About the Channel Islands network

The Channel Islands Group of Professional Engineers (Jersey and Guernsey) was formed in 1963 and is administered by the IET and sponsored by ICE and IMechE. The history of the group and programmes of events / lectures are fully documented on our CIGPE web page. The group incorporates all disciplines of engineering.

IET, ICE, IMechE etc.

As we are away from the mainstream institutions in London, the group receives funding through IET and ICE / IMechE etc. The attendance at the Jersey events has gone from strength to strength with attendances of approx 70-100. The chairman issues CPD certificates to attendees at the meetings.

There are no fees paid to the speakers, however the cost of flights from UK – Guernsey – Jersey – UK, together with hotel costs etc are paid for by the group. The lectures are typically presented in a local college in the afternoon, for students studying for GCSE ‘O / A’ levels etc. We have had up to approx 100 students attending the afternoon session.

Lectures

The lectures given have very varied and interesting topics. This is critical to inspire interest and vary between civil, structural, mechanical, aeronautical, marine, IT, astronomy and so on. The attendance at the Jersey events has gone from strength to strength with attendances of approx 70-100. The chairman issues CPD certificates to attendees at the meetings.

An open policy has been adopted so that anyone with an interest in the subject matter is welcome to attend the talks and join the group. Historically, there was an inference that CIGPE was purely a rendezvous for Chartered Engineers which may have limited the attendance figures in the past. Our aim is to promote Engineering at all levels.

On the evening of the lecture, there is a 3 course dinner at 6.30 p.m. (£20) with the talk commencing at 8pm. By arranging a dinner at local central hotels, no fee is paid for room rental. 

The group receives free advertising for our lectures from the local newspapers under ‘What’s On’ events. Several speakers have also been interviewed by local BBC Radio. This all helps to raise the profile of the group and engineering.

CIGPE

The meetings secretary is responsible for distributing notice of each event and keeping the CIGPE members database up to date. Communications, wherever possible, are by e-mail in order to reduce postage costs.

We also attend the local careers fairs, organised by the education department. The group has a 2.4 m high x 4m wide display stand which illustrates local and international engineering projects. This is erected for every CIGPE event.

The committee

The Committee meets over a lunchtime once every 4-6 weeks. Sandwiches are provided, funded by the group. A full agenda is covered in approx 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours.

The group prepares an annual Business Plan which is submitted to IET for approval. The group is now going from strength to strength, with an enthusiastic committee. The events are well attended and we would be delighted if the Jersey / Guernsey model was repeated in other parts of Europe.