On the 23rd of November, the IET Young Professionals of Western Australia set sail on their end-of-year "Welcome Aboard Networking Cruise". The cruise brought together members of the senior committee, industry professionals, young professionals, and engineering students for a night to celebrate the IET WA community’s achievements over the past two years. It also offered the students and young professionals a chance to network with senior engineers and members of the IET community.

The cruise began with light refreshments, drinks and a memorable speech from Martin King which encouraged everyone to get into the ‘pirate’ theme of the night and cheer every time someone mentioned a pirate or boat reference. The speech did a great job of setting the tone for the night, which was a networking opportunity mixed with an end of year celebration of all things IET. As a student, it helped me to settle my nerves and ease into conversations with senior engineers about their experiences and ask questions in a casual, relaxed environment.

The main event of the night was an opportunity for students to present on their experiences through volunteering with the IET. The majority of the students (myself included) presented on their IET Leadership Program Project and what they had learned about project management, teamwork, and leadership.

For any student a presentation without visual aids and palm cards is a daunting experience; in this instance, we also had to present in front of a room full of senior engineers! However, the entire night was a relaxed celebration and so this really set the scene for a range of interesting presentations with plenty of laughs throughout. Personally, I was grateful for the opportunity to present in an environment outside my comfort zone. This is just another example of how the IET creates opportunities for volunteers to grow and develop their ‘soft skills’ such as public speaking and communication.

The night finished on a high note when Derek Boardman was awarded the Lionel Hook Award for outstanding service to the IET and wider engineering community.  Derek has volunteered with the IET for almost 60 years, and during his acceptance speech mentioned that one of his proudest achievements was setting up the IET WA Leadership Program and watching the development of young engineers. For myself, this was a highlight of the night as I was able to see the depth of the IET community in WA and realise that ‘volunteering’ is so much more than something that, “looks good on a resume”. I now believe that being a part of the IET is about giving back to the engineering community and is an excellent opportunity to personally develop whilst encouraging others to get excited about STEM and as always, "work to Engineer a better world".

Words by Matt Connell