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About Dorset and South Wiltshire Network

 

Chairman's welcome

 

May I welcome you to the IET’s local activities in 2005 / 2006, and hope that you will find something in our programme of interest to you.  May I extend a particular welcome to our members in the South West extremities of Hampshire: the fact that there isn’t room for an explicit mention of Hampshire in our Network title doesn’t mean that we have forgotten you!  Hopefully some of you will find our meetings at Salisbury College reasonably accessible, though you will always be welcome at any Institution sponsored events.

Inevitably these days my main pre-occupation as Chairman is with the mechanics of keeping the Network running, and in particular of engaging with enough volunteers to fill the key posts.  I am therefore very grateful to the handful of members who responded to my appeal for new volunteers in the Autumn 2004 Newsletter.

On the positive side George Counsell has kindly agreed to take over as editor of our Network Newsletter and as the overall coordinator of our meetings programme. I look forward to seeing our Newsletter emerge from the caterpillar-like image it has projected whilst I’ve produced the last couple of issues into a graceful and colourful butterfly as George’s IT skills are brought to bear.  We’ve also had enquiries from one or two people who would be willing to make some contribution to our Schools Liaison activities, and I’m currently trying to work out how to make best use of their kind offers.

The other side of the coin is that although the Poole/Bournemouth conurbation represents by far the largest concentration of members in the Network’s territory no one has yet come forwards to act as Convenor for Network meetings in the Bournemouth area.  Until someone offers to take on this [not particularly demanding] role we may not be able to provide any further main Network meetings in the Poole/Bournemouth conurbation.

We are also still desperately short of volunteers to help run the Younger Members Section, and thence ensure that the Institution maintains a credible relationship with Bournemouth University.

Any further offers of support will be very welcome, either to me or to Richard Beacham in respect of Younger Members activities.  Meanwhile my continued thanks to the handful of volunteers who work selflessly to keep the IET flag flying in Dorset and South Wiltshire.  The best way for us all to repay these volunteers is to use the services they are delivering – including the IET Mentoring Service which John Close manages for us.  If every member in the Network were to attend at least one Network event each year then we might have some logistic problems at one or two of our venues, but I’m sure this is a problem our Convenors would love to have!

Paul Tomlinson
Chairman
Dorset & South Wiltshire Network

Who are we?


The committee members serving on the Dorset & South Wiltshire Network are all engineers, actively employed in a full-time Engineering career. The term 'Engineer' is used here to encompass a very wide range of skills, all of which are recognised by the IET, including Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computing, and Manufacturing disciplines. The age range of our committee members is 30 years and over. Most of the committee members are either Associate Members, Members or Fellows of the IET. Members under the age of 30 can join the Younger Members committee with whom we have regular contact and host joint events.

What do we do?


As a committee, it is our responsibility to provide a service to the members of the IET in our area. In order to deliver this service, we arrange a programme of events including Technical Visits to local companies, Lectures on all kinds of engineering related topics, competitions and social events. The committee meet once a month during the academic year in order to discuss IET business and organise the programme. Being a member of the committee brings with it many benefits to the individual. There is a lot of work involved, but as a result of this we gain valuable experience in many of the skills required by engineers during their working life. For example, interpersonal skills, financial responsibility (we control our own budget - subject to regular auditing), organisational skills, networking (creating business contacts), and public relations, to mention but a few. All of this hard work gets recognised by the IET, and by our employers, and it is true that travelling expenses to/from meetings and light refreshments are included in the committee's budget. Other activities which serve our members include FREE courses on Public Relations, Working with Schools, and Leading & Motivating a Team. There are also conferences and seminars held in London at the Institution's headquarters. To summarise, the main function of the IET is primarily to serve its members, promote the engineering profession in raising its profile in the eyes of the public and in politics, and the provision of interesting and enjoyable activities (and resources) for engineers, are all part of this major contribution to the status of Engineering.

When do we meet?


Our meetings are held about once a month. If you are interested in joining the Dorset & South Wiltshire Network Committee, please contact the Honorary Secretary David Middleton BSc AMIEE: