Institution President, Professor Richard Folkson's recent visit to the Greater London Region, included a tour of apprentice and engineering training facilities. He also helped judge the Region’s Speak Out for Engineering (SOFE) final.
Richard’s presidential visit began at the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME), where he saw the work that the Ford apprentices are undertaking, with cutting edge engineering facilities.
Gavin Cross, Ford Contract Manager with Skillnet Limited, said: "The Ford apprentices enthusiastically welcomed the President and his party to their programmes based at CEME.
"The apprentices really enjoyed discussing their work and ambitions and found the insight, perspective and experiences offered by the guests useful and inspiring. The apprentices are looking forward to learning more about professional bodies and all have applications forms to join the Institution.”
Moving on to Temple Mills, the President was offered a guided tour of the Eurostar site by apprentices. Students from the Leigh UTC also joined the tour.
Eurostar’s successful engineering apprenticeship scheme has been running for the last 18 years. Apprentices are able to work alongside experienced engineers, and gain an in-depth insight into the complexities of maintaining the UK’s only fleet of international high-speed trains.
Richard was also able to take in the newly renovated area dedicated to maintaining Eurostar’s new e320 trains, which started commercial service in November 2015.
During the visit, Richard presented a certificate to Eurostar’s Chief Mechanical Engineer, Louis Searle CEng MIMechE, commemorating his 56 years in the railway industry.
Richard said: “I was thrilled to be able to witness first-hand the fantastic training and development at Eurostar, as well as the company’s impressive state-of-the-art facilities. This illustrates the amazing opportunities a career in engineering can offer.”
Andrew Slater, Director of Rolling Stock at Eurostar, said: “We were very pleased to welcome Richard to Temple Mills, and share with him the successes of both our experienced and new apprentice engineers.
"We rely on a highly skilled workforce to maintain our complex fleet of trains, and to deliver the high levels of reliability our customers expect. We are committed to continuing to nurture new engineering talent to take our business forward, through our own apprenticeship scheme and partnerships with local education providers.”
After a brief tour of Queen Mary University London (QMUL), to see the extensive building and improvement works which are being undertaken, Richard participated as one of the judges at the Greater London Region’s Speak Out for Engineering (SOFE) competition, held at QMUL and organised by the Institution's Greater London Young Member Panel. This was the Opening Event for the Institution's North East London Area.
Four finalists took part, presenting on a wide range of topics:
- What's the Point(e)? by Aoife Considine BA BAI MAI, Transport for London
- Towards Ductile Composites by Adam Gottlieb MEng, Aker Solutions Ltd.
- Oil & Gas Subsea System by Samantha Dunn CEng MEng, Wood Group Kenny
- Renewable Energy by Dinesh K. Hansla MA MEng, Crossrail
The winner was Aoife Considine and the runner-up was Dinesh Hansla.
Alongside Richard on the judging panel were Giles Hartill CEng FIMechE, Chairman, Greater London Region Committee and Aaron Z. Du CEng MIMechE, Chairman, Greater London Young Member Panel.
Richard commented that he had enjoyed an inspiring day, meeting many great young apprentices and engineers.
He added: “I was really impressed by all of the finalists in Speak Out for Engineering. Good communication is a critical skill for all engineers and the competition is an excellent way for young members to hone these skills.”
Richard also made visits in January to Aston Martin Lagonda’s Gaydon plant, and to JCB in Staffordshire.
At Aston Martin, he was hosted by Ian Minards CEng FIMechE, Director Product Development, and enjoyed a tour of the factory and meeting with a team of engineers who are progressing their careers towards membership of the Institution.
Bob Pendlebury CEng FIMechE hosted Richard’s visit to JCB, where Richard also met with The Lord Bamford DL, who was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the Institution in 2015. Richard was most impressed by the level of innovation seen at both companies.
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