One hundred new Members and Fellows from the Greater London, Eastern and South Eastern Regions came to One Birdcage Walk to celebrate achieving professional registration with the Institution or attaining fellowship – the most senior level of membership for a professional engineer.
Professional registration with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers continues to be regarded as a pinnacle in the career of a working engineer or technician, and a valuable, meaningful way of benchmarking one’s skills and experience against those of the global engineering community. New Members and Fellows were therefore proud to attend a ceremony at the Institution at which they received their certificates of membership or fellowship from Patrick Kniveton, President Elect of the Institution. They subsequently joined their invited guests for a drinks reception in the Marble Hall, and the opportunity to network with their peers.
Here, some of the Members and Fellows who attended the event explained why professional registration is so important to them. Nakisa Kargar Mosayan CEng MIMechE is possibly the first ever female Member of the Institution from Iran. An engineer with BP, she wanted to become professionally registered with the Institution because it is a worldwide standard, which offers independent verification of her aptitude as a professional engineer. She said: “I am very proud of being an engineer from Iran. I feel strongly that I can encourage other engineers to do good for the profession. I did an MSc while I was working, specifically because I wanted to become a Chartered Engineer. Having achieved that, my next goal is to become a Fellow.”
Mark Wiffen CEng IMechE works in cryogenics. He has been a Member of the Institution since the late 1990s, and has now become a Fellow. He promotes working with hydrogen because he feels passionately that the traditional energy market needs cryogenic expertise in order to move forward. In his previous company, Mark benefited enormously from the support of a mentor who was passionate about the need for professional registration. He took this message on board, and wanted to give something back. He himself has mentored six developing engineers, and was delighted that at the event, he could see three new Members who had been mentored by colleagues at his company. He said: “I am proud to be a Fellow because it means that my skills and experience have been compared favourably against global standards.”
Marco Boettcher CEng MIMechE originally worked for Airbus in Hamburg, Germany, before coming to London ten years ago. As an engineer at Heathrow, he planned baggage handling strategy at the terminals - to ensure maximum passenger and staff efficiency - and undertook future planning for Terminal 5. He now works for Arup, where he undertakes development for terminals. Speaking of his decision to go for Chartership, he said: “Becoming a Chartered Engineer was an important part of my professional development, and something I wanted to do for myself, and my own sense of self-achievement.”
Joan Figueras Civit CEng MIMechE works in gas supply, and undertakes a variety of disciplines because his company is relatively small. He saw professional registration as a personal goal to achieve, and was surprised that it was more highly regarded in the UK than in his native Spain. He said: “After you have done your degree in Spain, you automatically become professionally registered. Becoming a Chartered Engineer with the Institution in the UK is far more prestigious because it recognises one’s years of practical experience at work, so is a much more reliable standard and recognition of one’s expertise.”
Lindsey Malcolm CEng MIMechE is a former volunteer for the Young Member Panel, and took part in a televised debate on energy and climate change on the BBC’s Newsnight Scotland. Employed by Buro Happold, Lindsey works with geographers, statisticians, mathematicians and architects in an energy and sustainability performance team, and thoroughly enjoys the multi-disciplinary environment.
Speaking about why professional registration with the Institution was important to him, he said: “I work in an environment where you might think that membership of CIBSE would be more appropriate; however, I studied mechanical engineering, I think of myself as a mechanical engineer, and I think that the Institution offers far more support for members and greater opportunities to get involved to help the profession and raise the profile of engineering.”
“I’ve previously taken part in Young Members Board activities and have seen the scope for members to be involved right up to Trustee Board level. It is very inspiring, because ultimately, it is up to us as members to drive the profession forward – if we don’t, who will?” “Working towards Chartership was great, because it was nice to be able to step back from my job and demonstrate my competence. I did my Chartership using the new process, which was much more straightforward from a user’s perspective, and I really appreciated going through the process to understand how far I’d got in my career. Whatever I do, my Chartered Engineer status will always stay with me. I wanted to do it for myself and to feel that I was really connected to my profession.”
To find out about professional registration workshops in your area, or to speak to an Institution Business Development Manager for your region, please email: bdm@imeche.org
For information about becoming professionally registered or applying for fellowship, please visit: http://www.imeche.org/membership/professional-development/Upgrade-your-membership