Updates and acknowledgements
WISE words from Council
Our 30-strong Council, made up of UK and international members, is representative of the views of our wider membership and advises our Trustees on direction and strategy, promoting a culture of continuous improvement.
During the most recent Council meeting in June, president Dr Gopichand Katragadda gave an update on our takeover of the Women into Science and Engineering Campaign, more commonly known as WISE.
By bringing WISE into the IET family, we collectively can strengthen our voice across the sector and accelerate the pace of progress of gender parity in UK STEM. This is more important than ever, as recent reports show the number of women in the profession has declined this year – dropping slightly from 16.5% to 15.7%.
Our four main boards – Membership and Professional Development, Volunteer Engagement, Knowledge Services & Solutions, and our new board dedicated to equality, diversity and inclusion – gave insights into their latest projects and ongoing ambitions for the year.
This included the recently developed Neurodiversity Toolkit, which highlights practical actions and advice for organisations, employers and colleagues supporting neurodivergent people. The value of providing career mentoring to the younger generation was also discussed, as well as the new refresh of our Digital Library, which holds more than 190,000 technical papers dating back to 1994.
We held a subsequent session with Trustees to look at several key elements of future strategy, including an initial discussion on how the governance structure may need to change to support the IET’s new organisational structure.
Through our ongoing working groups, we are actively discussing ways in which we can enhance key areas across volunteer engagement and recognise the important contribution they make, as well as support the growth of our events programme. We are also keen to highlight the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout our work – particularly amplifying our voice for innovators of the future.
Both Council members and Trustees are enthusiastic in supporting these important initiatives and we will continue to champion the positive work carried out by our networks, voluntary groups and colleagues.
If you’d like to find out more about our work, boards or governance, please get in touch by emailing council@theiet.org
Rob Anderson CEng FIET
Council member
Gifts and legacies
We would like to thank Miss Kathleen Patricia Uridge for leaving a gift in memory of Norbury Anderson Bennett in her will to the IET Futures Fund. Miss Uridge (1926-2023) most recently lived in Hereford, but previously lived in London.
A gift in your will can leave a lasting legacy. Please contact Elsa Scott at fundraising@theiet.org if you would like to find out more.
