The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Vision Awards showcase talented young engineers who embody the corporate vision of improving the world through engineering by inspiring and supporting tomorrow’s engineers.
Samuel Scannell won the IMechE Land Rover Spen King Sustainability Award for 2012, while Rachel Smedley was announced as the IMechE AMEC Undergraduate Scholarship Award holder. Gavin Kerby MIMechE, Michael Andrea AIMechE, Peter Bonnington and Graeme Baillie – both affiliate members of the institution – and Dr David McCormick were unveiled as the Visionaries for 2012 at the award ceremony hosted by IMechE president, Professor Isobel Pollock.
Pollock described the winners as: “Possessing talent, leadership skills, motivation and a desire to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. I believe that we all have a duty to raise the profile of this great profession and attract the inspirational young talent who will be the owners of its future.”
Reaching out to underprivileged youngsters and showing them that being an engineer can help to unlock their potential is the inspiring achievement of Apprentice of the Year Graeme Baillie, who did an advanced apprenticeship in telecoms with Network Rail. Baillie is a role model to youngsters looking to overcome troubled, deprived backgrounds to become apprentices. He said: “I talk to young boys in tough areas who are tempted into crime. Although very intelligent, they lack the confidence to fill in application forms and don’t believe that they could be engineers, but I encourage them.
“The kids can relate to me and feel empowered to ask for advice, like how much money you earn as an apprentice. Or, if I’m going into schools, they ask about electronics I use on the railways, which brings their physics lessons to life.
“Engineering has opened my eyes to what I can do with my life. I had the confidence to apply for a new role in health and safety, beating experienced candidates, and this has inspired me to join the Network Rail university scheme, so that I can become chartered.”
EngTech Visionary Gavin Kerby is already someone whom young engineers look up to as a role model, and is a passionate advocate for the benefits of entering the profession as an apprentice.
An EngTech MIMechE, he works as a quality engineer for Superior, which has taken on 12 apprentices in the past two years. He said: “I started working straight from school, so I like to show apprentices that you can come into engineering, earn a good salary and get qualifications without having to go to university. We hold open days for the apprentices and their parents, so that they get a sense of their working environment. We develop young engineers by mentoring, training and supporting them; we explain the importance of professional development, and inspire them to achieve their goals.”
After completing a BTEC in engineering, Kerby gained his HNC in engineering manufacturing, receiving a distinction and a college award for his exceptional company project. His success encouraged him to study for a foundation degree. He has the support of his company to go on to study for a BEng and MEng in engineering, and ultimately become a chartered engineer with the institution.
Undergraduate Visionary Michael Andrea read engineering at the University of Nottingham. For his final-year group project, he collaborated with Engineers without Borders and Professor Mike Clifford, identifying the reuse of PET plastic water or soft-drink bottles as the best solution for storing pressurised biogas for developing communities in rural India. Andrea said: “The project highlighted the importance of considering both the human and technical factors in design.”
Andrea graduated with a first-class MEng degree and undertook work placements at the Ministry of Defence, Rolls-Royce, a refugee school in Thailand, and Ogilvy and Mather, before taking up his current role for McKinsey, the international management consultancy, with a focus on operations. He said: “Engineering is a huge driver of social mobility for the individual, and of value to society as a whole. It is an enabler: combining the tools to identify where value can be added and the logical methods of achieving this. And there are fantastic career opportunities such as travel, breadth of work, great colleagues and sense of worth. So much of engineering is about improving or innovating, it is hard to be an engineer and not be visionary.”
Young Member Visionary Peter Bonnington’s outstanding contributions have helped to develop young professional engineers. A validation engineer at Delphi Diesel Systems, he successfully engages with the graduate community, encouraging membership, professional registration and volunteering.
He has taken on the role of education representative for the institution’s Young Member Board, building on his previous work with local schools supporting EDT, Greenpower and Smallpeice Trust events, to represent young members’ views on education and to help deliver the institution’s Stem engagement targets.
At Formula Student 2012’s business networking day event, Bonnington joined industry experts, including Ross Brawn, as a presenter, and engaged with associate members to explain the benefits of volunteering.
Bonnington uses digital media enthusiastically to engage young members. He is a contributor to the institution’s Developing Engineers blog, and makes frequent postings for the IMechE on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Neil Carmichael, Bonnington’s local MP, established Stroud’s Festival of Manufacturing this year, and initiated an engineering industry networking event. Bonnington regularly attends these events, passing on details of education initiatives to fellow delegates. He is also engaged with the organisation of next year’s event, working to get Primary Engineer involved.
After a four-year advanced apprenticeship with BAE Systems, Whitworth Visionary Dr David McCormick gained a BEng with first-class honours in electronic systems engineering from UMIST. He won the Dick Cleland Prize for the best final-year project for his software that enables fusion of multi-mode brain images, which he later developed and sold to the University of Manchester. He subsequently completed an engineering doctorate.
In his present role as a post-doctoral research engineer at the university, McCormick works on the FLITES project with a focus on imaging emissions in gas turbine exhaust plumes. He is also working towards chartership. Since 2003, he has been involved with a website that offers learning materials about electronics. Its community numbers more than 100,000 people. With 3.5 million page views a month, the site is ranked eighth in the world for physical sciences websites.
McCormick said: “Apprentices have a magnificent way of approaching problems because they look behind the theory. Because engineering underpins society, if apprentices go on to gain degrees and become chartered, the benefit they can bring to employers and global society is immense.”
For full details about the Visionaries, see the website: www.imeche.org/visionawards