Volunteers the 'lifeblood' of Engineers Australia - Emeritus Professor Robin King
As the chair of Engineers Australia's Accreditation Board, Robin King symbolises the vital role volunteers play within the organisation, and the impact their efforts can have.
After retiring early in 2007 from a successful career as an engineering academic, Robin wanted to continue to use his professional knowledge and experience for engineering. While he had previously sat on the board of the ITEE as the representative of the Council of Engineering Deans for three years, and taken part in accreditation panels for more than a decade, a busy career had meant he couldn't contribute as much as he wanted to.
"For most academics, retirement means finally having the time to do what they can for the profession. While engineering professors are the perfect people to assess engineering programs, most only have the time to do one accreditation a year. In other words, they can really only volunteer two to three days of their time.
"That is a big contribution, but you have to keep in mind that there are around eight accreditation visits a year and each involve around four to five people. That means we have to find around 40 people from industry and academia each year to do the accreditations. It's a big task, and it relies on volunteers."
Robin said throughout his academic life he'd either been involved as a volunteer or worked with organisations that relied on them. He said engineering was a profession sustained by them.
"I believe Engineers Australia members drive the organisation and make change happen. They are the lifeblood of the organisation.
"By sitting on college boards and taking part, volunteers can shape the way their profession develops. Participation offers great professional benefits as it gives insights into what is going on in the profession more widely."
Robin said that for academics, sitting on boards and panels gave them valuable contact with industry. "It gives us an insight into how effective our education programs are, and industry can see what we are trying to achieve. The benefit is two-way."
Robin said the partnership that existed within Engineers Australia between industry and academia, was a vital and "very healthy and fruitful" one. In particular, he said the CPD program had been a "fantastic development" because of the role corporate mentors play.
Emeritus Professor Robin King, formerly Pro Vice Chancellor, Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment at the University of South Australia.
