Institution news
Dear Member,
Here in the UK it is still high summer but the recent relief from a long drought has meant that the plants are finally starting to grow again.
In contrast our Institution has been continuing to grow all the while, with every indication that we will once again emerge as the leading Institution for new registrations with the Engineering Council. That would be the seventh year in succession it has happened. At the end of July, we had received 1,965 applications for registration which is 8.3% up on the same period last year. Whilst unfortunately not everyone is successful, it bodes well for us exceeding our previous record of 2,933 registrations in 2017.
Of course a key factor following registration is a lifelong commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Now that we have an online facility to record your own development (found under ‘CPD tools’ on your My Account homepage) we have selected 2,500 registrants at random to check that they are completing their own individual records during 2018.
So far just 67% of them are, and we of course need this to increase to 100% to be compliant with the Engineering Council requirement. We currently have 14 very valuable active members who have volunteered to go through the 674 of those members who have requested feedback on what they have been recording. A daunting task, as we have set a deadline of 30 September for those reviews to be complete. However, just as with Initial Professional Development, where it is essential to learn what in your career to date has been valuable for registration, we think that it is equally important to get advice on what is judged to continue to keep you at the forefront of your profession.
Other factors than mandatory CPD may have played a role, but it is great to learn that last week we had 11 nominations to form our new Council Coordinating Committee (CCC). This level of interest is unprecedented. Nine are from the UK and two are international. The Council Terms of Reference call for ‘At least three persons…’ which means that it is now sensible to have an election – with voting from the overall 76 Council members – as to who they would like to represent them. The main tasks of the CCC are to set the agenda for each Council meeting and then to ensure that minutes are prepared and distributed afterwards. As the key cross-Institution forum to directly advise and then hold the Trustee Board to account, these are important roles. We wish all of the candidates well in the election, and then of course with their first task of preparing for our next Council meeting on 1 November.
The Council meeting is just three weeks ahead of our UK Annual Dinner, which will take place on Thursday 22 November at the new Aerospace Museum in Bristol Parkway. Tickets are on sale from our website. Not only will there will be an aerospace theme but also an update on the 1,000mph land speed record from the driver of Bloodhound, Andy Green. It reminds us of the real purpose of a professional institution. Our Charter calls for us “to promote the development of Mechanical Engineering and to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas thereon”. Sharing food and sharing the latest news at the same time is a very pleasurable way we can do that, whilst we contribute to our own CPD as well. We look forward to seeing you there.
Colin Brown
Interim Chief Executive