Australia has recently welcomed a new Federal Government under the continued leadership of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull MP following the Australian Federal Elections in July. Throughout the election process and as the new Government commenced their term, Engineers Australia has continued its role as a trusted voice for the engineering profession. I have had the privilege of personally engaging with a number of Members of Parliament to discuss our five priority areas: workforce skills development, sensible skilled migration policy, infrastructure, energy and the Defence industry.
Engineers Australia’s overarching message is that the engineering profession is committed to creating solutions to drive long-term growth and have a unique, positive influence in the transformation of the Australian economy. We will continue to advocate and inform Government, to ensure our profession is well-represented on the major engineering issues facing our nation.
You have hopefully heard about Australian Engineering Conference 2016, which we are hosting at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 23rd to 25th November. There is an outstanding line-up of speakers, covering topics from four big industry sectors: Defence, Infrastructure, Transport, and Energy, supported by the themes of Leadership and Innovation in engineering. If you would like to attend, please contact Phoebe Tan, International Manager, about special rates available for overseas groups: [email protected].
The Australian Engineering Conference will take place every two years and will include the World Engineers Convention in Melbourne in 2019, which we are very proud to be hosting on behalf of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations. Delegates will have a unique opportunity to hear from experienced engineering leaders from around the world on a wide range of technical and leadership topics. Dubbed the “Olympics of engineering”, the Convention will solidify our leadership role on the global engineering arena.
In August, I had the privilege of attending the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) conference in the USA, where over 5,500 association industry professionals from around the world gathered and exchanged strategies, solutions and resources. From the conference learnings, I am confident that Engineers Australia is well on track to be the modern and relevant representation of the profession that associations around the world aim to be and that our members can be proud of.
As part of my visit to America, I met with our affiliated institutions, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the IEEE, and recommitted to a strong partnership with each of them.
Our National President, John McIntosh, visited our UK Chapter last month and had the opportunity to similarly strengthen relationships with our affiliated institutions in London. We are delighted that our UK Chapter membership numbers have increased in the past year, indicative of the fantastic work of the committee, very ably led by Elizabeth Harrison and Nerissa Webb.
We congratulate our Middle East Chapters – Qatar and UAE – on their first anniversaries this month. Engineers Australia team members, including National President John McIntosh, will be visiting the Middle East in October to celebrate these milestones and to meet with industry to discuss how EA can better support the engineering workforce in the region. If you are in the UAE or Qatar on 4th and 5th October, we invite you to join our celebrations.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome Eleanor Orlando, who has recently joined our International team, based in Melbourne, to support the overseas chapters with their communications and events activities. The addition of Eleanor is testament to our continued commitment to our international membership and global presence.
If you would like to be involved in your local Engineers Australia group or provide comment on our current activities, please email Phoebe Tan, International Manager at [email protected].
Kind regards,
Stephen Durkin FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER IntPE(Aus) APEC Engineer