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What do I expect from IET – Community - France & Paris.

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Firstly who are the IET Fr MIET members?

I joined this PEI in 1980 from Grenoble. I was on substantive leave from MoD. I decided to stay for a longer period and got married here. At that time we were the first to come over with the EU agreements of that period.

There were already ex-patriot UK people with huge benefits living here, there were the UK EU adventurers with no objectives but work was abundant, there were the first student exchanges, and some had married into French families. I did not meet any UK people who simply came here to live and work at that time.

 

Most of us found the difference between the UK and France as difficult as between the UK and China. They just did not live, eat or drink like us.

 

I was advised by the first UK settlers to just join in and enjoy myself, which I did.

I first met French culture when I organised the “entente cordiale” between the Concorde R&D groups of UK RAE and French ONERA. It was unbelievable, when the opportunity to have a job and career change came, I took up nuclear engineering in France.

 

I returned to the UK which had drastically changed – Thatcher, strikes, riots. My name  was plagiarised in my work. I had to leave the UK after my employers failed to protect me. I returned to France.

The first time every one talked of the quality of life in France, the second time it was the Iraqi wars and crisis.

 

So what do you need to work and survive in France now and how can the IET French Community help.

France is huge; it is not realistic to travel from SE or SW France for a meeting in Paris.

Maybe we need a newcomers guide such as most French towns give to new arrivals.

France is still totally different from the UK.

We have different categories of IET members who are at least engineering & technology related.

 -Ex-patriot, UK enterprise sales & marketing staff, Erasmus students, Enterprises from the UK that have delocalised with their staff, those that have married into families, entrepreneurs and SMEs in IT technology and those that now just want to work and live in France etc.

What would you advise
  • Should we have a MIET arrivals’ guide

  • Should we have guides to French language courses

  • Should we have guides to CPD in France

  • Should we give advice on French administration

  • What about the dos and don’ts of French culture.


Or should we just mind our own business and keep it to ourselves?

 

I recommend reading : Stephen Clarke – 1000 years of annoying the French and other titles and most of his references. French English history is not as taught in schools.
  •  Out of season hotels in France are cheap, maybe one or two visits with IET families or friends to E&T venues could be affordable.


And the French Community AGM & voting should be on line and at distance.

I’m retiring from E&T have fun in France

 

Give Rob McCann some help

 

John Gowman MIET (ex ITEME Grenobl 1980)

 

Parents
  • 0
    David Houssein I certainly take your point about "horses for courses" when it comes to communicating with members (and non-members), although I would have thought that some of the factors you mention (large land mass, small population, tiny IET membership and low density) would imact the functioning of the LN rather than perhaps the effectiveness of email.


    When you say "Those not using Adestra still get emails sent out by staff", that means that staff run Adestra on behalf of the LN doesn't it?  So the participation rate in Adestra is still relevant?

    "don't know [...] what proportion of members are signed up to receive email communications"



    I find that a bit worrying, it says to me we are using a tool without knowing its effectiveness.  Surely it's not enough to say "I sent it via Adestra" thinking that one is addressing "the membership" when in fact one is addressing some (unknown?) part of the membership.  [Mike's post only serves to underline the importance of really understanding what is (not) happening.]


    Of course you are quite right that it is better for members who no longer want contact are able to unsubscribe, although it might bring into question what we offer such members ...  And I accept that it is not necessarily meaningful to compare Engineering Communities with Adestra, but in the absence of other data ...


    Your comment about IET Strategy in Europe is interesting and welcome, although I assume it will be within the framework of the IET International Strategy from Hilary Lambert - or is that only for the commercial activities?  I look forward to seeing the results of their deliberations - although their web page is less than informative <smile>.  Who is the incoming Chair?

    Lisa Miles  Ooops, sorry, Engineering Communites ...


    While I can see the advantages of automatically signing people up when they visit EC, I can't help but wonder how we can square that with our strict interpretation of the DPA.  But if it gets the numbers up ...

    Michael Wrigley asks a couple of "why nots".  I suggest that the second one is the "real" problem, why are the French LN messages not getting through to the members who want them?  The other why not, why are there few French LN members signed up to the French community, is easier to understand.  People need to have a good reason to sign up to, and get involved in, any on-line community.  There are so many to choose from (LinkedIn, facebook, ...) that anyone, and especially perhaps a busy professional engineer, needs to get some value from their investment of time and effort.  If the French LN Community was a buzzing hive of activity with lots of value then people would come, but it isn't.  That's not a criticism of the French LN or its committee, it's simply a fact of life, a recognition that other communities offer more value.  If one wants to join a community then one is likely to choose an active one, probably on a platform where one is already a member, which creates positive feedback; one is likely to ignore less active ones, which creates negative feedback.


    Keith

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  • 0
    David Houssein I certainly take your point about "horses for courses" when it comes to communicating with members (and non-members), although I would have thought that some of the factors you mention (large land mass, small population, tiny IET membership and low density) would imact the functioning of the LN rather than perhaps the effectiveness of email.


    When you say "Those not using Adestra still get emails sent out by staff", that means that staff run Adestra on behalf of the LN doesn't it?  So the participation rate in Adestra is still relevant?

    "don't know [...] what proportion of members are signed up to receive email communications"



    I find that a bit worrying, it says to me we are using a tool without knowing its effectiveness.  Surely it's not enough to say "I sent it via Adestra" thinking that one is addressing "the membership" when in fact one is addressing some (unknown?) part of the membership.  [Mike's post only serves to underline the importance of really understanding what is (not) happening.]


    Of course you are quite right that it is better for members who no longer want contact are able to unsubscribe, although it might bring into question what we offer such members ...  And I accept that it is not necessarily meaningful to compare Engineering Communities with Adestra, but in the absence of other data ...


    Your comment about IET Strategy in Europe is interesting and welcome, although I assume it will be within the framework of the IET International Strategy from Hilary Lambert - or is that only for the commercial activities?  I look forward to seeing the results of their deliberations - although their web page is less than informative <smile>.  Who is the incoming Chair?

    Lisa Miles  Ooops, sorry, Engineering Communites ...


    While I can see the advantages of automatically signing people up when they visit EC, I can't help but wonder how we can square that with our strict interpretation of the DPA.  But if it gets the numbers up ...

    Michael Wrigley asks a couple of "why nots".  I suggest that the second one is the "real" problem, why are the French LN messages not getting through to the members who want them?  The other why not, why are there few French LN members signed up to the French community, is easier to understand.  People need to have a good reason to sign up to, and get involved in, any on-line community.  There are so many to choose from (LinkedIn, facebook, ...) that anyone, and especially perhaps a busy professional engineer, needs to get some value from their investment of time and effort.  If the French LN Community was a buzzing hive of activity with lots of value then people would come, but it isn't.  That's not a criticism of the French LN or its committee, it's simply a fact of life, a recognition that other communities offer more value.  If one wants to join a community then one is likely to choose an active one, probably on a platform where one is already a member, which creates positive feedback; one is likely to ignore less active ones, which creates negative feedback.


    Keith

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