as
well,” said Colin.
Celebrating
International
Women’s Day
Colin has become something
of a regular on the BBC, after
making an appearance in
February on ‘Absolute Genius
with Dick and Dom’, talking
about Guglielmo Marconi, the
Italian inventor behind wireless
communication.
The Women’s Network also
produced a series of webinars,
that led up to the day, which
teach important soft skills,
including presenting with
confidence, being heard in
the workplace, as well as
assertiveness. These webinars
were recorded in the hope
that they will be shared and
enjoyed. If you’d like to view
them, they can be seen online
by visiting: www.theiet.org/
wn-videos.
In addition to the series of
webinars, the IET Women’s
Network also marked the
day by holding an event in
London, which focused on
understanding stereotype
threat and how it can have
an impact on careers.
The network is also engaging
the IET’s Corporate and
Academic Partners by providing
a speaker from industry to go
and talk with female final year
students to encourage them
into seeking an engineering
career. The speakers will
describe the factors that
encouraged them to pursue
a career in STEM; what a
general day of work looks like;
their greatest experiences in
industry and
much more.
15
Volunteering is what makes the
IET successful in places where
staff alone cannot reach
By Barry Brooks, IET President 2013/14
D
id you know that we
have over 4,000 of our
members who can be
called volunteers as they
regularly give their time
to help the IET achieve our vision
of working to engineer a better
world? These volunteers include
students, professional engineers
and technicians, and Fellows.
We (as I, as trustee and president,
am one) can be found around the
globe, involved in a vast range
of volunteering activities, and
our passion and commitment
are essential to the IET. Without
volunteers’ efforts, we simply would
not have the reach, or the resources,
to deliver as much as we do.
Volunteers are the IET’s
ambassadors. As members,
we know what others need to
know about engineering and
the IET, and are well placed to
explain this via face to face
contact in the workplace, social
situations and in schools.
We are fortunate to have volunteers
of all ages, at all career stages,
and representing all of our five,
diverse sectors. Many of our
volunteers provide inspirational
role models – from the young stars
of our scholarship programmes, to
our Fellows, whose seniority, levels
of responsibility, and success,
provide an essential source of
leadership and advice when
we need to influence others.
There is mutual benefit when
volunteers make a difference
to the lives of others, as the
experience helps our own careers
– contacts, credibility and CV.
Early on, volunteering can provide
opportunities to develop skills
that may be outside of the scope
of your present role. For example,
the management or financial skills
www.theiet.org/volunteers
required to run a Local Network,
the organisational skills that come
from putting on events, or the
coaching skills needed for guiding
school children to apply engineering
know-how to solve a problem,
all help us in our own continuing
professional development.
Exposure to a wide range of
people from different engineering
sectors, or from other roles within
your own sector, provides insights
that will broaden your knowledge.
It can also provide the sort of
informal mentoring that can boost
performance and problem solving
in your own work. This wide network
of experienced individuals will
remain a valuable, and growing,
asset as your career progresses.
Later, perhaps when professionally
registered, is the time when you can
enjoy giving something back – often
through mentoring others, and
beyond that through involvement
in one or more of the valuable
contributions that the IET makes
to maintaining standards in the
engineering profession: advising
and interviewing candidates
for professional registration;
reviewing articles; supporting
our accreditation and approval of
courses, development schemes and
apprenticeships; sharing knowledge
through developing sector-related
events and publications; or as
an IET specialist spokesperson
for the media. These are all great
opportunities to share good
practice and learn from others.
Taking on a volunteer role in
the IET means that you also
become part of a great team of
people. Our members and staff
all work together to ensure that
the IET’s goals are delivered in
the best way possible. Volunteer
and staff energy and expertise
are a powerful combination.
Good examples of this ‘one team
working’ are evident throughout
the IET, from educational activities
organised by staff and delivered by
engineers on the ground, to the way
registration candidates experience
a seamless process through advice
and assessment involving both
staff and volunteers. Our Local
Networks are also a front-line
combination of in-the-field effort
and back-office support, each year
delivering a vast programme of
events for local communities.
Having been an IET Connect local
representative, LN chairman,
member of Council, CEng and IEng
interviewer and assessor, Fellowship
assessor and interviewer, trustee,
conference, board and lecture
chairman, and now IET President,
I have found great satisfaction in
meeting and talking to people and
helping them to make a difference
in their careers and for society.
As a volunteer myself for over 15
years, I enjoy seeing the results
amongst those whom we seek to
inspire, inform and influence, and
believe that we do make a positive
difference as we work to engineer
a better world. Please try it; you
will be surprised how satisfying,
and what fun, it is.
Pages 16-18 of Member News are dedicated to the IET’s busy
communities. Each page works as an example of the positive
impact that volunteering makes.
If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering, an
excellent first port of call is our Volunteer Gateway, which you
can access via www.theiet.org/volunteers. We also recently
ran a live webcast on volunteering, which saw a group of our
volunteers take questions and discuss volunteering ideas,
issues and opportunities with the audience. If you didn’t
manage to catch this on the day, you can still view it ‘on
demand’ via www.theiet.org/myvoice.
If you are already part of the IET’s volunteer team and have
a story to share, please tell us about your experiences by
emailing [email protected].
16
MEMBER NEWS
Swindon’s online
success story
By Keri Allen
The IET Swindon Local Network (LN) has
grown to become one of the most active
in the UK, thanks in part to MyCommunity
bringing fresh blood into the committee.
T
he Swindon LN is based
in a non-university town
covering a relatively
small area, but currently
has in the region of
1,500 members. A long-standing
network, it was originally set
up back in the late 1960’s by
engineers Ken Sherwin and Derek
Bateman.
Derek may be one of the longest
serving IET committee members
as he continues to be an active
committee member even in his
Historically Swindon is known
for high quality presenters and
good attendance figures, however,
it was very dependent on a small
number of committee members
(many of which were retired
or long serving). The network
believes that it was the arrival
of networking tool MyCommunity
that really brought an influx of
fresh blood into the committee,
president
I
am now six months into my
presidential year and have
enjoyed the opportunities
to meet and talk to
hundreds of IET volunteers,
members, potential members,
and corporate and academic
partners. This has shown how
our Institution is inspiring,
informing and influencing our
own professional community,
and the world around us.
enabling the LN to make great
progress with its website,
event planning and publicity.
Now pumped up and eager
to spread the word, its committee
members are focused on becoming
the best network possible.
Find out more about Swindon’s
success story by reading our
feature article on the Member
News website. To learn more
about MyCommunity, visit
www.theiet.org/mycommunity.
“We want the Swindon LN to be
the number one in the UK,” said
mid eighties, acting as its Connect
representative and a professional
registration advisor (PRA).
From the
IET President Barry Brooks
CEng FCGI FIET
Mubbisher Ahmed, the
network’s Publicity Officer.
“We have a responsibility to
enthuse the next generation
of engineers and that is the
driving force behind everything
that we do.”
It has been busy, but fun. At
a rough count, so far, I have
attended over 85 meetings, 35
Swindon Local Network Team at Royal International Air Tattoo 2013
conferences and company or
university visits, given over 30
speeches, chaired around 25
meetings, and been interviewed
(for print, radio, internet) about 15
times. This is all part of improving
two-way communications - as is
this new Member News - and has
been incredibly rewarding.
As part of my theme for
my presidential year, my
proposition is that, in order
to achieve greater impact,
as engineers, volunteers and
as an Institution, we need
to collaborate with others,
particularly other Professional
Engineering Institutions in the
UK and across the world.
We are making good use of
IMechE’s warm welcome at
their One Birdcage Walk home
in London whilst Savoy Place
is being refurbished. Our two
Boards of Trustees have agreed
to use this opportunity to explore
other ways in which we can work
more closely together.
We are already working together,
at local levels and via cosponsorship of events, such as
the very successful Sir Henry
Royce Memorial Lecture and the
UK Manufacturing Summit. But,
we are particularly looking for
opportunities to influence policy
matters, where, jointly, we would
represent the strength of opinion of
over a quarter of a million engineer
and technician members.
So, please let us have your
suggestions for ways in which
we could pursue greater
collaboration. You can contact
me at [email protected],
or via my Twitter account,
@IETPresident.
Barry Brooks
IET President 2013/14
17
Annual Healthcare Technologies Awards
The IET Healthcare Technologies Network honoured the winners of the Healthcare
Technologies Awards at an event held in London at the end of last year. The event’s
keynote speaker was Douglas Anderson OBE, the 2008 European Inventor of the Year.
The winners
The Dennis Hill Award winner 2013 Johanna-Marie Best, Surrey University
Johanna-Marie, an MEng Medical Engineering
graduate, won the Dennis Hill Award for her
final year project “Analysis of electrocardiogram
recordings with advanced non-linear methods for
the evaluation of atrial fibrillation organisation”.
The award recognises outstanding work in the
field of biomedical engineering. It is presented
annually in memory of Professor Dennis Hill, a
pioneering researcher and practitioner in many
areas of endeavour, particularly in relation to
anaesthesia and intensive care.
T he William James Award winner 2013 Joachim Behar, Institute of Biomedical
Engineering
Joachim won the William James Award for his
work on “Non invasive foetal electrocardiography”.
The award recognises PhD research that shows
the most potential to contribute toward the
development and improvement of the biomedical
engineering field.
This award was created by Professor Christopher
J James, of Warwick University, in honour of his
late father and is presented to encourage, support
and recognise outstanding work of PhD students
demonstrating a high level of commitment and
advanced understanding of biomedical engineering.
The J. A. Lodge Award winner 2013 Alex J Casson, University of Manchester
Alex won the J. A. Lodge Award in recognition
of his work on “low power signal processing
for novel neurotechnology”. The award
acknowledges promising early-career Electronic
or Electrical Engineers working in Biomedical
Engineering. The award is presented annually in
memory of James Alec Lodge, who took an active
interest in encouraging young engineers working
in the electrical engineering profession.
For more information about
the Healthcare Technologies
Network, visit:
www.theiet.org/health-tech.
By Keri Allan
T
he IET Robotics and
Mechatronics Network has
helped to raise the profile
of the IET by supporting a
popular Science Museum
exhibition of animal robots from
across Europe. The exhibition
showcased advanced biomimetic
technology, and featured an unusual
range of flapping and crawling
mechanisms – much to the delight
of the museum’s visitors!
The network hosted a number
of high profile talks, as well as
workshops that allowed visitors
to programme wild robots.
Claire Rocks, the network’s chair,
has been working with the museum
over the last few years and so
when it began to plan several
robotics-based activities to build up
momentum for its forthcoming You
Robot exhibition (set to launch in
2015 or 2016) it turned to the IET.
The museum was looking to run a
series of events called Robot Safari,
a short festival that explored how
nature has inspired the design of
robots in the EU. The IET began
working with staff there to deliver
a lecture and a series of short
professional talks for one of its
open evening sessions.
“We were keen to see the network
get involved in this big coming
together of European robotics in
different ways,” said Claire.
The lecture event, entitled Robots
Like Us, was an hour-long talk where
guest speaker Murray Shanahan,
Professor of Cognitive Robotics at
Imperial College London, discussed
‘what would it take to make robots
as intelligent as humans?’.
The lecture proved to be popular,
with a full capacity audience, and
Robot Safari received coverage in
the national media.
Image © The Science Museum
Science Museum
collaboration brings
robotics to the forefront
of the public’s imagination
Robotic Jellyfish at the Science Museum
The IET was also asked to come
on board as a sponsor for the
robotics workshops that ran over
the following two days, but network
committee members did more than
just putting up funds.
The network is building a strong
relationship with the Science
Museum through collaborative
events that aim to inform and
inspire the public about robotics,
as Claire highlighted.
“Nick Hawes and myself ran the
workshops, and both Warwick and
Birmingham University took along
two undergraduates to help,” said
Claire. “They were based around
programming wild robots – looking
at how you programme some simple
animal behaviours into robots.
“It works really well. Combining
the IET’s knowledge, event
management and access to
roboticists with the marketing
and might of the Science Museum
means you really maximise the
number of people you’re going to
see and speak to about robotics.”
“I’ve run a number of workshops over
the years and it’s often the situation
that it’s difficult to give people the time
to really customise things,” she noted.
“But thanks to the IET sponsorship and
being able to bring students with us we
had a high staff ratio that meant we
were really able to help people with the
individual activities and customisation
they wanted to do.”
To find out more about the
Robotics and Mechatronics Network,
visit: www.theiet.org/robotics.
18
MEMBER NEWS
New professional
registration advisors
trained for the Middle East
By Keri Allan
Last December
the IET hosted
an event to train
11 international
professional
registration advisors
(IPRAs) to cover the
Middle East.
I
ncreasing the region’s number
of IPRAs threefold, these
advisors will be working
across countries including
Qatar, UAE, Egypt and Oman,
allowing for more engineers
across the Middle East to
gain access to professional
registration support.
The importance
of professional
registration in
the Middle East
“The Middle East is a booming
region with some of the world’s
largest and best known engineering
mega-projects. There are huge
numbers of engineers from all
over the world working there, as
well as many technicians needed
to construct and maintain the
facilities,” said Iain.
“In order to improve the process
for both the volunteers and
applicants, it was seen that more
IPRAs would help to solve this
problem. The Middle East also
has a high transient working
population due to contracts,
projects etc. Therefore with high
turnover, we wanted to ensure the
professional registration process
would not be impacted if one or
two individuals left the region.”
International
collaboration leads
to successful
training day
The EMEA-CC agreed that the best
thing to do was to run a workshop
to train further IPRAs, and it was
decided to do this in Doha, Qatar,
where a committee meeting was
being held.
“This project was all about
removing the bottlenecks
for engineers to become
professionally registered,”
explained IET Europe, Middle
East and Africa Communities
Committee (EMEA-CC) Chairman
Iain Murdoch.
“In the Middle East region there
were a limited number of advisors
who had an increasing workload.
This was in addition to their
regular day jobs.
“There are lots of members who
might move to the region for work
but want to continue with their
professional development,” added
David Houssein, IET Community
Relationship Manager. “The
IPRA service is something that
can be done remotely, however
applications such as Skype have
been banned in certain countries,
so being able to meet with
someone face-to-face is a real
benefit for members,” he noted.
EMEA-CC Chairman Iain Murdoch
CEng MIET
“Having more IPRA’s will help the
IET to encourage more engineers to
become professionally registered,”
noted Dr Mahmoud Chawki, who
ran the training day.
“Each engineer wishing to become
professionally registered is
required to undergo an interview
and two IPRA’s are needed for
each interview. [Until now] very
few countries (if any) in the Middle
East had more than one resident
IPRA. Candidates faced long
waiting times as additional IPRA
had to travel to the country of the
candidate or require the candidate
to travel to another country where
an interview could be set up.
“This was a great demonstration of
different elements of the IET working
together,” Iain enthused. “The
EMEA-CC had identified the need
to have more IPRAs trained in the
region from feedback received
from events such as Community
Volunteer Conference and direct
engagement with the local
networks (LNs).”
The full-day presentation,
workshop and Q&A was delivered
in December by Mahmoud Chawki,
a previous EMEA-CC member and
an IPRA himself.
“Having a volunteer IPRA deliver
the training gives a much better
insight into what is required. The
course delegates responded well to
training received from one of their
peers,” Iain highlighted.
How this work
will benefit
the Middle East’s
engineers
David Houssein,
IET Community
Relationship Manager,
highlighted how the
development of IPRAs
will help engineering
across the Middle East.
“Local engineers
will be able to develop
their skills further
and gain an
internationally
recognised qualification.
Companies benefit
by having competent
staff, in a tight labour
market it can be a
way to attract or retain
staff. The countries
themselves benefit by
being able to increase
the level of engineering
competence and take
on larger and more
complex projects in the
future. The professional
registration process will
hopefully become more
efficient as a result of
this project.
“This was a very
interesting project and
I would encourage
engineering-rich regions
to follow similar projects
if this is suitable. The
organisation of IPRA
training is a relatively
easy way to solve a
challenging problem
and is a good way to
engage with active
volunteers,” he
concluded.
For more information
about the work of
EMEA-CC, visit
www.theiet.org/cc-emea.
19
The China
Century
By Mike Bridgefoot CEng FIET, IET Head of Registration and Standards
It has been said that:
T he 19th-century belonged to the UK - industrialisation and
world domination through its colonies
T he 20th century belonged to USA – skyscrapers, motor
industry, fast food, music, computers etc
T he 21st century will belong to China - already the world’s
leading manufacturer, and becoming the world’s engineering,
design and retail leader.
India reaches
significant
membership
milestone
As 2013 drew to a close, IET
India had reached the significant
milestone of 10,000 members. The
total base has more than tripled in
the last two years, with 42% growth
in membership since 2012.
Europe and USA could be seen to be in decline in
comparison. In order to delay the effects of that decline,
it is vital that the UK builds as many partnerships and joint
projects as possible with China to benefit from their success.
The IET’s office in China is the
UK’s portal of opportunity to target
these partnerships and projects.
For instance (and relevant to us),
China seeks global recognition
for its engineering professionals;
one way it is doing that is to seek
recognition for its engineering
education through the Washington
Accord, but it is also seeking parity
for the skills and competence of its
many, many practising engineers.
This is the basis of the IET’s work
with the Chinese Mechanical
Engineering Society (CMES). It
is a pilot exercise that seeks to
recognise their members, which
could be extended across many
other disciplines and technologies
(and societies/institutions).
Since 2008, CMES has been
developing processes and procedures
to emulate our Professional Review
process including the Professional
Review Interview (PRI). In a recent
visit to China, IET staff observed
the first set of such PRIs carried
out by CMES. Their interviewers
conducted 12 interviews, all with
presentations and following the
broad format of the IET’s PRI.
The trial was carried out in the
Chinese language and was
therefore difficult for us to
assess absolutely. However, from
observing the presentations,
their content, and the level
of professionalism we are
reasonably confident that they
compare well with the standards
required for CEng and IEng levels.
CMES and the Chinese authorities
now seek recognition for this
development, of course the best
recognition would be the award of
CEng/IEng, but that is completely
restricted to English language
interviews.
The IET is working with its
Chinese partners to seek ways
to get recognition for these
Chinese engineers. Ongoing
discussions are being held with
the Engineering Council to seek
possible ways to support this
movement and contribute to the
“China Century”, because if we
can’t China will most certainly
leap ahead without us.
IET President Barry Brooks visiting the Chennai Local Network
Shekhar Sanyal, Country Head
and Director of IET Services
(India), was delighted with the
growth and thanked members
and staff for “helping our
Institution to grow”.
“This could not have been
possible without the unflinching
support and efforts of our
Local Networks, our Young
Professionals, the South Asia
Communities Committee and
the IET India office staff,”
he added.
IET President Barry Brooks
recently returned from an
official visit to Bangalore and
Chennai where “the volunteers
have set new benchmarks in
terms of energy, enthusiasm,
commitment and growth”,
he remarked.
“We now have over 10,000
members in India, as a direct
result of clear leadership and
team work by our Bangalore staff
team and volunteers around the
country – very inspiring.”
To help better serve the
growing member base in India,
IET India recently opened a
regional office in Mumbai. This
new office space will serve to
complement the existing head
office in Bangalore.
20
MEMBER NEWS
Transport hot topics
Paula-Marie Brown, Sector Head for Transport, and Sahar Danesh,
Principal Policy Advisor, look at how the IET is providing a leading voice
on the UK’s High Speed Two (HS2) project and autonomous vehicles.
HS2: Vision into reality
T
he IET is moving forward
the industry debate
around HS2 by bringing
together key stakeholders
for a series of events to share
knowledge on high speed rail
across the UK. Politics aside,
this initiative will be one of the
greatest engineering feats of
modern times.
for the Manchester region;
sustainable platforms for
signalling and communications
systems; training and
employment challenges; and
technical issues for integrating
the proposed new railway with
existing regional transport hubs.
Andrew McNaughton, Technical
Director for HS2 Ltd and a
keynote speaker at these regional
events, has highlighted the
urgency of the project: “The need
for a new high speed line has
never been greater. HS2 isn’t all
about speed; it is about capacity,
connectivity, reliability and
growth. If we don’t do anything
now, the West Coast Mainline will
be full by the mid 2020s.”
Darren Reed, Head of Rail at
Parsons Brinckerhoff, which
is responsible for the railway
systems design for HS2 and also
collaborated with the IET on these
events, has noted: “HS2 offers
a significant opportunity for the
UK railway industry, it will inspire
a new generation of British
engineers capable of exporting
their skills to deliver advanced
high speed rail systems and
demanding infrastructure
projects anywhere in the world.”
Three events have been held, so
far, in London, Birmingham and
Manchester, with Manchester
being the most recent on
18 March. It focused on: the
potential growth opportunities
Further events are planned
in Leeds, the North East and
Scotland for 2014 – to gain a
full, cross-regional picture of
how HS2 will impact the various
areas of the UK.
Autonomous vehicles
W
ith the IET’s unique
and respected position
as an independent
thought leader the
Institution is placed to bring
together expert opinion on
important issues and innovations,
such as autonomous vehicles.
A new Insight Document,
available at www.theiet.org/
autonomous-vehicles, takes
a look at this hot topic.
HS2 conceptual image
Two recently published case
studies from the IET also provide
some valuable insight into the
opportunities and challenges
associated with high speed rail.
‘HS2 Vision into Reality’ looks at
international experiences of high
speed rail in Japan and California,
together with the latest thinking
on the passenger experience and
how the engineering workforce can
be upskilled ready for HS2.
‘A Systems Engineering Approach
to Delivering High Speed 2’
outlines the potential for the UK
to reduce costs to develop HS2
by between 10 and 20 per cent,
and deliver greater certainty in
programme delivery, by employing
systems engineering techniques.
The case studies are available
at www.theiet.org/hs2.
Jeremy Acklam, from the
IET Transport Policy Panel,
recently appeared on BBC
News and in the Sunday
Express, talking about HS2
and the challenges of making
the network more resilient to
extreme weather.
New levels of performance
T
he concept of highly
automated vehicle
operation is not
new. There were
early examples more than
80 years ago.
What is new is the range of
technologies now available
which allow the concept
to be taken to new levels
of technical performance
and sophistication, and
ultimately full autonomous
operation.
Many specialised
applications of autonomous
operation are now
commercially deployed and
provide clear advantages
over conventional, manually
controlled, systems.
Examples can be found in
railway and automotive
sectors, and many of the
major automotive brands
now boast high levels of
automation, and even
autonomous operation in
certain situations, such
as crash avoidance or
automated parking.
The use in military
applications, particularly
with airborne systems
(Unmanned Aircraft), has
received wide publicity and
stimulated debate about the
wider societal implications of
taking the human out of the
operational control loop.
21
Unmanned
Aircraft
Unmanned Aircraft (UA)
are an increasingly common
sight on television screens
and in the media. While
much of this coverage
is focused on military
applications, there is
growing interest in the
civilian potential of UA.
High-tech start-up
companies, universities
and traditional aerospace
companies are developing UA
and associated technologies
along with the knowledge and
experience to deploy them in
a wide range of applications.
The IET’s Lambert DoppingHepenstal said: “The next
major step for aviation,
Unmanned Aircraft, will
open up a whole new
branch of the industry.
“Their full potential will
only be realised when
the technologies and
regulatory frameworks
have been developed
to allow them full
integration into our
airspace without
restrictions, yet with
safety levels equivalent
to manned aircraft.
“We must, however, ensure
that this new capability is
subject to rigorous legal,
ethical and social review.”
UA offer massive potential to
revolutionise the way many
problems are solved. From
more efficient ways to monitor
oil pipelines, to searching for
survivors after earthquakes,
the benefits to society and the
economy can be huge.
However, there remain many
technological, legal and
ethical challenges before we
will see UA routinely flying
around us.
A road transport perspective
H
ighly or fully automated
road transport will
improve traffic safety,
reduce congestion
and provide both financial
and environmental benefits.
Vehicle automation will: reduce
the driver‘s workload; reduce
accidents; increase vehicle
density; minimise speed
variations in urban areas and on
motorways; and reduce vehicle
emissions and fuel consumption.
Significant technical challenges
remain in order to achieve
the necessary safety integrity
(at affordable cost) for
realistic deployment. There
are also substantial legal
issues to address but, if
progress continues, driving
autonomously on public
highways could become
acceptable within the next
10 to 15 years.
There is currently enormous
interest around highly and
fully automated driving.
Some commentators see
it as a natural next step for
road transport following the
precedents in other transport
areas such as light rail and
aviation. Others point to the
enormous technological and
legal challenges and to the
important issue of driver
acceptance.
While the timetable for
on-road deployment of such
vehicles is unclear, research
and technology progress
will continue in parallel
with broader policy and
commercial development.
A railway perspective
A
re the railways ready for
autonomous vehicles?
They already exist
in low-speed people
movers on dedicated and
protected infrastructure. For
example, the majority of London’s
Victoria, Central and Jubilee
Line Underground journeys are
operated by automated systems,
with the driver there to provide
reassurance to the travelling
public. There are also some fully
automatic metros, such as the
DLR in London and some lines in
the Copenhagen area.
There are currently no main line
railways that are completely
automated and without a driver,
although the Klang Valley
Metro in Malaysia is migrating
towards driverless operation.
Looking to the future, the UK will
have one of the few main lines
with automatic train operation
(ATO) when new rolling stock for
the Thameslink and Crossrail
are commissioned. The step to
driverless and full automation
is still considered a long way
off for main line trains, unless
they are specially designed for
that purpose, and will require
maximum protection to reduce
access from errant people and
vehicles.
In places like Britain with
a massive legacy rail
infrastructure it may be this
very legacy which constrains us
as we judge ourselves against
those new-build railways, which
continue to be constructed and
for which driverless is more
about why not, rather than why.
The IET’s thought leadership
in these areas has been
featured in coverage in The
Guardian and trade magazines
including Rail Professional
and Rail Technology.
Other transport news from the IET:
Transport policy
The IET Transport Policy Panel briefed the UK
Parliament’s Transport Select Committee in
March highlighting HS2, autonomous vehicles,
and accessibility of transport for the elderly
and disabled. It has also responded to an
enquiry on the National Policy Statement
on National Networks. The IET’s written evidence
has been published on the Transport Select
Committee’s website.
Resilience, security
& risk in transport
This recent IET publication, available from
the IET Digital Library, provides engineering
professionals working in, or with an interest
in, the transport sector with nine papers
which address critical aspects of safety and
cyber security.
22
MEMBER NEWS
Obituaries
Professor Kenneth
(Ken) Gilbert Stephens
Peter Wherritt
CEng FIET Problem-solver, people
person and IET stalwart
BSc PhD CEng FIEE CPhys FInstP
P
K
en Stephens joined the
Department of Electrical
and Control Engineering
of Battersea College of
Technology (CAT) as a Lecturer only
months before it became Surrey
University and the departments
name became Electronic and
Electrical Engineering. Ken
spent the rest of his career at the
University of Surrey becoming
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering,
a post that he held for 10 years
before retiring in 1996. His
leadership and vision established
the Department as a major
strength both within the University
and nationally with major research
strengths in ion implantation and
satellite engineering.
Ken was a very sociable person
who was well known for his election
night parties. He felt that all staff
were important and he was very
keen for tutors to the undergraduate
students to know their students
well and supported staff student
social events. Cricket was one
of his passions. He was a keen
cricket player and a member of the
renowned MCC for more than 20
years, a keen and active member of
Blackheath Cricket Club since 1970
and was Captain of the University
Cricket Club in the 1970’s.
Ken was a very popular member
of staff and somebody who would
always see the best in people and
be keen to support staff in the
development of their research
and their careers.
He is sorely missed by his family,
friends in Guildford, the University
of Surrey and the international Ion
Implantation Community.
Obituary provided by Professor
Bernard L Weiss Emeritus
Professor of Electronics
University of Sussex.
eter Wherritt died
suddenly in early February
at the age of 66. Still
working as Director of
R+D in a university spin-out
company, he was also standing
for Trustee of the IET.
The organisation did not get the
opportunity to see Peter succeed in
that role, as he surely would have.
A strong supporter of IET values,
Peter believed that the IET should
do all it could to serve the needs
and interests of all types of
member from student to the retired.
in the late 1960s. He spent his
working life in applied electronics
in both small and large companies
as well as some years as an
independent consultant. In 2005,
he won an IEE innovation award
for a security application enabling
portable fingerprint verification.
With an extensive volunteering
record, Peter served on Council,
communicating the views of
members via the Co-ordination
Team. Between 2009-11, he was
a Member of the Management
Network Executive Team and a
Professional Development Mentor.
He was a long-standing member
of the Oxford Network Committee.
A huge guitar-fan, Peter carried
fond memories of his favourite
60s bands, from the Moody
Blues to The Beatles. Peter never
let any challenge get him down.
He enjoyed people challenges
as much as any. Trying to make
the best out of every situation,
Peter worked hard to make
sure that relationships worked
and usually succeeded, with
a smile.
Proud to be called an engineer,
Peter had been a member of the
IET since graduating in electronics
For a full list of obituaries visit www.theiet.org/obituaries.
Support following bereavement
If you have been affected by the death of someone close to you
and would like some advice or support, call IET Connect today.
We are here for all IET members and their immediate families and can help with:
F inancial support to help
with unexpected costs and
changes in income
Free legal advice including
advice on wills and probate
Advice on state benefits
Support with care needs
E motional and practical
support
If you need advice or support call us on 0845 685 0685 (UK) or +44 (0)20 7344 5498 Mon-Fri 09.00-17.00 or email [email protected]
www.ietconnect.org
23
Engineering Live
2950 - www.theiet.org/events
IET - Event Listing_IET_V7_AW.indd 2
Spring 2014
24/03/2014
Spring 2014 – Member
News
11:50
IET Offices
London*
Savoy Place
2 Savoy Place
London
WC2R 0BL
United Kingdom
www.theiet.org
Stevenage
Michael Faraday House
Six Hills Way
Stevenage Herts
SG1 2AY
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1438 313311
F: +44 (0)1438 765526
E: [email protected]
www.theiet.org
IET Venues
Beijing
Suite G/10F
China Merchants Tower
No.118 Jianguo Road
Chaoyang District
Beijing China
100022
T: +86 10 6566 4687
F: +86 10 6566 4647
www.theiet.org.cn
Hong Kong
4412-13 Cosco Tower
183 Queen’s Road
Central
Hong Kong
T: +852 2521 2140
F: +852 2778 1711
Bangalore
Unit No 405 & 406
4th Floor, West Wing
Raheja Towers
M. G. Road
Bangalore 560001
India
T: +91 80 4089 2222
www.theiet.in
New Jersey
379 Thornall Street
Edison NJ 08837
USA
T: +1 (732) 321 5575
F: +1 (732) 321 5702
IET London: Savoy Place*
London
T: +44 (0) 207 344 5479
www.ietvenues.co.uk/savoyplace
IET Birmingham: Austin Court
Birmingham
T: +44 (0)121 600 7500
www.ietvenues.co.uk/austincourt
IET Glasgow: Teacher Building
Glasgow
T: +44 (0)141 566 1871
www.ietvenues.co.uk/teacherbuilding
*
Savoy Place will be closed for refurbishment
from summer 2013 until autumn 2015. During
this time IET’s London home will be within the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers building at:
1 Birdcage Walk
Westminster
London
SW1H 9JJ
www.theiet.org
If you are attending an event during this period,
please check the venue details carefully.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is working to engineer a better world. We inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community, supporting
technology innovation to meet the needs of society. The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England and Wales (No. 211014) and Scotland
(No. SCO38698).

Member News

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