Members, colleagues and friends enjoy the Institution's Annual Dinner

Engineering professionals gathered at The Dorchester in London to celebrate the Institution's achievements in 2015.

The Annual Dinner, a landmark on the Institution's calendar, provided an opportunity for 350 engineering professionals to come together to celebrate a year of progression at the Institution, and to honour its Visionaries whose commitment shines a light on engineering for young people and wider society.

Held on 19 November, guests began the evening with a reception in the Ballroom Foyer and were then invited to their seats by professional Toastmaster John Hollingsworth to hear the presentations.

The Institution was delighted to welcome Nick Rogers, Director Group Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover, who delivered an impressive speech to guests. Light entertainment was provided by comedian and actor Jack Dee. Jaguar Land Rover and Petrofac sponsored the Annual dinner, and Jaguar Land Rover was also a sponsor of the Vision Awards.
 
Professor Richard Folkson BSc (Eng) CEng FIMechE ACGI, 130th President of the Institution, warmly welcomed guests to the evening’s proceedings, speaking of his hope that together, this creative community of members and colleagues would continue to raise the profile of the industry. 

Richard reminded guests that in a recent poll, members of the public chose engineering as the top profession they would recommend to young people – an indication of the value that society places on engineering.

He said: “Engineering has to compete with many other career options. It is therefore of great credit to our profession that thousands of our colleagues spend their free time visiting schools, helping to inspire and enthuse future generations about the many possibilities open to them by choosing engineering as their future career.”

Richard, Nick and Stephen Tetlow MBE, Chief Executive of the Institution all congratulated the young people the Institution recognised in 2015 for their commitment to the future of engineering. 



Applauded and welcomed to the stage to collect their trophies were this year’s Visionaries:

• EngTech Visionary Natalie Baines EngTech MIMechE, a Mechanical Designer at Nuvia in Warrington
• Undergraduate Visionary Stephen Myers AMIMechE, a graduate powertrain engineer in Product Development at Aston Martin
• Whitworth Visionary Lee Griffiths AMIMechE is a Business Metrologist in the Structures and Transmissions Department at Rolls-Royce
• Daniel Swain, Apprentice of the Year, who recently completed his Advanced Apprenticeship with Delphi Diesel Systems in Sudbury, Suffolk 
• Also honoured was Young Member Visionary Nabeel Younis AMIMechE, based in Islamabad, who unfortunately could not attend the dinner.

Following the presentation of trophies, and the saying of Grace, by Jon Hilton, President-Elect, guests enjoyed their meals, comprised of a smoked mackerel starter, honey roast duck main course and a chocolate caramel tart for dessert.

Members were also thanked for their commitment to Support Network, which exists for the benefit of members and their families.
 
Guests mingled and networked with other industry professionals until 11:45pm, when carriages were called.