A message from Ruth Shilston, Chair of the Young Members Board

Ruth Shilston, Young Members Board Chair reminds us that it is not too late for young members to vote in this years’ elections, as well as a conference she is looking forward to speaking at that will bring together the next generation of young railway engineers. 

Welcome to the second Young Member's newsletter of 2014.  In February I reminded you that there is an opportunity for those of you who are professionally registered to stand in the IMechE elections, and I am excited to say that some of you have.  So in this newsletter it falls on me to remind you all to vote either by post or online.  You should have received your voting papers, so I urge you to read through the manifestos of the candidates and to choose who you want to steer the direction of your institution in the coming years.

The other thing I want to talk about is an exciting event that I will be attending and speaking at in June.  
The Next Generation Rail: From Seed to Success, is a conference which will bring together young railway engineers from both industry and academia, to network and learn skills which will really set you apart in your career.  Now, this isn't an IMechE event, but given the number of you who are members of the Railway Division, I hope to see many of you there.

Finally, I hope that you enjoy the articles in this newsletter which cover the highly successful volunteer conference, the updated Charity Grants and progress with the STEM assessment tool.

Best wishes,
Ruth

Young Members contribute significantly to the Institution’s biggest Volunteer Conference so far

This year’s Volunteer Conference saw a huge contribution from the Institution’s young members. Conference organiser, Iman Kouchouk talks about what was on offer for young members at the event which was held at York University.

This April saw the Institution’s biggest Volunteer Conference yet, with over 40 training sessions available to 180 volunteers from more than ten different areas of the Institution and representatives from 12 countries attending. The three-day conference was held on the weekend of 4th-6th April at the historic city of York at the Heslington East Campus of the University of York. What’s more, this year’s conference was attended by over 70 young members ranging from Young Member Panel Area Chairs to STEM Ambassadors and Formula Student Volunteers.

For the first time, the conference was truly global in scope, with volunteers from around the world in attendance.  Encouragingly, there were young member country representatives from Greece, Germany and as far as Australia, along with young members from Trinidad and Tobago and Hong Kong.



This year, the Institution was keen to give a significant focus on young members, and even counted among the opening presentations one from our Young Members Board EngTech Rep, Gavin Kerby, giving an account of his experience being an EngTech with the Institution, as well as his own route to professional registration.

The conference gives members the opportunity to get updated on Institution strategy, developments and resources, share best practice and build relationships with other volunteers. It also gives staff another forum to meet volunteers and to hear their feedback on Institution activity.

Of the 41 workshops at this year’s conference, these included: “What is Formula Student?”; “Branding and Publicity”; “PR and Media Engagement”, “International Membership” and “A Beginners Guide to Social Media” (to name but a few!). Furthermore, the range of workshops which were put on this year included some with a clear Young Member focus, as a means of providing a forum for discussion for a range of issues affecting Young Members in their capacity as volunteers. For instance, Conference Organiser and Member Engagement Executive Iman Kouchouk ran two workshops which were open to members of all ages and volunteer roles (facilitating inter-generational interaction between members) the first one focusing on “Volunteering Opportunities with the IMechE and our partner Organisations” and the later focusing on “ Young Member Grants Awards and Competitions”.

She said: “The Volunteering Opportunities workshop members of all ages had an interesting discussion about their experiences in STEM Engagement, including volunteering for STEMNET, Bloodhound, Primary Engineer as well as their experiences in Regional and Young Member Committees. The workshop also gave information on the Institution’s Independent Mentoring Scheme and Arkwright’s Mentoring schemes. All workshop attendees were clearly passionate about their roles, for which clear opportunities and challenges were apparent. Overall, it was a very interesting workshop.”

Speaking about the workshop on the Young Member Grants, Awards and Competitions, Iman also found a number of interesting findings from the attendees in relation to what was already known to Young members. Specifically, it was clear that many of the Institution’s young member prizes and awards were not well publicised, nor were the rules and guidelines currently as clear as they could be. Taking on this feedback, Iman has highlighted some of the changes that will be taking place to make this information clearer. For example, she says:  “Soon we will be updating the website with clearer instructions on applying for a James Bates Grant, as well as improving the information available to both organisers and wntrants involved in the running of Speak Out or Engineering competitions.  We are also publicising the newly re-launched Young Members Board Charity Grant, so young members will hopefully have access to clearer information on what funding they can apply for, be it individually, or say, as part of a group application with their local Young Member Panel”.



Claire Jones, Trustee Board representative on the Young Members Board also led a conference session on “How to get the most out of your young members”, which was an interactive session where lively debate and the sharing of ideas took place between both experienced volunteers of the IMechE and completely new volunteers (in their first month of volunteering).

According to Claire: “In the workshop we looked at the definition of an IMechE young member (anyone up to 10 years after professional registration) and the types of events that appeal to young members (the same selection of interesting events that would appeal to any member) we then went onto look at the wide range of activities that young members are involved in from local committees to running for the IMechE Council and Trustee board. We then proceeded to discuss the reasons for wanting to be involved in the IMechE, with the opportunity to attend the Volunteer Conference and meeting new people being one of the top answers, along with gaining knowledge on all the grants and bursaries available to members. 

The group discussed the ways in which they publicise the events they run. It was agreed that there was benefit in both advertising events through social media and through the use of more traditional methods such as sticking posters on the work coffee machines. We concluded the session by looking at ways to welcome new volunteers and how to address some of the barriers to volunteering”.

The presentation from the session will soon be made available on the Volunteer Resource Centre, but to see this first, you can view this here; this set of presentation slides includes many of the answers the group discussed in the session.

Following the workshops, members were invited to attend a formal Gala Dinner with speeches from the Director of Engineering, Dr Coin Brown, as well as the Institution’s youngest ever President Elect, Mark Hunt. Dinner guests were also treated to a presentation and video from Robert Morrison, Senior Design Team Leader for Triumph Motorcycles.... with many of the members  taking the opportunity to try out the three bikes he had brought with him that were stationed outside the dining room!

    
The following morning, the many attendees who stayed for the Primary Engineer wake-up session were tasked with making the tallest structure to hold a marshmallow out of spaghetti, whilst the closing of the conference included an interesting presentation from Belinda Herden, Oceania Young Member Rep, detailing the opportunities and challenges faced by a young member panel covering an area of over 3.3 million square miles!

Feedback from attendees at the conference has, so far, been very positive, with one young member saying: “An event of this scale is not an easy task to pull off, so well done!! As a participant I was well fed (very important!) never lost and surprisingly engaged throughout the whole event. I met some amazing people and learnt new things that I hadn't known before.  From an organisational point of view, it was apparent that all the important elements were taken care of and planned in advance. So great work, all in all!” 

All presentations delivered at the conference will be uploaded on to the Volunteer Resource Centre over the coming weeks and it is hoped that these will prove to be useful to those young members who attended as well as those who were unable to make it this year. If you would like to be contacted when these go live then please contact ambassadors@imeche.org and we will be happy to inform you of this. 

You can read more about  the Volunteer Conference in the latest Institution News update. To find out more about how you can get involved with volunteering with the Institution, you can also contact ambassadors@imeche.org or to read more about the latest volunteer roles with the Institution, visit http://www.imeche.org/learning/volunteering/volunteer-roles.  

The YMB Charity Grant is now officially re-launched!

Marcus Nicholls, Deputy Chair on the Young Members Board (YMB) gives details of the newly re-launched Charity Grant and how young members can apply for this funding.

This month sees the re-launch of the YMB Charity Grant. The Charity Grant is intended to support Young Members’ charitable activities undertaken in their local communities, or further afield. Four charity awards of up to £500 each are available for 2014.

The Charity Grants provide funding to enable IMechE Young Members to carry out engineering related charitable activities. At the same time, they serve to raise the profile of the Institution and activities of the Young Member population through engagement with the wider public and generation of media coverage. As a result, in return for the funding, the YMB will support you in promoting your activity and charitable cause. You may also be asked to report back on your activity at one of the quarterly YMB meetings.

Over the last few years the YMB Charity Grants have supported a range of projects in the UK and abroad. Approved grants have included funding to enable a team of engineers from the Greater London region to travel to Mozambique in support of Project Moz Irrigation (www.projectmoz.com). A team of IMechE Young Members has also previously used the grant to support their involvement in Bratislava or Bust; a seven day trip across Europe in a vehicle purchased for under £500, in support of Engineers Without Borders.

   

The Charity Grant can be used to pay for travel, venue hire or any materials required. If you, or someone you know, are planning an engineering related activity supporting a charitable cause at home or abroad get in touch and let us know.

For more information on the Charity Grants and for an application form please see our website or contact us at charitygrants@imeche.org or 020 7379 1252.

The Developing Engineers Blog has also been re-launched!

Peter Bonnington, editor of the newly re-launched Developing Engineers Blog encourages budding blog writers to get involved in the IMechE-sponsored blog written ‘for engineers, by engineers’.

As some of you may now, Developing Engineers is a blog that was started by the YMB in 2010. The blog went through two years of strong growth before a year of contraction in 2013. The reasons for that contraction have been discussed, and in the past few weeks I've had the pleasure of re-launching the blog, incorporating those lessons learnt.

Some things have not changed. Many of the blog's existing contributors have stayed on and are looking forward to starting to publish again. It's still truly is a blog written ‘for engineers, by engineers’. Our writers are exclusively young engineers expressing their own views on developments in engineering, their own experiences and sharing their own advice. The blog remains sponsored by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Young Members’ Board, but in terms of published content it is entirely independent of the Institution.


Some things have changed. We welcome several new contributors to the team who have different backgrounds, experiences and ideas they want to share; please keep an eye out for their articles and be sure to welcome them to the site. Also, our existing contributors have all progressed in their careers since you last heard from them, so expect them to continue to provide our readers with the information they need to make informed decisions about their education, career & professional development.

As a blog for engineers, by engineers, I can foresee two channels for articles (with a degree of overlap guaranteed):

• Articles intended to help developing engineers (i.e. our readers) make informed decisions
• Articles to allow Developing Engineers (i.e. our contributors) a chance to develop their writing/public engagement skills

I would also like to see a lot more reader input, so if you agree/disagree with our contributors, have any other pertinent information relating to the article, or would like to raise a question, please do comment!

Equally, if you would like to join the team, there are a number of ways you can do so:

• Contributor - fancy honing your writing skills or have some experiences you would like to share? We are always looking for new contributors

• Editors - with up to 3 articles a week, there is a regular stream of content that requires checking for quality and editorial direction. A good opportunity to get involved without being directly exposed to the readership

• Blog developer - A Blog Developer is needed to help the current Manager and Editors develop a unique style for the site and improve its integration with social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter

Please have a look at the site and get in touch if you would like to be involved!

New STEM evaluation tool is piloted at Your Green Future event

Christian Young, Education Representative on the Young Members Board talks about the Institution’s newly created STEM evaluation tool as well as some of the results gleaned in its first use at the latest Your Green Future event.

The Institution’s newly created STEM evaluation tool has been used for the first time this February at the Your Green Future (YGF) event in Stroud.

Approximately 300 students ranging from 13-19 years old attended the event, giving an ideal broad spectrum for the first set of results. The evaluation tool uses 6 simple agreement statements to measure enjoyment, development of knowledge and transformation of thinking. This has been designed to aid in evaluating the effectiveness of different STEM outreach activities in these areas.

In addition to YGF, the evaluation tool has been adopted by a number of STEM organisations including our partners at Tomorrow's Engineers and the IET.

Interesting differences between genders and age ranges have already been identified. As results from more events become available the underlying trends can be identified which will help in targeting STEM activities and matching content to audience. For more details on the results of this particular evaluation, please see our STEM data summary.

If you are planning an upcoming STEM engagement activity and would like to use the evaluation tool please contact the Christian Young, Education Rep on the Young Members Board via youngmembers@imeche.org for more information.

For more information on how you can get involved in forthcoming Your Green Future events as a STEM Ambassador or an Exhibitor then please see information on the latest volunteering opportunities below.

Upcoming Volunteering Opportunities

MX Awards Assessor roles are now available!

Evaluate the latest trends and best practices within the manufacturing sector by becoming a Manufacturing Excellence Awards Assessor.

The Manufacturing Excellence (MX) Awards, is a free of charge business improvement programme that supports and promotes all manufacturers in the UK, including SMEs, Mid-Caps and OEMs to achieve greater productivity and worldwide competitiveness.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is now looking to recruit Volunteers to act as MX assessors. Details for this role are as follows:  

• Full training will be provided

• Background in manufacturing preferred (any length of service within any manufacturing company)

• The main role is to conduct online assessments. It is estimated these will take approximately 1 hour per entrant. Assessors are asked to do a minimum of three assessments.

• There is an option to attend on-site assessment visits to verify the information supplied in the online application. Visits take between 4 and 7 hours.

• This role will give you the opportunity to find out the latest trends and practices within the manufacturing sector.

For more information about the MX Awards please see the MX Awards Homepage or to express your interest in becoming an MX Assessor, please contact Jocelyn Xavier, at j_xavier@imeche.org or on 020 7973 1296.  

Mentor other developing engineers on the Institution’s Independent Mentor Service (IMS)

Join the Institution’s latest mentoring programme by becoming a Mentor or a Mentee on the new Independent Mentor Service (IMS).

Last year, the Young Members Board received several requests for the Institution to provide more mentoring opportunities for Young Members. Partly in response to this, the IMechE now have a programme called the Independent Mentoring Service (IMS) which Young Members can get involved in either as Mentors or as Mentees. The IMS aim is to match Mentors with Mentees in various industries and levels to help Mentees plan and reach their own personal development goals. These range from single objectives such as becoming professionally registered, through to larger goals, such as moving from one industry/discipline to another. 

The Institution is looking for new volunteer Mentors who have:

• Achieved professional registration as a CEng, IEng or EngTech
  
• A strong record in people focused leadership, continuing professional development (CPD) for themselves and for others and those promoting the profession to the coming generations.
  
• Mentors should have certain qualities such as emotional intelligence, altruism, ability to detach and be objective, and professional competence (or wide enough experience to operate across professions).
  
• The frequency of meetings and level of interaction will be agreed between the mentor and the mentee and a memorandum of agreement has been devised to guide both parties on the nature and parameters of the mentoring programme.
  

For more information on the Independent Mentor Service please see the IMS section of our website. Please note IMS staff will be attending the next Young Members Board meeting on 16th May 2014, so if you have any questions about getting involved in the scheme- either as a Mentor or as a Mentee- please get in touch at ambassadors@imeche.org  and we will be sure to ask any questions on your behalf. Alternatively, please contact indmentor@imeche.org where a dedicated IMS staff member may be able to provide any information you require on the scheme, in the meantime.

Be a STEM Ambassador or an Exhibitor at a Your Green Future event

Explore the opportunities of a low carbon, resilient future as a STEM Ambassador, workshop facilitator or exhibitor at an upcoming Your Green Future event.

Your Green Future (YGF) is a series of regional events that are part funded by the IMechE through its STEM engagement discretionary fund and have also been involved in trialing our STEM engagement evaluation model.

The events take the form of 2 day interactive events that explore the opportunities of a low carbon, resilient future.  They investigate diverse fields, from locally emerging sustainable business models to cutting edge technologies, which are generating increasing demand for appropriately skilled young people. Your Green Future events are aimed at 13-19 year olds. The next YGF event will be held on 5th-6th June at the University of Worcester at which it is expected around 400 secondary school students from up to 20 local schools will attend.  There are also YGF  events in pre-planning stage for Bristol, Gloucestershire, Solihull and South Wales for 2014/2015. IMechE young members can get involved in YGF events:

• As individuals: STEM ambassadors are required to support event workshops, such as  ‘Your Innovative Future’ and ‘Your Energy Future’
• As committees/groups: there is possibility for IMechE volunteers to run a workshop at an event or be an exhibitor.

Should you be interested in volunteering for any of the upcoming Your Green Future events then please contact Cecily Etherington at Cecily@swea.co.uk or on 01452 835076. 

Support work-related learning events in Cambridge schools with CAP

Members living in the Cambridge area are being offered many opportunities to talk to 14-19 year olds about careers and employability in the field of Engineering.

Cambridge Area Partnership (CAP) is a partnership of all the state-funded providers of education and training for. The partnership supports all the state secondary schools and sixth-form colleges across the Cambridge region (representing 23,000 students) to build links with local employers to help students consider the wide range of opportunities out there, and to inspire them to continue their learning.
 CAP is particularly interested in building stronger links with IMechE members in and around Cambridge and they have several upcoming events for which they need volunteers to work with and inspire students:

1st May - Melbourn Village College

Year 10 – prep for work experience.  Would like help from employers, including mock interviewing and coaching/mentoring

20th May - Cottenham Village College

Year 10 - Work Experience.  Preparing students to get the most out of work experience

w/c 14th July-  Parkside Community College

World of Work events- For year 10s, a range of activities to learn about careers and how to become employable. Looking for one or two employers to play a major role.

Any IMechE member who could visit any of the above colleges either to exhibit, to run an activity or just to talk to students about their job and their career journey would be most welcome to attend.  

Should you wish to find out more about how to get involved in these events  please contact Anne Bailey: abailey@cap14-19.org.uk or or tel. no. 07545 696547. You can read more about CAP at http://www.cambridgeareapartnership.org.uk/

Mentoring with the Social Mobility Foundation

The Social Mobility Foundation is looking for mentors to inspire potential Engineering students from low income backgrounds to make informed decisions about their careers.

The Social Mobility Foundation is a charity which exists to support high achieving students from low income backgrounds into the top universities and professions. The Social Mobility Foundation have a large number of students who aspire to study and work within the field of Engineering, so they are greatly in need of more mentors to begin in March 2014 in the target cities of Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Glasgow.

 As a mentor, you will support a 16-17 year old aspiring professional through a key transitional year in their life. Mentors are a valuable resource for students to help them make informed decisions about their future, including career and university choices.

The mentoring takes place mostly by email, and only requires around 15-30 minutes of your time per week for a year. Despite the small time commitment, your support could make a huge difference to one of our students.

Ideally they are looking for people who have been in their careers for at least a year, but you would also be welcome to apply if this is not the case with you, as long as you have some workplace experience

If you would like to volunteer to be a mentor, please complete the sign-up form on the Social Mobility Foundation  website or contact Zoe Plant on zoe.plant@socialmobility.org.uk or 0207 183 1189  for more information.