Institution news
As the coronavirus situation developed at the start of the year and countries started applying restrictions on physical gatherings, it became very clear to the group that we would have to rethink our approach for upcoming events. The restrictions introduced across Germany brought an end to our anticipated programme of company visits and local meet-ups.
Virtual AGM
The first critical challenge was the organisation of our AGM. Obviously we could not do our normal physical meeting in conjunction with a technical visit and so a virtual AGM was arranged using Microsoft Teams. This proved to be very effective with 20 members registering in advance and 17 participating on the day. These numbers are comparable with our normal physical AGM.
Online event - Webinar
Early in July the IMechE Germany group hosted a very well received online webinar, "The secret history of fighter aircraft engine development during WW2". The event was arranged Germany Vice-Chair, Graeme Wilcock, after chatting with the presenter Mr Calum Douglas via LinkedIn.
The presentation covered the various stages and technical issues faced by the German Luftwaffe in developing high performance aero engines and comparisons of these to British efforts. A fascinating blend of engineering challenges and history!
The event itself was arranged as a public access event with help from Emma Pateman, Senior Events Executive. With around 500 people logging into the presentation and more than a hundred questions at the end it was a great example of how the IMechE and regional groups can really exploit online methods to engage with the engineering community.
Future Events
Following on from the successes of the AGM and the webinar we are now working on future virtual events to ensure that we keep in contact with our members and, indeed, to further extend the awareness of the Germany group. Some ideas that we are working on are; further webinars, short company presentations about a particular technology sector, virtual member meet-ups, getting to know new members and a Fellow to present their career.
Virtual PRI
Another crucial activity is to maintain the Professional Review Interviews for potential new members, These now need to be performed online and the first two have been performed with a third in planning.
Other activities
Inevitably the topic of Brexit arises and with the transition period ending on 31 December 2020, some members had asked whether they needed to do anything before then to protect their interests. The situation in Germany for professional engineers has always been different to that in the UK insomuch as the title ”Ingenieur” has since 1970 been protected in law by the Ingenieurgesetz for each Bundesland. Consequently, all engineers who have attained their qualifications outside of Germany, are required to seek formal approval before they are lawfully allowed to use the title “Ingenieur”.
There are some circumstances where members may consider it beneficial to attain the "Ingenieur" title. It is expected that this will be easier before the end of the transition period. Adam Lord (Germany North YM) and Andy Storer (Germany Munich/South) investigated the topic and engaged with the various authorities. Accordingly a briefing note was distributed to the Germany Group members explaining the various activities needed to achieve the "Ingenieur" title and recognition of academic qualifications should they find it necessary.