Singapore Branch Annual Dinner

Tuesday 6 December 2022 was a big day for IMechE Singapore Branch. A combined 175th anniversary “Birthday Party” for IMechE, the Annual Dinner and the 25th anniversary of the branch's registration with ROS in Singapore in 1997.

The guest of honour was Mr. Bartosz Lubecki from the British High Commission. A founding member, Dr Ang Hock Eng, who attended the first protem meeting of IMechE SG Branch held at the British High Commission in 1992, was also present. 

Registrations by the members were oversubscribed and seats were added to accommodate 60 branch members joined by guests frommIES, IET, IMarEST, Commonwealth Society, Goodwins Law and TDS Robotics. Cross sections of IMechE Student Chapters, at Republic Polytechnic and University of Glasgow, were represented by their local Committee Members, ALOs and Directors.

Some of the ex-committee Members were also present. Services of Singapore Branch founding members Graeme Brittan, Gerald Seet and the late Dr Ong Ling Seng were acknowledged as well as members Boon Hooi, Chun Wah, John Heng, Clive Ford, David Haines, Ivan Tam, Kean Wee, just to name a few who had served on the committee for long periods.

Committee Member Ms. Ng Lee Veen ably acted as emcee introducing Branch Chair Kogi Oberoi who welcomed everyone to the dinner. Mr. Bartosz Lubecki followed and spoke about the development of engineering throughout the long history of IMechE. He was representing the Singapore British High Commissioner, Her Excellency Ms. Kara Owen as her gesture of support for combined activities of various Institutions in Singapore.

The meeting spurred discussions of partnerships between IMechE, IMarEST, IES and IET. These are to be followed up early January 2023. It also showcased the Branch Committee with 4 women and the youngest member being 18 years old. The members present were supportive of partnerships seeing wider networking and cost reductions as some of the benefits.

Senior and Founding Members of the branch were invited to join in the cutting of a special birthday cake celebrating the 175 years of achievement by IMechE. Pauline Ang from Goodwins Law gave a light-hearted comparison of lawyers and engineers. Anthony Yee from the Commonwealth Society also gave a light-hearted speech with a serious message emphasising how important it is to encourage youth into engineering.

Another first was the “Young Member of the Year Award 2022”. Branch Vice Chair Andy Bell introduced the nominations and Mr. Bartosz Lubecki announced Ms. Poh Hui Xuan, Vice President of the RP Student Chapter as the winner. She was presented with a 3D printed trophy designed and made by the Committee Members.

The evening was rounded off by a piece of magic entitled “A Journey Not To Be Missed” performed by branch Chair Kogi Oberoi, who illustrated the use of engineering in his patented magical trick. The event would not have been possible without the exemplary team spirit within the whole committee. Lakhvinder Singh managed the project, Ms. Elven Kee and Steve O'Connor masterminded the lucky draw and YM award trophy with John Smith as the cover emcee and Graham Horn managing the purse. A must in the digital age are Social Media and IT services expertly provided by Ms Hui Xuan and Arun Prasanth.