Written by Engineers Australia, Queensland President Dr Peter Ho AM FIEAust CPEng NER RPEQ.
Reflection on my term as President
This is my final Industry News communication as your 2016 President. Thank you for the opportunity and honour to serve in this role.
It has been a fruitful year, working with many like-minded volunteers keen to promote the profession to the public, academia, government and other industry stakeholders.
The breadth and depth of knowledge of Engineers Australia members is amazing, to say the least. The focus of the organisation appropriately turned towards becoming the “trusted voice of the profession” a couple of years ago, which has been welcomed by all members whom I have spoken to. For example, Queensland members have been very active participants in the development of policy statements. A vote of thanks to all the Division Committee members who have devoted their volunteer time and energy to these important efforts.
During my term, I have concentrated on promoting the status of engineers, celebrating the profession’s achievements, consolidating the member value proposition, expanding partnerships, and promoting Engineers Australia policy positions. I have also visited a number of regional groups and attended two regional forums during my term. The dedication of the regional committee members is exemplary, setting a standard nationally.
Taking the profession out into the media space, connecting with the community, and advising the government to help ensure growth and prosperity for our state are ways we have sought to highlight the role of engineers, and in particular Chartered engineers. However, there is still work to be done in developing a strong culture in which graduate engineers will automatically align to becoming Chartered once they graduate, as well as joining our institution as graduate members.
Australian Engineering Excellence Awards 2016
To celebrate the profession’s achievements, we hosted the Australian Engineering Excellence Awards Queensland in September, which was attended by some 350 members and industry stakeholders. The winners from this event were eligible to enter the national Australian Engineering Excellence Awards, which was hosted recently in Brisbane. I was excited to hear the announcement of so many Queensland winners at the national event, including the following:
Individual Awards
Professional Engineer of the Year:
Dr John Macintosh HonFIEAust CPEng NER RPEQ APEC Engineer
Young Professional Engineer of the Year:
Dr David Lacey MIEAust CPEng NER RPEQ
Engineering Technologist of the Year:
Shane Elson TMIEAust
Project Awards
Sir William Hudson Award:
Brisbane Flood Recovery Ferry Terminals (Aurecon, Cox Rayner Architects and Brisbane City Council)
Project Award:
Grid Utility Support System (Ergon Energy)
Project Award:
Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (Aurecon Hatch Joint Venture and Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Pty Ltd)
Wholehearted congratulations to all the winners and nominees. You have made Queensland proud!
In the New Year, Mr Chris Nielsen FIEAust CPEng NER will take over the role of President. Please do not hesitate to contact him. In the meantime, members are welcome to email me with any comments and concerns.
Image: Dr Peter Ho AM inducting Chris Nielsen as 2017 President at the recent Queensland End of Year Celebration.