Institution news
The awards ceremony was held at the MoD HQ, Main Building, London, in December. The Institution sponsored Phase 2 – Individual Design and Manufacturing Award for the Tom Nevard Memorial Competition. HRH the Duke of York KG was in attendance and handed out awards to all the winners.
The finalists of the Institution sponsored award were:
- Winner: Kersey Seggers
- Runner up: Craig Kitcher
- Runner up: Macauley Binner
Kersey is a third-year apprentice, current working at MoD Abbey Wood within the Strategic Weapons Support Systems design authority. She is keen to move into an official role within the team on completion of her apprenticeship this year.
She described the competition – which she also won last year – as a great experience. The challenged involved the design and manufacture of a steam engine, using hand skills only, no machine tools, within a 21-hour time period spread across five days.
“It was really good fun. The challenge itself was exciting, and so was working among nine like-minded apprentices, who were all inspired and motivated to complete the work. It was about learning new skills, making friends, discussing methods and our mutual interests.”
Neil Hinchliffe, Business Development Executive for the Armed Forces, along with Colin Brown, Director of Engineering, attended the ceremony on behalf of the Institution. Patrick Kniveton, a past President of the Institution, also attended, and was part of the judging panel for this award.
Neil said: “Kersey is one of those people that gives you great hope for the future. This is the first year that we have sponsored this apprentice award and it couldn’t have gone better for us. I really look forward to working with Kersey at some Institution events in the coming year. It will also be great to track Kersey’s continuing progress as she moves onward and upward in her career at MoD Abbey Wood.”
Kersey explained that although competitors were provided with key materials and a prototype to work from, they were not given a design specification and the approach to the task was entirely up to them.
She said: “My approach to any task is to produce a quality product. Even if I can’t complete the task, it’s important that I have put my best effort into it. A number of competitors did not get as far as the testing process. Although mine ultimately blew up, it did achieve one revolution prior to that! Given that we didn’t use lathes or milling machines, it was very hard to achieve the engineering tolerances required.”
Kersey says that she enjoys a practical challenge: “I have an artistic flare and enjoy achieving a high level of presentation. To me, it’s important the things I have made are aesthetically pleasing as well as being completed thoroughly.”
Although she has enjoyed practical engineering tasks throughout her life, she says she is now drawn to trouble-shooting and engineering management roles of which there are an abundance in the MoD.
“I think engineering is a natural career for me. Being in the MoD suits me well: it allows me to be involved in every stage of a product’s life cycle, understanding how platforms are fabricated and managed, and there are a number of different skills within engineering, design and management which I am motivated to develop.”
The first person to have won the competition twice in a row, Kersey says it would be a fantastic achievement to win next year, too. As a former winner, she is eligible to take part in the team event next year.
Kersey is aiming to start a degree in an engineering-related discipline after completing her apprenticeship. She aims to apply for Engineering Technician with the Institution, and would like to continue her professional development, perhaps through Incorporated engineer status, looking to advance through the steps of professional registration with the Institution.
Engineers within the Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence can find out more about professional registration with the Institution by contacting Neil Hinchliffe by email: n_hinchliffe@imeche.org.