Welcome to the Community Insights blog!

This blog features posts from and about the EngX community. Want to contribute? Read our blogging guide to help you get started.

  • What's happening? IET Built Environment Sector - Dec 2013

    It’s my pleasure to share with you news from the IET’s Built Environment Sector. We are currently involved in a series of activities on ‘Future City Technologies’ beginning with a roundtable debate on water starvation, and a ‘Managing Complexity and Uncertainty in Developing Cities’ Special Interest publication. Look out for our www.theiet.org/built-environment website updates in early 2014, and the introduction of resource pages around: Building Information Modelling (BIM) Smart Cities Building Management Systems Efficient running and maintenance of heritage buildings and structures Skills required to deliver The Green Deal Follow our Sector on Twitter at: #IETSectors and IETBuiltEnv

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Raving Robots - First Lego League

    Congratulations are due to First Lego League team 5525, Raving Robots, whose coach David McQuiggan is an IET member (and SoCal Committee Member), who took first place Champions Award at yesterdays Regional Qualifying tournament in Venice Beach, qualifying for the regional championships on December 14th. To win the First Lego League Champion's award the team demonstrated excellence and innovation in both the Robot Game and the Research Project while embodying the First Lego League experience by fully embracing and demonstrating the core values required of the competitors. Their research project is an early warning system for local tsunami risks like strike-slip faulots in the Southern California Continental Borderland and potential landslide scenarios occuring at the Palos Verdes Escarpment…

    Richard Tregaskes
    Richard Tregaskes

  • Bradford social housing group wins national diversity award

    Bradford social housing provider Incommunities Group Ltd has been recognised for its commitment to workplace diversity. Incommunities Group Ltd was presented with the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Diversity award at a glittering award ceremony at the Science Museum, London, last night (Nov 14) by HRH The Princess Royal. Sponsored by the Institution of Engineering and Technology the Diversity award was given in recognition for the firm’s commitment to building a skilled workforce which reflects the communities in which they work Further information...

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • WISE Awards 2013 - Meet the Winners

    Congratulations to all the winners of the WISE Awards 2013 For all those of you who attended the fantastic WISE Awards 2013 event at the Science Museum on Thursday last week I am sure you will agree that the evening was an inspirational celebration of female success in STEM. The WISE Awards are about showcasing the talents and achievements of women and girls in the STEM environment and highlighting positive role models and case studies to inspire others. Further information...

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Have Electric Car will travel?

    For those drivers of electric cars in Manchester, or potential owners, I came across this website the other day. Rather useful if you want to know where the charging points are in Greater Manchester. There's also an app you can download. Just need to add some more £s to my piggy bank so I can buy that Tesla car I've always wanted!

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • Wanted: Schools Liaison Officer!

    Are you an enthusiatic individual who would like to work with schools and young people to promote a better understanding of the role of the engineer and the contribution engineering makes to society? Right now, the Birmingham Local Network is looking for a person to take on the role of Schools Liaison Officer (SLO) on the committee. Read more about the role here: http://www.theiet.org/volunteers/get-involved/roles-new/slo.cfm If you'd like the challenge of this role, please get in touch with the Birmingham Local Network.

    Ivan Ellis
    Ivan Ellis

  • Sony HDTV Talk

    For those of you who missed out on Sony's talk on saturday, it was to the same high standard that we saw at Sony Studio's last month. We learned about the standards, challenges and opportunities with 4K HDTV, including that Cinema and Television have different aspect ratios. We also saw a traditional HDTV video upscaled to 4K HDTV, and learned about the distribution challenges for 4K content. On one of the paused videos, we zoomed into a background building with a cellphone camera and were able to pick up what looked like somebody standing on a balcony that wasn't visible with the naked eye on the TV screen. I think all of the attendees went home having decided that they were going to be investing in 4K TV sets.

    Richard Tregaskes
    Richard Tregaskes

  • HTN Community Update - 17 November 2013

    Hello and welcome to the first of a regular series of blog posts detailing the upcoming activities of the IET's Healthcare Technologies Network. The 2013-14 session features a packed calendar, with the network hosting or co-sponsoring an even greater range of events than in previous years. Regular events such as this week's Annual Healthcare Technologies Lecture and Awards are being augmented with meetings on topics as diverse, yet relevant to the community, as: Appropriate Healthcare Technology, Medical Devices in China and Cyber Security. We are also embarking on a program of collaboration with the IMechE's Biomedical Engineering Association which will kick off with a lecture next April. The speaker will be announced soon, but promises to be someone with a wealth of experience and influence…

    Peter Bannister
    Peter Bannister

  • The IET: - Proud To Have Sponsored And Attended The WISE Awards Ceremony!

    The IET are proud to have attended and supported the WISE Awards Ceremony, last night! Virginia Hodge, Trustee, The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) presented the WISE Diversity Award, sponsored by the IET to recognise organisations reaching women and girls from diverse backgrounds. The evening was inspiring and exciting and was made even more special by the presence of the Princess Royal. The IET even managed to win a prize, consisting of a rather large bottle of champagne, for winning the ''Women in Engineering Quiz'' We won out of 39 tables of 9 or 10! We are very proud of ourselves and hope that you will be too. Whilst we couldn't save champagne for you all, we made sure that we took a picture to share with you!

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Would all drivers please hand in their keys. Your time is up...

    My role as a Community Relationship Manager for the IET involves a lot of travelling to visit and meet with my volunteers. Most of which is by public transport but on the odd occasion I have to use my beautiful car to drive to where I need to be at the time I need to be there. Yesterday’s jaunt was off to visit my volunteers in the IET Surrey Network at the University of Surrey in Guildford. This of course involves a lot of sitting in traffic on the London Orbital Car Park, otherwise known as the M25... And although the in-car stereo provided some form of entertainment whilst sat stationary, watching my fellow travellers and staring at the brake lights of the car in front, I found my thoughts (which quite often go off on a tangent) turning to a number of driving/car related topics: 1. Can someone…

    Lisa Miles
    Lisa Miles

  • Northern California Kickoff

    On Saturday 3 members of the Southern California Local Network went up to San Jose to try and restart a Local Network in Northern California. With 24 attendees in total including two guests, we enjoyed a talk on Nano-Technology folllowed by an animated discussion on the lessons learned from the restart of the Southern California Local Network, and how things have changed for the better since the Northern Californa Local Network was last active. With multiple volunteers for committee positions, and several people discovering that their co-workers were also IET members, both in Northern California and in Southern California things look like they are off to a promising start.

    Richard Tregaskes
    Richard Tregaskes

  • Everybody is a Genius..

    Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking that it is stupid.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Royal Aeronautical Society event: book sale and lecture

    Interested in aviation history? The Royal Aeronautical Society will be holding its annual Aerospace and Aviation Book Fair at its London headquarters on 11 November. This event will be followed by a free lecture on the early history of the Royal Flying Corps. For more information and to register, please go to http://aerosociety.com/Events/Event-List?date=11/11/2013

    Anne Locker
    Anne Locker

  • Origins of the IET

    What has Royal Tunbridge Wells Kent got to do with the founding of the IET? Quite a lot, actually. The IET was originally called the Society of Telegraph Engineers and was founded in 1871; it became the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1880 and then the IET in 2006. The first President of the STE was Sir Charles William Siemens, who lived in Tunbridge Wells from 1874 until his death in 1883. Among Siemens group of esteemed friends was Sir David Lionel Salomons (1851 – 1925). Salomons lived on the family’s estate at Broomhill Tunbridge Wells and from an early age was interested in science and mechanics. After he had finished his Natural Sciences degree at Cambridge he started a series of popular scientific lectures for the general public in Tunbridge Wells. These included demonstrations…

    Brian Dury
    Brian Dury

  • A Day In The Life Of Female Engineer Apprentice Beki Davies - Huffington Post

    Name: Rebecca Davies Age: 20 Job Title: Fourth Year Electronic Engineering Apprentice Company: MBDA Training: Higher Engineering Apprenticeship Women's Network: IET Member and Role Model Further information...

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • How To Build A Professional Registration Application In Career Manager

    This guide has been designed for members who have achieved a number of years' experience and are ready to apply for professional registration. 1. All IET members have access to Career Manager, our online professional development planning and recording tool. Simply visit our website www.theiet.org/career-manager and log-in to enable the Access IET Career Manager button. 2. Select Professional Registration from the Quick Launch Tool on the homepage. Select Apply for CEng, IEng, EngTech or ICTTech now! 3. Once you have selected 'Apply for CEng, IEng, EngTech or ICTTech now!' you will need to 'Select a Registration Category'. You should select the category that you wish to apply for. 4. Most members should select their desired category from the Standard Registration Route. If you have been advised…

  • What's so special about LinkedIn?

    I must confess, I am a regular user of LinkedIn for my professional networking and wonder why I don't come to the IET more frequently... perhaps because it is always a little quiet on here... Any thoughts on how we can promote the MyCommunity forums would be much appreciated. We A RE the leading professional institution, so what do we need to do to be the #1 networking media for Engineers and the wider business community? If I don't get at least 10 replies we are missing the point somehow.... grrrr. Kind regards Lee Wood MSc CEng MIET

    Lee Wood
    Lee Wood

  • Tomorrow's Engineers Week

    The IET is proud to support Tomorrow's Engineers Week (4-8 November 2013) - an opportunity to find out more about the exciting careers you could have as an engineer. Further information...

  • Professional Registration

    Professional registration is an important milestone for any engineer or technician. It establishes their proven knowledge, understanding and competence. The IET is licensed by the Engineering Council. Further information...

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Parliamentary pledge for more engineers

    MPs sign IET pledge to support engineering in their constituencies. On 22 October, 67 cross-party UK MPs signed the IET’s pledge to support young engineers, especially women, in their constituencies. The event was held at the Houses of Parliament and hosted by Stephen McPartland MP. The IET has a strong relationship with Stephen as his Stevenage constituency is home to the IET’s Michael Faraday House. Other MPs who attended the event included shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint MP, fellow of the IET and shadow cabinet minister Chi Onwurah, and Duncan Hames MP, parliamentary private secretary to Nick Clegg. For further information

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • 2013 Annual Open Meeting Presentations

    As well as the normal Safety Community business, our Annual Open Meeting this year included a series of short presentation about developments in the field, given by members of the Community's Steering Group. Copies of some of the presentations are included in our files area, and linked here for convenience. Main AOM presentation IEC 61508 Proven in Use - Audrey Canning IEC 61508 Human Factors Integration - Carl Sandom Recent developments in the automotive industry - Ireri Ibarra

    James Inge
    James Inge

  • Radio Society of Great Britain lecture 5 December - book now!

    The Radio Society of Great Britain 1913-2013: the first 100 years of amateur radio - and the future? To mark the RSGB’s centenary year and its early history of close association with the IET, a joint meeting is to be held on Thursday, 5 December 2013, 6:30-9pm (arrival after 6pm please) at Imperial College, South Kensington Campus (Room 308, Huxley). This free event is organized by the IET History of Technology Network in conjunction with the RSGB. It is part of RSGB’s Centenary Events programme that reaches out to the professional science and engineering community and will be their concluding Centenary Event of the year. It is an opportunity to learn more about the amateur contribution past, present and perhaps in the near future, to radio communications. The meeting will comprise two lectures…

    Anne Locker
    Anne Locker

  • How To Prepare For Mentoring Meetings

    The IET expect mentees to drive the mentoring relationship and take control of their own learning. There are some key things that you can do to ensure you, as a mentee, get the most out of your mentoring relationship. Prior to the first meeting The first meeting with your mentor is the most important one as it can set the scene for your whole relationship. There are a number of considerations for your first meeting that you won’t have to consider for subsequent meetings. These considerations include: - Being clear on what you want to accomplish with the mentor and your mentoring goals. - Preparing some key questions for getting to know your mentor and think about what you want to tell your mentor about yourself. - Making a list of what you need help with and printing or preparing any relevant…

    Kathryn Bain
    Kathryn Bain

  • Female Structural Engineer And IET YWE Finalist, Roma Agrawal, Joins The Daily Politics Discussion On Getting More Women Into Engineering

    Female Structural Engineer and IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year finalist, Roma Agrawal, joins the Daily Politics discussion on getting more women into engineering. She is on at 36 minutes. It is a fantastic discussion and highlights the fact that we do need to do more to encourage female engineers into the profession and alter perceptions. These are just some of the reasons that The IET Women's Network was set up. For further information...

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

Community Rules & Guidelines