In the last issue of Register News we showed readers the IEng signature block, which was distributed to relevant members through the professional engineering institutions (PEIs).  We’ve been very pleased with the take up of this initiative by many Incorporated Engineers.  Since then we’ve been working on a number of other campaign activities, which are outlined below. 

Information about the campaign and a number of specific IEng advertisements have now been distributed to our colleagues in the institutions, as well as other partners.  These are being used in journals and on websites, as well as being printed for use on noticeboards. 

Our latest HE Bulletin has been used to promote awareness among those working in HE, and to ask them, in turn, to help raise awareness among their students.  New for this year, the Engineering Council has prepared an introductory email for lecturers to forward to students, providing information on the profession and registration as IEng or CEng.

The attendance of the Professional Engineering Institutions has been so well received at the National Engineering & Construction Recruitment Exhibition (NECR), that they are now planning their presence on the Professional Development Hub for the third time.

At the NEC Birmingham on 25 and 26 November, students, graduates and skilled professionals can visit the Professional Development Hub to meet representatives from the Engineering Council and Institutions to obtain advice on their professional career progression, and to see how getting professionally qualified can boost their career prospects.

Jon Prichard, the Engineering Council’s Chief Executive Officer says, “Working together on the Professional Development Hub we are able to help engineers and technicians at any stage of their career to develop an understanding of the importance of professional registration, both for their own career development and for the profession as a whole.  Formal recognition of competence is so important to job seekers looking to differentiate themselves as they face the challenges of a highly competitive and ever-changing profession.”
Institutions having confirmed their attendance so far include:

• Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT)
• Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management (IHEEM)
• Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3)
• Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
• Institution of Engineering Designers (IED)
• Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
• Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM)
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
• Society of Operations Engineers (SOE)
• Society of Environmental Engineers (SEE)
• The Welding Institute (TWI)

Other exhibitors at NECR, the largest engineering and construction recruitment event in the UK, and fast becoming an industry-wide collaboration, will be offering advice and challenging roles in virtually every sector of the industry including: automotive, mechanical, electronics, software and defence, construction, civil and structural engineering.

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3) and the Energy Institute (EI) are the latest PEIs to support the engineering gateways programme.  This brings the number of participating institutions to 14, while universities joining the scheme recently include Cardiff and the University of Glamorgan; both offering the MSc Professional Engineering.

The first BEng Professional Engineering (Power Systems) programme, leading towards IEng registration, has been successfully piloted by Aston University.  The first cohort consisted of 12 students from the UK's power supply industry, who had all previously successfully completed a Foundation Degree or equivalent. This programme proved so popular that places were oversubscribed, but firm offers have now been made to 25 applicants from a wider range of employers and backgrounds to start this month.

An increasing number of employers are also realising the benefits of the work-based degree programmes.  Those with employees enrolled on engineering gateways type pathways has now grown to over 50, with a wide range of size, type and geographic spread.

The Engineering Council has been awarded a ‘practice transfer partnership’ by the National HE STEM Programme as part of its workforce development plan.  The partnership will enable successful engineering gateways practice to be shared, with the aim of enabling more universities to offer this type of flexible work-based degree in Professional Engineering.

The work-based degree programmes enable individuals to gain the necessary academic qualifications while developing the required competence for professional qualification as Chartered Engineer (MSc) and Incorporated Engineer (Bachelor), without needing to leave employment.

The Engineering Council’s proposal for activity focused on identifying successful practice amongst those universities already offering the MSc or Bachelors in Professional Engineering, as well as finding out what other universities would find most useful to get started. Currently being finalised, the work programme is likely to involve drawing together examples of successful practice into a tool kit or delivery package.  The overall aim is for the flexible work-based approach to be embedded more widely in engineering HE so that more individuals can work towards becoming registered as IEng or CEng whilst in work.

The partnership with the National HE STEM Programme will also incorporate some relevant practice from other universities: Leeds Metropolitan University’s ‘Knowledge Exchange Network’ model for employer engagement and the University of Westminster’s work-based learning maturity toolkit.

The initiative started in August 2011 and runs until June 2012 and will be led by Deborah Seddon at the Engineering Council, supported by Hal Igarashi a lead facilitator for the HE STEM programme, based at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Remap, the charity which helps people with disabilities achieve independence, held its annual awards ceremony on June 25 at the National Motorcycle Museum near Solihull.  The top three prizes were won by a device to enable a woman paralysed by polio get access to her ventilator, a folding baggage carrier to help a woman who had had a stroke and lived alone carry her shopping, and an ingenious use for cricket pads, cut down and used to correct a little boy’s sitting problem.

The latter, the Martin Marshall Award was presented to Gary Wooding of  the Coventry & Warwickshire group, who had been asked by an occupational therapist (OT) to help her with a little boy who could not kneel without toppling over, and who tended to sit on the floor between his knees, a position which gave the OT concern over his skeletal development. Gary’s clever use of fielders’ pads stopped him both sitting between his knees and falling over.

Because engineers are the driving force behind many of the projects, the Engineering Council has been represented on the awards judging panel since 1997, a task willingly adopted over the past few years by Bob Simmons CEng, who says, "I always enjoy judging the Remap awards as the entries provide prime examples of how engineers can use their knowledge, skills and ingenuity to really improve the lives of the disabled - by producing a solution matched to a specific need."

The Energy Institute has appointed Joan MacNaughton CB HonFEI, Senior Vice President - Power and Environment Policies, Alstom Power as its new President for 2011-2013.

Joan has been an influential figure in the energy and climate policy debate in a variety of UK, EU and international roles. As Director General of Energy at the former Department of Trade and Industry, she delivered several major changes and made a significant contribution to international energy policy, including overseeing the energy agenda during the UK Presidency of the EU and leading the work on the energy part of the climate change proposals agreed at the G8 Gleneagles Summit. Since 2007, Joan has been with Alstom Power and spearheads the company’s clean power advocacy – to advance clean, sustainable energy and reduce power generation CO2 emissions.

In response to concerns about the future of Design and Technology (D&T) as a core subject in the national curriculum, the Design and Technology Association has launched a high-profile campaign to:

• develop and articulate a clear vision for D&T as it faces the challenges posed by changes to the education system
• inform and engage teachers, senior leaders, governors, parents, government, government agencies and business and industry in a professional dialogue about the role of D&T education in a 21st century curriculum.

The campaign was kicked off with a manifesto entitled: “We Believe in Design & Technology” What do you believe in? 

In July of this year, at IMechE, it launched a campaign video, ‘Is Creative Britain in Reverse?’  The film promotes the importance of D&T education in Britain’s schools and universities, its contribution to successful business and its fundamental role in supporting the UK Economy.

The campaign has strong support from industry and commerce, well-known individuals from the world of design and engineering (including Sir James Dyson, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Kate Bellingham and Sir John Rose), pupils and students, and from educators across all sectors and phases of education, including the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) and EngineeringUK.  The Associate Parliamentary Design & Innovation Group is also actively involved. 

The Engineering Council’s CEO, Jon Prichard CEng FICE FInstRE says, “Everyone is familiar with the need for engineering students to have a grasp on subjects such as maths and physics, but the role that Design and Technology can play in their development is often underestimated.  For certain disciplines such as Product Design Engineers, a grounding in D&T would be invaluable.”

As well as gathering this support, the D&T campaign includes developing a bank of case studies of individuals who studied D&T and where they are now. 

The Arkwright Scholarships Trust is a charity that inspires future leaders in engineering and related areas of design.  Arkwright does this by awarding engineering scholarships through rigorous selection to outstanding engineering-minded 15/16 year olds who are studying D&T as one of their chosen subjects.  Scholarships support students through their sixth form studies and, increasingly, through their undergraduate studies. 

Scholarships consist of a financial award to support the purchase of books and equipment, and a range of events to enhance scholars’ experience and understanding of engineering and leadership.  Arkwright operates across Britain and since 1991 has awarded over 2350 scholarships, growing year on year. This year the charity will award 298 scholarships.

The Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE), a professional sector of the Society of Operations Engineers (SOE) is hosting the UK Fuel Efficiency Forum on 19 October from 9.30am – 4pm at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedford.

The UK Fuel Efficiency Forum has been designed to offer invaluable market intelligence and the opportunity to network with key industry leaders who will highlight future trends and developments to improve fuel efficiency.

Discussion topics include:

• Influencing factors on fuel consumption
• Low rolling resistance and its effect on fuel consumption
• Impact of transmission architecture and operation on fuel efficiency
• Tailoring transmissions to duty cycle
• The new Bridgestone Ecopia Environmental tyre and it’s fuel efficiency advantages
• Bridgestone’s Total Fleet Management package
• Engine selection and impact on fuel efficiency

The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) has produced new guidance to help engineers reduce the carbon footprint of the projects they design.   
 
The short guide to embodied carbon in building structures provides the essential guidance to enable engineers to contribute to reducing both embodied carbon and energy footprint. 
 
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. Since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the UK has committed to drastically reducing carbon emissions, having a profound effect on industry.  The guidance responds to a global industry concern on how structural engineering can contribute to the challenge of climate change and the UK’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions.        

Institution President Professor Roger Plank will also provide a talk on the subject at the Birmingham NEC – The Infrastructure Show on 17 October.

New research undertaken for the Science Council shows that science has become increasingly important across all sectors of the UK economy and society.  5.8 million people are currently employed in science-based roles, a figure projected to increase to 7.1 million by 2030. 

The research provides much more information than available previously, including greater depth of data on the size, shape, distribution and qualifications of the UK science workforce today as well as giving some projections of future changes. 

For the first time the complexities of today’s economy are taken into account in the research by looking at the workforce in its entirety, thus enabling an understanding of the true size and scope of the science workforce across the whole economy, rather than limiting the research to considering only those working in a narrow band of so-called science sectors. 

The results serve to emphasise the interconnectedness and cross-disciplinarity of science in today's economy and highlight the proliferation of secondary science workers, people who are dependent on science knowledge and skills as part of their role and who will not previously have been identified as part of the science workforce.   Significant numbers of scientists were found in employment sectors as diverse as health and social care, education, food and farming, communications, finance, retail and public sector services.

A young plumbing professional has beaten off competition from around the world to land one of the industry’s top international awards. Shane Trevitt EngTech MCIPHE RP RHP (pictured left) has been awarded the Gold Medal for Plumbing at WorldSkills London 2011 - an international organisation that promotes vocational training.

At the same event, after an exciting and challenging competition involving welders from 31 countries, TWI student member Jake Rambaldini (pictured below) of Doosan Power Systems was awarded a Bronze Medal for his exceptional performance.

Lesley Challis, Membership Secretary of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), was delighted that Shane’s hard work had been recognised by the judging panel, saying, “It is vital for the industry that we continue to get an influx of talented young people like Shane. The standards expected in the sector today are higher than they ever have been making top quality training even more important.  Shane is a real credit to his chosen profession and this Institute, and we look forward to supporting his continuing professional development throughout what we are sure will be a very successful career.”

EUR ING Chris Eady, Associate Director for Professional Affairs at The Welding Institute (TWI) and Chairman of the SkillWeld Committee said: “Jake’s journey from ECITB apprenticeship, through SkillWeld 2010 finalist and Gold Medal Winner, to WorldSkills London 2011 Bronze Medal has been exceptional.  He is a highly talented and knowledgeable welder. It is no surprise, but no less exciting, that Jake has achieved this level of performance.  Throughout his competition experience, Jake has earned the admiration and friendship of trainers, sponsors and fellow competitors alike, he is an inspiration to our industry.”

TWI was also present at the O2 event, delivering its Welding with Chocolate experiment to thousands of visitors in the WorldSkills Have a Go Zone.  In addition, following a welding apprenticeship awareness day on 18 October 2011, TWI is launching a Welding Apprenticeship Group Training Association to enable more manufacturing and fabrication SMEs to engage in welding apprenticeships.