November Newsletter

Having difficulty viewing this email? View online.    Caring for your Career As the year begins to draw to a close, IMechE is looking to the future—and so should you!  In this month’s newsletter we profile Anthony Howarth, an engineering student at the University of Bath. We’ll also discuss how IMechE can help you chart your professional progress with Career Developer and look into the issue of women’s representation in the engineering field in our Topic of the Month.          IMechE Member Profile Anthony Howarth, Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering student at the University of Bath Why did you decide to become an engineer? I’ve wanted to become an engineer from a very young age; engineering is more of a vocation than a job for me. History has been defined by engineering achievements, and I would like to play my part! Why did you decide to use the Career Developer? I started using the Career Developer during a placement year at MBDA Missile Systems in order to track my progress in applying to become a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. I recommend it. How has Career Developer supported you during your studies? The developer allowed me to set goals, track my progress and save evidence to demonstrate completion of objectives. It provided a great way to communicate with my mentor who was based abroad for the year. The competencies checklist helped to identify areas in which I needed to gain experience or improve my abilities. What advice do you have for students in their third or fourth year of engineering programmes? Do lots of research into companies you’d be interested in working for when you graduate – there are so many out there, and your dream job might take a bit of searching.       Keeping Track It’s never too early to begin keeping track of your professional development, and IMechE has the perfect tool to help. Career Developer is a suite of online tools offering you a central repository for all your professional records - even if you move between companies. You can also book a 1-2-1 personal advice session with one of our Professional Development team to plan your continuing professional development. Best of all, it’s simple to use. Start plotting your progress and setting your goals.   The Challenge of Concorde Concorde still ignites the passion of many engineers, despite the fact that it is no longer in active service. This was clearly demonstrated at the hugely oversubscribed “Concorde: The Challenges and Thrills” lecture held in the Rolls-Royce Heritage Museum, Derby on 20th October. IMechE members were captivated with a presentation given by former Concorde pilot, Les Evans, reviewing Concorde’s technological features with his own experience of the quirks and delights of flying - such as the art of overfilling the fuel tanks and the ever-present danger to the Captain’s hat! We’re hoping Les will join us again in 2012 to share more of his experience, next time focusing on why Concorde was taken out of service and a look ahead to the future of supersonic civil aircraft. To keep an eye out for this or to look for other events like this in your area. Untapped Resource  Despite women making up more than half of the population, the percentage of UK female engineers is only around 8 percent - the lowest in Europe! So why are they so under-represented? UK women have broken into other traditionally male-dominated sectors, but many say there is something about engineering that makes it the toughest for women to be accepted. IMechE says women with engineering potential are an untapped resource that could plug the skills gap. The engineering industry can no longer afford to exclude over 51% of the population. We asked for your views on the matter and were overwhelmed by the responses! Alexandra Marshall said that “until there are more female role models in a wider cultural/media catchment, young girls are just not going to consider engineering.” Philip Booth countered that “women perform as well as men do. I don't think we need to encourage or target women to apply. We need to focus on getting more engineers in the workplace; men and women.” This really was a great debate and we loved hearing your view. Have your say on the IMechE Facebook page!         Come visit the IMechE stand at the UK’s largest professional engineering and construction recruitmentevent at the NEC, Birmingham on 25 & 26 November 2011! Student website Check out our student related content and services. Just for you. Get professionally registered This proves to future employers that you are a qualified professional engineer. Remember your membership number?  Your access to our member-only areas - update your profile now.     You're receiving this email because you are a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and have opted-in to emails when registering. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can update your email preferences.     ©2011 Institution of Mechanical Engineers www.imeche.org. UK registered charity number 206882. 1 Birdcage Walk London SW1H 9JJ United Kingdom | Telephone +44 20 7222 7899 | Email enquiries@imeche.org.