Institution news
Winners of the 10th annual Technical Excellence Awards were commended for patents, higher education achievement, technical innovation and professional registration. This year saw a record number of awards overall, celebrating the achievements of 188 Jaguar Land Rover employees.
Professor Richard Folkson BSc (Eng) CEng FIMechE ACGI, President of the Institution, was among the special guests at the Awards, joined by Mark Organ of the IET. The event was hosted by Ginny Buckley and key note speaker was Terry Morgan CBE FREng, Chairman of Crossrail.
José LopesMPhilCEng FIET FIMechE, Head of Technical Excellence, said: “Each year, the Awards recognise the technical competence and depth of the engineering and design workforce. The Awards marked a number of milestones this year, and we had the opportunity to reflect on the people and technology that have shaped our engineering over the years. The success of the business can be traced through the professionalism, innovation and excellence of individuals – and the teams in which they work.
“There was a really good reception for Terry Morgan’s speech, which illustrated to our engineers that technical excellence – such as that required by Crossrail’s great civil engineering project currently being carried out beneath London’s streets – is underpinned by the same demands for technical merit and competencies required in companies all around the UK, such as Jaguar Land Rover.
“Working in partnership with the Institution is vital to upholding our high standards of professionalism and aspiration.”
Of the almost 60 engineers celebrated for their professional registration with a number of institutions, 42 were members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, commended for their professional registration as Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians. Four were honoured as Fellows of the Institution, including Nick Rogers CEng FIMechE, Group Engineering Director, who described his election as a “great honour”.
He said: “It was a proud moment not only for me but, more importantly, recognition for the dedicated and hard-working engineering team at Jaguar Land Rover. We are passionate about engineering at what is an exciting and revolutionary time for the automotive industry. We are constantly striving to innovate, problem-solve and offer world-beating cars to our customers. With our apprentice, graduate and PhD research programmes we are focused on finding and nurturing the best engineering talent. I believe the future for engineering in the UK is very bright.”
The Institution's Mentor of the Year Award was presented by Richard Folkson to Kevin Barker CEng MIMechE.
The joint Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Institution of Engineering and Technology Special Award went to Christian Reeve CEng FIMechE and Jason Rawlinson CEng MIMechE for their work supporting manufacturing graduates on the divisional Monitored Professional Development Scheme (MPDS).
The Jaguar Land Rover Innovista finalists were also revealed, including a system called Mind Sense to monitor drivers’ brain waves in an effort to keep them focused behind the wheel.
Nick Rogers added: “The number of engineers awarded is an absolute testament to the skills and passion for innovation at Jaguar Land Rover.”