Member engagement plans revealed for reformed IChemE Midlands Member Group
20th July 2018
Mentoring young chemical engineers and facilitating stronger links between universities and industry in the Midlands are key goals for the committee of IChemE’s reformed Midlands Member Group in the UK.
The group held its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) for several years yesterday (Thursday 19 July), with 20 members participating in a productive discussion on a range of topics including the need for a stronger focus on promoting the contribution that chemical engineering makes to society and the importance of professional recognition for early career engineers.
Chartered Engineer, Earl Hutchinson, Director of Fenris Consulting, expressed an eagerness to improve member engagement in the Midlands and volunteered to chair the member group through to the next AGM. His offer was accepted and supported by those in attendance.
He said:
“I thought the time had come to put my words into action. Having recently retired, I can commit the time and energy to the role. I look forward to working with IChemE members throughout the Midlands to promote the profession in a changing landscape.
“We had a good turnout for the AGM, with a diverse range of members in the room. I think this is indicative of a new mood in the Institution. There are a lot of members out there who would get more involved under the right circumstances and we need to look at ways of enabling wider participation.”
IChemE Deputy President, Andrew Thompson, who had been acting chair prior to the AGM said:
“I’m delighted to have had this many people at the AGM who want to see this succeed. Thank you to Earl and all the other members who have come in with lots of energy and volunteered to take this group forward.”
IChemE member groups organise events, networking opportunities and webinars to share ideas and promote the discipline at a regional level that are tailored to meet local needs.
IChemE will support the Midlands Member Group in their programme of events. Upcoming activities planned include a site visit to the Jaguar Land Rover engine factory in Wolverhampton, a brewery tour, and developing student events at local universities. They also plan to join the Clean Energy SIG in a site visit to the Severn Trent food waste digestion plant.
The revitalised group also plans to collaborate with IChemE’s Special Interest Groups for organising and hosting events and webinars for members across the Midlands region. For more information contact membergroups@icheme.org