The President of Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Patrick Kniveton, presented certificates to 96 new members and fellows of the Institution last month. This annual event is for engineers who are working in the Greater London, South East and Eastern regions. Chartered and Incorporated engineers, along with a high number of engineering technicians, were formally recognised and celebrated.
The engineers are working in a wide range of industries, from automotive and rail to medical and building engineering.
“Achieving Chartered status has always been a big goal for my career. I think it is an incredibly important milestone for all engineers, but especially those at the beginning of their career like me,” reflected Jeremy Green, a design engineer for McLaren Automotive who has just become a Chartered engineer. “It helps to show that I am working to the Institution’s code, whilst gaining good experience in the industry.”
“I didn’t realise the variety and quality of the professions being awarded the status of EngTech until I attended the recent new members evening. I feel proud to be a member of the Institution and have the utmost respect for its goals, aims and fellow members,” says Peter Beddow, an automotive assessor and tutor who helps to nurture automotive apprentices. He received his certificate for becoming professionally registered as an Engineering Technician saying: “Having this professional registration status was a great advantage when I was recently interviewed for my new post.”
There was also a wide geographical spread, with engineers from all over the world and some who had done work placements abroad. Dr Angela Kedgley is a Research Fellow at Imperial College London in the department of Bioengineering, who earned her degrees from the Universities of British Columbia and Western Ontario, in Canada. She describes her situation: “I relocated from Canada to the UK three years ago. Being professionally registered is something that has always been important to me and is considered a great achievement in Canada. As I now live in the UK, I wanted to attain that same distinction in my adopted home. I am very proud of the fact that I have achieved Chartered status because it is a peer-reviewed process and I believe that it demonstrates an acceptance within the engineering community of the work I have done thus far.”
Simon Ralph was recognised as an IEng Member, and he currently works at Dungeness B. “At the age of 51, I wanted to gain recognition for 35 years’ experience and achievements working in engineering and of my technical qualifications,” he explains. “Every time I have changed careers I have had to prove myself all over again before advancing. The benefits of IEng status is that I am recognised as being a professional and that I am considered capable and committed to developing myself and conforming to the company’s highest standards.”
After the formal presentations, there was a reception to give the engineers and their guests a chance to network and share experiences, as well as to celebrate their achievements. This regular event has grown over recent years, and this was the biggest new members’ events to be hosted at the Institution headquarters in London. It reflected the vibrant, dynamic and exciting profession that is engineering today.
For more information about professional registration:
http://www.imeche.org/membership/membership-registration