Institution news
Emil Tschepp has been appointed Young Members Board Chair Elect. Emil works at Transport for London, where he manages a wide range of testing, instrumentation, and condition monitoring activities across the transport services. He looks forward to getting out amongst the membership to support networks that are helpful on both a personal and professional level to young members.
“Our volunteers are at the heart of so much that we do as an Institution, from organising events and tours, participating in committees, contributing to our engagement with government, and mentoring and supporting the development of engineers working towards professional registration. The aftermath of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has made for a challenging time for the Institution as many of our volunteers have found that they are now less able to offer us their time. I see strengthening our member and volunteer networks as the most important thing that I need to do as chair over the next year.”
Rafsan Chowdhury joins as Vice Chair. He is currently employed as a Lifecycle Engineer for Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace business. He is responsible for leading safety investigations to identify root cause for events that can affect customers. Other responsibilities include implement, and communicate technical solutions that meet customer, business and regulatory requirements, including EASA and FAA standards.
“My journey with the IMechE stared from March 2017 as the Education Officer for the Derby & Nottingham Young Members Panel. In that role I expanded our STEM outreach by 400% and rejuvenated our presence in the area. I was then elected to be Chair for the area where I focused on creating a robust structure for the committee and recruited targeted individuals to lead different strands for the committee, Development, Diversity, Outreach and Social. I am looking forward to my new role of Vice Chair and my focus for 2023 is to increase our outreach in targeted areas and regions. I want to help set up a strong foundation in these areas so they can become self-sustaining and continue to promote Engineering.”
Ethan Spall takes up the Young Member representative to Regional Strategy Board. This role is a key strategic link for young members within regions at operational level. The Young Member representative on the Regional Strategy Board ensures representation that encompasses the unique needs of the young members within the IMechE. Ethan has a background in Aerospace engineering, and as a systems engineer utilises the bringing together multiple inputs to provide the needed perspectives. He’s eager to hear from regional young members for ideas and suggestions.
“The key priority for me over the next year is ensuring that the IMechE is hearing and adapting to the changing needs of young members. Failure to recognise change will only lead to surprise and panic when things no longer work. The IMechE has just celebrated its 175 year anniversary and by ensuring that the Young Members are considered in regional strategy, we can setup and enable a future for the IMechE for many years to come.”
We wish the new officers well in their roles and look forward to seeing the activities of the Young Members board this year.