In September 2011, the Trustee Board agreed on a strategy to increase international membership, focussing on member acquisition and retention. To support this strategy the North East Asia Region in conjunction with the South East Asia, Southern Asia and Oceania Regions developed a proposal to raise awareness of the Institution in the Asia Pacific area by creating a initiative to engage young members (Affiliates) and showcasing the support the Institution can provide to developing engineers.
The purpose of this initiative – developed as a leadership-themed conference to be held in September this year – is to demonstrate the value of the Institution in supporting the career development of engineers and engaging young engineers in a lifelong journey with the Institution.
The objectives of this initiative will be realised through three different events:
- An inter-Regional Speak Out For Engineering (SOFE) competition.
The competition, run by the Institution and its volunteer network, was originally established in 1964. Open to Affiliate and Associate members, and Members who have been professionally registered for 10 years or less, this competition is aimed at promoting the ability to communicate mechanical engineering subjects effectively.
It is specifically concerned with verbal and visual communication in describing and explaining technical subjects.
Competitors must give an oral presentation on a subject relating to mechanical engineering. The duration of the presentation must not exceed 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for discussion and questions from a panel of judges.
This competition as part of the API leadership initiative will showcase the communication talents of entrants from Oceania, South East Asia, Southern Asia and North East Asia.
- A Design Competition for the visually impaired
This competition invites participants to use their talent and creative thinking to design and prototype an innovative solution to problems faced by the visually impaired.
- Young Leadership Conference
A two day event of workshops designed to guide participants through leadership-themed topics, such as ‘the role of global engineering leaders’ and ‘how to build courage in leadership.’
This event will take place on 14-17 September 2013 in Hong Kong, with an aim to attract over 500 young engineers from across the Asia Pacific region. It will provide a platform for participants to learn, discuss and interact with successful engineering professionals, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to broaden their ability of thinking outside the box of pure engineering.
The launching ceremony for this significant and prestigious event will take place on 7 May 2013 at the British Consul-General in Hong Kong.