A message from Ruth Shilston, Chair of the Young Members Board
This newsletter comes shortly after a historic event, a special meeting on 11th December to alter the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' (IMechE) Royal Charter to streamline the election process and to update the language of our by-laws to reflect the best practice in diversity. 
Both of these changes are areas where we as young members have pushed for change, and I am proud that the IMechE remains relevant and modern in these matters. As young members, we are the future of this Institution and if you want to know how you can get involved with the governance of the Institution, or to contact me on any young member issue then please email
YMBChair@imechenetwork.org.
One of my interests during my term as Young Members Board Chair is collaboration with other professional institutions. We have a particular focus on working with the IET during their residency in One Birdcage Walk. To facilitate our closer working I attended their Young Professionals Summit in October. It was really interesting for me to see their young member structure and to get involved with discussions about how they can best support their Young Professionals community. I am participating in weekly teleconferences with my opposite number to look for areas where we can learn from each other and collaborate on events.
Our first joint activity was a workshop to look at how we can better inspire the next generation to consider a career in engineering, more about which is in Peter’s article below. The next collaborative event I want to talk about is the Construction and Building Services debate which sees young members and the presidents of the IMechE, ASHRAE, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Institute of Refrigeration come together for a debate. This year’s topic was “This house believes that building services engineerings are too obsessed with building services”. The focus of the discussion shifted to the need to effectively communicate what we do and the value that we add as engineers within the construction industry. The full write up of the discussion can be found
here.
Finally, I would like to remind you about the IMechE
volunteer resource centre. This webpage provides a host of useful forms, document templates and event toolkits to support you in your volunteering role.
Best wishes,
Ruth Shilston
Young Members Board Chair
Young Members attend Energy Update Luncheon at the House of Lords
Three Young Members were proud to be selected by Helen Dr Helen Meese CEng MIMechE Head of Engineering in Society, to accompany her in representing the IMechE at an Energy Update discussion which was held over lunch in the House of Lords on Monday 9th December.
The Energy Update, which provided information on the latest developments in wind, nuclear and fracturing energies was lead by Professor the Lord Broers. Guest speakers included: Robert Mair, Profession or Geotechnical Engineering at Cambridge University, who has been involved in the construction of the Jubilee Line Extension for London Underground and with the HS1 and Crossrail projects; and William Heller, Chief Executive of Falck Renewables Wind Ltd. who was previously the Chief Executive of Edison Mission Energy, one of the world’s largest independent power producers.
Jake Tudge (E.ON) recently elected Energy Theme Representative on the IMechE YMB was one of the selected Young Members who attended this event. He said:
“As a recently elected member of the IMechE YMB, I was delighted to be invited to attend this event; It was a fantastic opportunity to see the great work that the IMechE do in promoting the Institution and engaging with such influential political circles. Along with Dr Helen Meese and two other young members, we immersed ourselves in debate and posed questions on what is an extremely important topic on today’s agenda; it was also great to see the energy and enthusiasm from one of our theme managers. Furthermore, the chance to hear directly from leading professionals in wind, fracking and nuclear, provided an informed and balanced view; the event also encouraged a very healthy debate throughout, which is essential if the engineering community is going to successful engage with politicians. Overall, it was a very enriching experience, with brilliant networking opportunities and a stunning venue in which to promote the IMechE.”
Jake who is also active on the Bath and Bristol Young Members Panel, was also joined by Salma Begum, who was also recently elected new Transport Key Theme Representative on the Young Members Board, as well as Sam Baneke, who through his work with Arup and E.ON has gained both a consultant’s and an insider’s view on the Energy industry.
The IMechE and IET STEM Engagement Workshop: the first of many cross-institutional young member collaborations
Peter Bonnington, Vice-Chair of the IMechE Young Members Board describes how a recent collaboration between active STEM Ambassadors from both the IMechE and the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) is hoped to mark the beginning of an alignment of STEM Engagement strategies. to which young members from both institutions have contributed valuable input.
In July 2013, the IET moved into One Birdcage Walk. This temporary relocation allows the IET’s London building at Savoy Place, to undergo a two year renovation. This physical co-location has afforded both sides an opportunity to work more closely together on issues that are of relevance to both Institutions and the Engineering community as a whole.
The Executive team of the Young Members Board have been working with our counterparts at the IET, alongside staff representatives from both sides, since the summer discussing a number of avenues for collaboration. The first event to be organised between the two parties was held on the 9th of December at One Birdcage Walk, where volunteers and staff from both institutions came together in a workshop and discussed how best to inspire the next generation to consider a career in engineering.
The workshop was attended by 7 volunteers from each institution, who were all invited as it was felt their experiences could provide insight into the current state of Science, Maths. Engineering and Technology (STEM) outreach activities and the successes & difficulties they have come across. In addition, the workshop was attended by the Heads of Education from both Institutions, who contextualized the current policy & research directions, and representatives from key partner organisations including Primary Engineer & Tomorrow’s Engineers.
After getting to know each other over lunch, the attendees discussed the broad spectrum of outreach activities that are already out there, and identified metrics that could be used to evaluate the ‘success’ of outreach activities. This discussion was integral to the work already going on between the two Institution’s regarding evaluation models so the Young Members had the opportunity to directly feed into the Heads of Education. The workshop then went on to discuss the current barriers to inspiring the next generation before then making recommendations for ways to overcome those barriers.
After the formal part of the workshop, the attendees then had the opportunity to meet and discuss with Trustees and other key figures from both Institutions, including the President of the IET, what they had been talking about during the day and pass over some initial recommendations over dinner and drinks in the Library.
The outcome of this workshop, along with the continued discussions on the IET Communities web forum, will be provided to the Trustees of both Institution’s in the form of a set of recommendations for actions and avenues for collaboration going forward. If anyone would like to have input to those recommendations, please let me know!
Thank you to all of those who attended and contributed to the discussion; we have captured some great actions & recommendations to be taken forward so watch this space.
If you are an active STEM Ambassador and would like to input into the workshop’s recommendations, then please contact Peter Bonnington at
youngmembers@imeche.org. Our website also provides more information on our current
STEM volunteering opportunities or contact
ambassadors@imeche.org.uk
Young Members attend Copenhagen YES competition to solve sustainable engineering problems
Brian Houston, Adrian Ibarra, Nicholas Morris- a pan-European group of IMechE Young Members- give their account of their involvement in the Young Engineers Solutions (YES) competition in Copenhagen, for which they were selected to discuss environmentally-friendly creative solutions to several engineering challenges.
The Young Engineers Solutions (YES) event is an annual workshop held in Copenhagen. Organised by the Danish Society of Engineers (IDA). It was a two-day contest held at the Danish Design Centre (DDC) in which around 130 engineers from many different countries, thought, developed, built a prototype and presented their solution on 11 different challenges proposed by the IDA (Danish Society of Engineers). Those 11 challenges are real problems at Roskilde Music Festival, one of the largest in Europe, in which more than 130.000 people live together for a week in a city built for the occasion. The named problems have a need of environmentally-friendly solutions, and cover issues such as waste, sanitation, rainwater management, energy, garbage collection, etc.
After having conceptualised our solutions, each group then needed then to build a prototype model display and develop a presentation in preparation for the formal presentations, including a 3 minute 'pitch' to a Dragon's Den style panel of Judges (All stakeholders in Roskilde Festival). Each of these 3 presentations had different audiences: a jury of experts who would give the Technical Award, companies in the sector that provided us with useful feedback, and about 300 people who participated in the Copenhagen Creative Summit and chose the Audience Award.
Nicholas Morris, Young Member Representative, IMechE Group France gives his account of his involvement in the competition: “Given that I work for an energy company, I opted to get involved with the group called "Power to the People" - an "activity to optimise the energy consumption with regards to sustainable / alternative production and distribution, with a focus on the camps".
The scheduling (see the artistic design below) was very intense and a challenge at the start, as the group did not know whom one another were. As such, we needed to quickly establish each other's strong points before addressing what needed to be done over the two days and delegating the activities accordingly.
Regarding his overall impression of the event, Nicholas said: "The YES Event 2013 is a striking example of how young engineers from around the world can be brought together to work on different projects to try and realise a common goal. It is an event that I would wholeheartedly recommend any IMechE student engineer or IMechE Associate Member to participate in given the chance, and indeed engineers from other backgrounds. It provides one with the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals from different cultural and professional backgrounds to learn about and implement socio-environmental solutions. Such solutions are applicable not only in a professional context, but indeed in our everyday lives, as we seek to educate the responsibility of the individual, so as to safeguard an environment for the next generation.”
Also Representing the IMechE, Adrian Ibarra, Young Member attendee from the Spain Group’s says: "This kind of events are more and more needed in these days as they enrich participants with a wider angle of vision on such important issues. There is an imperative need to recognize, develop and implement sustainable solutions to everyday habits so that the human race is able to grow and progress. The strength of the YES competition lies in its ability to provide those thinking minds a perfect frame to innovation, with a space and atmosphere ideal for the generation of quality ideas".
The overall winning solution was a novel recycled modular furniture solution aimed at reducing the waste camping equipment left behind each year and inspiring creativity and fun whilst still providing a green and sustainable solution. The people's choice award went to a edgily named 'Golden Showers' solution which recycled waste water, purifying it so that it can be reused again, and hence reducing overall water consumption.
All the solutions will form an expedition to be on display at the DDC following the event for all to see and it is hoped that many of the young professionals involved will continue to pursue their solutions after the event. It is not expected that all the presented solutions will mature into a concept or product but it is hoped that the exercise and even if the solution does not fully mature, at least that their message will be heard by others and help to change common perceptions.
Brian Houston, IMechE East Yorkshire Young Members Chairman was delighted to attend the event: “Personally speaking I was honoured and delighted to be selected and supported by the IMechE to participate in such an incredible event. The Society of Danish Engineers (IDA) were impeccable hosts and put together a really impressive and well organised event. The Young Engineering Solutions project was a fantastic opportunity to work with a diverse, enthusiastic and talented bunch of young professionals in a fast and challenging environment, to work towards creative new solutions to real world problems. I learned a significant amount from the challenge and gained some valuable experience as well as making some great new contacts and friends. The whole experience was truly inspirational, hard work but highly rewarding and highly recommended to anyone thinking about participating in the future.
I would also really like to thank Christine Simonsen Nielsen & Tino Rabe Tønnesen from IDA for their assistance in the run up to the event and for organising such a fantastic project, I think we well felt extremely welcomed and very well looked after, it was a real pleasure to work together.”
You can see a video of this year’s event at this
link or go to and for more information on the Copenhagen Creative Summit visit:
http://www.copenhagencreativesummit.com/info/yes Support Network
Support Network's Chief Executive Officer Anni Broadhead explains how the IMechE’s benevolent fund, Support Network, can provide financial help and guidance to our members and their dependents in times of need.
Support Network is the charity for all IMechE members. We can provide advice, practical support and finance at all stages of a member’s career. We particularly want to help members who are studying and/or undertaking their first jobs in the profession, as well as those who find that the competing demands of having a young family, bills to pay and responsibilities at of work can be quite challenging.
At Support Network we can provide temporary ‘breathing space’ financial support; apprenticeship and undergraduate grants; employment coaching and CV clinics; debt advice; access to counselling; career break, carer, and new parent support. Our help follows the member, so it doesn’t matter where in the world members are, and we can help dependants too.
We are a small team of 3 full-time staff, all based at Birdcage Walk, complemented by a team of 60 volunteers, who are all IMechE members. Volunteering is very flexible and can provide valuable business development experience. We also have a specific YM representative role on our Trustee Board.
Further information can be found via the IMechE website at
http://www.imeche.org/about-us/support-network or by contacting Anni Broadhead, Support Network CEO at 020 7304 6812 or
a_broadhead@supportnetwork.org.uk Upcoming Volunteering Opportunities
The Big Bang Fair 2014
Volunteer Registration for The Big Bang Fair - the largest celebration of science and engineering for young people in the UK- is now open!
IMechE Young Members are encouraged to put their registration in soon, in order to volunteer at the national Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair (13th - 16th March 2014, NEC, Birmingham) and also in any The Big Bang Near Me Fairs (June/ July 2014) in their local area, if they are able.
There are ten fantastic volunteering roles on offer, half of which they are looking for volunteers from Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) backgrounds specifically to help inspire young people into STEM subjects.
The roles for The National Fair at the NEC which could really benefit from IMechE Young Member support are the 'Careers Cabin' roles and the 'Activity Demonstrator' roles.
* The Careers Cabin area will feature lots of careers activities such as the
'Whose Crew Are You' activities and 'Meet the Future You' - an activity involving STEM professionals and young people, giving the visitors a chance to meet and speak to volunteers working in STEM fields, through a series of games and discussions. The Big Bang Fair will also have 'Careers Captains' speaking to young people about their experiences and answering questions as part of a competition young people will be involved in at The Fair.
* The Activity Demonstrator roles will involve either helping an exhibitor as a 'Stand Assistant' working with an organisation related to a volunteers STEM background to help explain and demonstrate the activities on their stand, or volunteering as an 'Activity Demonstrator' running small activities on a small stand with another volunteer and working with the young people visiting The Fair.
More information about all the roles and various fairs that young members can assist with can be found on
The Big Bang Fair website. If you have any questions about volunteering at a Big Bang Fair in 2014, please email Volunteer Coordinator, Katharine Montgomery, on
volunteers@thebigbangfair.co.uk.
You can also watch 2013’s The Big Bang Fair 2013 on video on
YouTube.
Mentoring with Arkwright Scholarships Trust
The Arkwright Scholarships Trust identifies and nurtures future leaders in engineering and related areas of design. Arkwright invites STEM Ambassadors to support and guide an outstanding, engineering-minded 16/18 year old during a critical time in their education. 
‘Mentoring’ can take many forms – Arkwright Scholars would welcome advice through e-mail, Skype or occasional telephone calls as much as regular face-to-face meetings. Scholars would value answers to general questions such as “What is it like to study at university?” as much as they would value detailed technical insights. Every Scholar, and every potential mentor, is different. Arkwright is flexible about the form and duration that any individual mentoring relationship takes.
What are the benefits to you?
• Enhancing your mentoring skills in a way that suits you best
• Helping to guide a young engineer or designer on their way to a successful career
• Identifying potential future applicants for your employer
• Demonstrates key attributes required for chartership
Arkwright would like to identify potential new mentors in the next few months. They are particularly interested in potential mentors who have already graduated from university, particularly Aerospace and Automotive Engineers, though Engineers from all backgrounds are welcome to apply.
If you are interested in exploring this further, without commitment, then please contact the Arkwright team on
kdown@arkwright.org.uk Mentoring with Your Green Future
Your Green Future is looking for volunteer mentors to attend their upcoming interactive events in Gloucestershire and Bristol, which aim to explore a low carbon, resilient future. 
Your Green Future is a programme of events which investigates diverse fields, from locally emerging sustainable business models to cutting edge technologies, which are generating increasing demand for appropriately skilled young people.
At each event IMechE members can mentor teams of school students undertaking dynamic workshop challenges by sharing their expertise and knowledge about the evolving low carbon economy. Your Green Future is calling for IMechE members that work in the energy sector and those developing ‘green’ technologies to support their forthcoming 2014 events:
You can attend on one or both of the event days, depending on how much time you can give. There are four workshops and one exhibition hall at each Your Green Future event and the workshops are planned and professionally facilitated. See the
Your Green Future website for workshop content. A detailed brief will be sent to mentors and very little preparation is required prior to the events.
Should you be interested in volunteering as a mentor for any of the upcoming Your Green Future events then please contact
Cecily Etherington at Cecily@swea.co.uk or on 01452 835076. More dates and locations will be added throughout the year so, and these well be announced on
our website in due course.
Judging Opportunities with F1 in Schools
Formula One in Schools is looking for IMechE Young Member volunteer judges for their F1 in Schools Regional Finals. 
You may be interested to know that you could apply to judge for us at any of the below regional finals in the new year and hope you’ll be available to support them at what is a fantastic and rewarding day.
• North East – Tuesday 14th January 2014 @ The Great Northern Museum, Newcastle
• Scotland – Tuesday 25th February 2014 @ Fife College, Kirkcaldy
Should be interested in attending any of these, then please contact the F1 in schools Project Assistant, Rachael (
support@f1inschools.co.uk) if you or any of the young members in your area are available to judge at one (or more) of the above events as soon as possible. She will then send out further information about the regional finals (including a venue map, event timings and 2014 judging score sheets, etc) a little closer to the events.
For more information on Formula One in schools, please visit their website at
http://www.f1inschools.co.uk/.