IMechE UNITEN Student Chapter

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.