Welcome to Connect
Issue 1, September 2017
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Dear <<Prefered Name>>
Welcome to Connect, our new monthly newsletter from Engineers Ireland. It has been planned with you, the member in mind, and is part of our strategy to have clearer communication with all of our members. We plan to reduce existing group emails from Engineers Ireland to you and we are confident this newsletter will be a better, more effective means of communicating now and into the future. Feedback on Connect is most welcome as we will refine the presentation and content over the coming months.
We have an exciting few weeks ahead. As your President I am deeply honoured to represent you for the 2017/18 term and to sustain and improve on the goals and aspirations of this great Institution of ours. Our Executive Board meets tonight where we will discuss the recruitment of new members; our Pre-Budget Submission to Government and ongoing policy work (which we need your views on - see below) to mention just a few agenda items. A Council meeting on Saturday 7 October will aim to approve new ethics and disciplinary procedures and discuss the issue of skills shortages in our sector.
Personally, I am delighted to welcome you to my Presidential Address on Thursday 21 September. It’s on the theme of "Fusing Transport, Energy and Technology – Engineering an Irish Revolution," and we will gather at 22 Clyde Road for a 6:30pm start. A warm welcome will await you.
With best wishes
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Dr Kieran Feighan Chartered Engineer
BE PhD CEng FIEI, President of Engineers Ireland
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Make the most of your
membership with the Jobs Desk
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You can sign up to our weekly Jobs Desk email which goes out every Friday afternoon with our latest jobs news and vacancies.
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As part of our service to our members, we feature hundreds of engineering roles each year from across all disciplines and from Ireland's top engineering companies. Right now we have over 30 jobs available, including some from the following employers:
- Atkins
- Energia
- Port of Cork
- RPS Group
- Tobin Consulting Engineers
Whether you need to fill a role in your own company or to progress your own career, our Jobs Desk is the place to go. It is consistently one of our most popular member benefits. Click the link below to go directly to the Jobs Desk.
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Engineers Ireland – your source of free CPD |
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Developing professionally is about developing your competences. Developing competences is about enhancing your KSAs – knowledge, skills and abilities (although some prefer using behaviours instead of abilities).
As a member of Engineers Ireland there are many ways in which you can enhance your knowledge - and all free of charge. This can be achieved by attending specialist lectures and events organised by our sectors, i.e. our dedicated network of Regional branches, Engineering divisions and Societies. It can be by reading articles in the Engineers Journal or publications such as our recently-published The State of Ireland Report.
Joining the committees of these sectors can also provide invaluable networking and knowledge sharing opportunities. Active participation on these committees provides extensive possibilities to exercise your communication and influencing skills. Similarly, participation on an Interview Panel to support those seeking a professional title is another means of acquiring knowledge and honing your interpersonal skills and professional behaviours.
Volunteering through our exciting Steps education programme is yet one more way in which you can practice your presentation and communication skills and share your passion for engineering. All these opportunities for members count as CPD, contribute to your CPD requirement for the year and are free.
Get involved, enhance your knowledge, skills and abilities and continue to develop professionally.
Logging your CPD hours on our My CPD portal is simple and easy. Over 95% of our surveyed members agree! |
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Have your say on our new policy briefs
A core aim of our Strategy 2017-20 is to build the reputation of Engineers Ireland as a trusted, progressive and authoritative voice, taking a leadership role in relation to a range of issues linked with engineering in Ireland.
We believe that our expertise, drawn from over 23,000 members across every discipline of the profession, should inform and influence public debate, government decision-making and industry best practice.
With the help of internal experts, we have prepared a series of ten policy briefs on key topics which will be available online to our members, policy makers and the general public.
“We believe that our expertise should inform and influence public debate, government decision-making and industry best practice.”
We are looking for your feedback on these policy briefs through an online survey. This is your opportunity to have your say on Engineers Ireland’s policy positions and advocacy work. Please feel free to say as much or as little on each policy brief as you would like.
Your feedback will help us to build a strong policy platform and achieve a strategic role in debates of national significance and influencing public policy.
To access the survey, click on the button below. The survey contains images of each of the policy briefs. If you would prefer to print these, a compiled PDF is also available to download.
If you have any queries, please contact Richard Manton, Engineers Ireland Policy Officer at rmanton@engineersireland.ie. |
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Industry news: Engineers play a crucial role in the Air Corps and other branches of the Defence Forces
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Industry news: Brexit uncertainty: what are the implications for the energy sector?
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I am delighted to contribute to this first edition of Connect as Secretary of the Engineers Ireland Mechanical and Manufacturing Division. On the Division Committee we look, firstly, to provide a series of events over the course of the year highlighting current or future trends in the field. Secondly, we aim to provide networking events to bring different groups together in a neutral arena. With that in mind, we have had some really interesting talks on robotics, space, 3D printing, renewable energy and research centres.
Eberhard Klotz, who is head of Festo’s Industry 4.0 drive, will present what he sees as the future trends in a forthcoming free 4.0 Industry event on 20 September at 22 Clyde Road. The event is benefitting by having a second speaker, Barry Kennedy from Irish Manufacturing Research, who has spoken for us before on research, who will bring an Irish dimension to the talk.
We also work closely with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and drive promotion of events with them, and we hosted the visit of the IMechE president in the past.
Why do we do it? Professionally it does provide a meeting ground for people to meet, network and catch up on an area that either they have an interest in or have heard about and want to learn more. Personally I really enjoy meeting the people involved as you get a glimpse of the potential directions that the profession can take and the range of areas that people and companies are involved in.
If you are interested in coming to our Industry 4.0 event, click the View Event Details button below.
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Paul Dillon
Current Secretary of the Mechanical and Manufacturing Division
If you are a Chair of one of our Regional branches, Engineering divisions or Societies, we would be delighted to receive your input to this section. Feel free to email us.
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Industry 4.0: reality, trends and ideas – 20 September
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Inspiring the future generations of engineers
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“Site visits are particularly important to schools with disadvantage status like ours. Many of our pupils come from difficult social backgrounds with few opportunities to observe professionals at work, and it was an opportunity that would rarely come their way”.
- Mairéad Fitzsimons, Guidance Counsellor, on an Engineers Week event at her school
Engineers Week gives young people the chance to experience the fun and diverse world of engineering and the many exciting career opportunities it has to offer. Each year, industry professionals like you, and teachers and students across Ireland unite to spread awareness of the profession among young people through hands-on engagement by organising events such as career talks, workshops and site visits.
Activities like site visits have a positive impact on learning as they provide students with the opportunity to meet potential role models in a variety of different engineering fields. In 2017, 786 events happened throughout the country during Engineers Week.
Through these unique hands-on experiences, students broaden their perspective and opinions of engineering by seeing it in a real-world context.
Our next annual nationwide celebration of engineering will take place between 24 February and 2 March 2018.
We encourage engineers and volunteers to mark your calendars now and begin formulating ideas and plans that will show young people that engineering is an interesting, fun and diverse career option. You can make a difference.
Engineers Week is coordinated on a national basis by Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme – a strategic partner of Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Smart Futures.
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Engineers Ireland in numbers
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23,000 members
12 Regional branches, 11 Engineering divisions and 9 Societies
1 community
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