Since my last article we’ve had a visit from both the Engineers Australia national president David Cruickshanks-Boyd and Engineers Australia CEO Stephen Durkin who separately visited our division to see first-hand the successful initiatives we have undertaken in 2015 and discuss the many changes occurring with Engineers Australia into the future.
These tours included site visits to excellence award winners, our museum, a dedicated industry leader’s luncheon and very detailed and frank discussions on where Engineers Australia is heading and how our division can be best supported by Engineers Australia in the future. With some very strong feedback from our members, through my earlier visits to the regional groups, emailed discussions and face to face meetings, the message was loud and clear that we have an extremely motivated division committee focussed on a strong and relevant profession well supported by a dedicated division office team in Helen, Louise and Jo.
Both David and Stephen were provided with a summary of our Education subcommittee work in Teacher Development and have promised to raise this issue to one of national significance by the formation of a national working group to assist teachers in the delivery of engineering content to students across Australia. Newcastle division will retain a seat within this committee and our teachers will benefit from a broader support and potentially greater offering from EA with government input. Again with promised support from Mary O’Kane, NSW Chief Engineer and Scientist, the gain in momentum can only assist our teachers to help our kids become future engineering leaders. A great result for a Newcastle Division initiative and in the words of our CEO, Stephen Durkin, “this is a game-changer and a brilliant idea that needs to be developed.”
Our Engineering Awareness subcommittee have been working hard to promote the voice of engineering in our region and have formulated a number of media position statements on topics relevant to this area including port, mine subsidence and transport through our strong local ties with the newly formed EA Transport Society.
With an enjoyable evening spent with our young engineers at their annual dinner on 18th September it has been a successful month for our division.
If you have any questions or comments on how we can enhance our division and our engineering profession I invite you to make contact. As this is the time of year when all groups and branches are planning for 2016, now is the time to express your interest in being involved! A great way to convey your ideas and add your voice locally. I look forward to talking with you soon.
Michael van Koeverden , FIEAust CPEng
Newcastle Division President
Photo L to R: National Councillor, Murray Thompson; Newcastle Division President, Michael van Koeverden; Engineers Australia National President, David Cruickshanks-Boyd and Bill Jordan, Heritage Committee at Newcastle Museum.