Welcome back to university life! We hope you had a great Easter break, and that you’re feeling prepared for any upcoming exams. In this month’s newsletter, we explore how you can make the most out of the new Career Developer tool from the IMechE before you graduate. We’ve got a great competition to tell you about, giving you the opportunity to boost your CV and shape IMechE policy. There’s also an update on Bloodhound SSC, with one year to go until the record attempt.

	IMechE Member Profile Chris Massey, Fleet Engineer, First TransPennine Express Why did you decide to apply to First TransPennine Express? TPE offers graduates a good mix of engineering experience. Also it’s a growing industry with a positive future, and the idea of using my engineering knowledge to improve public transport services appealed to me. What does a typical day in your role involve? As a Fleet Engineer I work with our maintainers to provide a safe and reliable fleet of trains, carrying out safety and environmental risk assessments and root cause analysis of any defects in the fleet. Would you recommend using Career Developer? Definitely. It’s easy to use and ensures you’ve covered all bases when it’s time for the professional interview. Any gaps in your experience are instantly highlighted meaning you can identify activities in these areas to boost your competence score! What’s your top tip for job hunting students? Don’t just turn up for the interview with a list of personal qualities – back them up with examples. Covering for a lazy team member in a Uni project may seem like nothing, but it counts massively if that meant the project deadline was met in the end.

We’re all going on a summer placement About to start on a Year in Industry scheme or a summer placement? The IMechE’s newly launched Career Developer tool is for you. Career Developer tracks your progress as an engineer in the workplace, and helps you to evaluate your development even when you move to another company. It’s a great tool to make you stand out from the crowd in job interviews as it proves your commitment to improving yourself as an engineer. It counts towards becoming professionally registered too! To access Career Developer and find out more, sign into your member account. Rise to the Challenge Still looking for ways to make your CV stand out from the crowd? How does winning a nationwide competition and influencing IMechE policy sound? We’ve just launched a competition for IMechE members to address some of the concerns raised by our 'Population: One Planet, Too Many People?’ report, from earlier this year. Small teams of four to six young engineers must submit a short technical brief on sustainable engineering solutions to the challenges of the changing demographics within the population in their country. Teams must consist of at least one young IMechE member, but otherwise can be drawn from anywhere; your university, Young Members Panel, company or local pub. It’ll look great on your CV, so what’re you waiting for? Teams must register before the 31st of May 2011. View full details. Unleashing Bloodhound on London To celebrate the release of full 3D design drawings of Bloodhound SSC, a full-scale show car was parked outside IMechE’s Central London HQ last month. Check out our Facebook page for more pictures of the car taking over London. Meanwhile, things are hotting up in the race to prepare Bloodhound for next year’s record attempt in the Namibian desert. Amid brake tests, rocket firings and decisions about fin design, there’s not much the Bloodhound team aren’t wrestling with at the moment! Despite the site of the record attempt (the Hakskeen Pan)currently being flooded, the team are positive about breaking the record next year. Find out more about Bloodhound, including ways you can get involved with the project to turbocharge your career.

Clubs and Society Bazaar

Our booth will be there by 7.30pm

See you there!

Welcome back and Updates!

First and foremost, Welcome back to UNITEN & Welcome back to the IMechE-UNITEN Student Chapter! Sorry for the late welcome message though.

Here are some updates prior to a dialogue session with the Student Representative Council (hereinafter referred as the SRC) which adjourned an hour ago. As a representative to our Mechanical Engineering society, it is my pleasure to give you all some important updates to what was tabled down in motion before the SRC members and fellow representatives from various clubs and societies in UNITEN.

1. With regards to the meeting room and discussion room at The Loop in block TB, they are now fully functional and bookings are to be made prior to having any meetings or discussion room as mention.
2. A membership drive for all clubs ans societies will be held on the 18th and 19th of May 2011. The membership drive is scheduled to start by 2000 hours and opening ceremony by 2030 hours.
3. Yearly activity planners complete with budgeting should be submitted latest by 31st of July 2011 to the SRC Exco of Clubs and Societies for the current committee line up and the next committee line up.
4. Annual General Meeting, AGM has been proposed to be held in August 2011 for all clubs as soon as the current SRC committee dissolves.
5. An inter-club bowling competition has been proposed to be on the 18th or the 25th of June 2011 to clubs and societies.
6. A highlight of participation of at least 1 foreign students in UNITEN in each club and society has been notified to all representatives.
7. A highlight of recurring issues in campus such as changing of lecturers and/or sections prior the the start of the semester without any notifications to students.
8. A highlight of clashing classes of the same subject at the very same time and lecturer at 2 different classes.
9. A highlight of information with regards to PTPTN loans for the new tri-semester system.
10. Encouragement of organizing joined activities with other clubs and societies.

That's it from us for now. More updates on activities will be coming in soon!

Fancy winning a trip around the world? With the Easter holidays in full swing, and a raft of bank holidays to look forward to, there’s no better time to start improving your CV. This month’s newsletter is packed with things to do to get ahead of the job-hunting crowd; from becoming an IMechE Ambassador to winning an engineering design competition (there’s a cool £6k and a pair of round-the-world tickets up for grabs too!). We also return to one of the most hotly-debated topics of the past 60 years in our Topic of the Month; is nuclear power safe?

	IMechE Member Profile Tom Francis, Technical Project Manager, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Rencol Ltd What’s a typical day like at Saint-Gobain? I’m not sure if there is a typical day, which is what I most like about my job! We supply to the Hard Disk Drive industry who, in order to remain competitive, have to be demanding on their suppliers (which keeps me nice and busy). My job involves quite a bit of travel, mainly in the US and Asia, which is exciting. What was the interview process like? I had to do a number of online tests including mechanical reasoning and a personality test.  I was then invited to a first interview which included a plant tour.  My second interview included a presentation to a group of engineers, a brief interview by the Sales Director, another one by my line manager and one by the person I was replacing! What are your top tips for students looking for graduate positions this year? Tailor your application to each company; there is nothing worse than reading a generic covering letter as it shows little interest.  Start looking at how you can make yourself stand out from the crowd; get some work experience or get actively involved in an organisation like the IMechE.

Engineer your way around the world The world of work is fast approaching, but that doesn’t mean you have to go straight into the job hunt race. In fact, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics RENCOL® is running a competition offering a pair of round-the-world tickets and £6k spending money to creative engineers. They’re asking engineering students in Great Britain to propose innovative, workable designs for new tolerance ring systems. Don’t know what a tolerance ring is? Check out RENCOL’s website® to find out more. Engineers need to combine exceptional problem-solving skills with a bit of creative flair, so this is a great way to showcase your skills to the wider engineering world. Read the full details of the competition. Promote engineering and your career There are lots of ways to make yourself stand out from the crowd when applying for graduate jobs, but why not choose one that makes a difference too? IMechE Ambassadors are vital for the Institution’s commitment to promote engineering careers to young people in schools up and down the country. Becoming an Ambassador is also a fantastic way to show employers that you live and breathe engineering, and will make your CV even more impressive. Becky Adams, STEMnet (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) Ambassador Co-ordinator, says "Working with young people is very rewarding and allows me to give something back to the community." To learn more about volunteering, visit the IMechE website and keep an eye out for the next Ambassador volunteering event in your area. Nuclear power – is it safe? With governments around the world reassessing nuclear power in light of the situation at Fukushima, we asked what you think; is nuclear power safe? Opinion was split like a Uranium atom. Many members, including Jamal Abdi, point out the problem of radioactive waste, while Steve Hill suggests that nuclear power only becomes dangerous when you take human error into account. On the other hand, Imelda McGrath believes it’s the future of sustainable energy as we run out of fossil fuels, while Matthew Garside highlights how robust nuclear power plants are, considering the relative lack of damage so far after such a severe earthquake. One key theme has emerged from the debate; engineers must rise to the challenge of ensuring that nuclear power is a safe and reliable energy source. See what others think, and give us your views the highly-charged debate on Facebook™.

April 2011    Life is a rollercoaster Feel the magic as members of Groupe France recount joining Mickey and Minnie Mouse on a technical visit to Disneyland. Visit the Paris park!       Beyond the horizon Members enter Asia's largest technology competition at the Indian Insitute of Technology, Kharagpur. See the report from north east India   Bienvenido to Spain! In action for less than a year but already going from strength to strength, one of the Institution's newest groupings introduces itself.  Meet the Spain group.   Engineering heritage in Australia With a speak out for engineering (SOFE) competition; an AGM and an engineering heritage award it has been a busy time for the Australia branch. Find out more. Get in touch with engineers worldwide As the Institution continues to grow worldwide, across 137 countries it is time to focus on South America. Do you live or work in South America? Strategic update from the chair In March 2011, Chair of the International Strategy Board, Stuart Cameron, reported on international progress over the last year to the Institution’s Trustee Board. Here, he breaks down the highlights   Life is a rollercoaster Feel the magic as members of Groupe France recount joining Mickey and Minnie Mouse on a technical visit to Disneyland. Visit the Paris park!