The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Europe's largest professional society for engineers, was formally launched March 31 in London. The Institution has been formed by the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers and will have more than 150,000 members worldwide.
Sir John Chisholm, the Institution's President, said, "We have come into being at a time when the demands on engineering and the expectations of the public about our profession have never been greater. Our Institution will commit itself to use the skills and experience we have to promote the contribution engineering and technology makes to the well being of society. It helped transform people's lives in the last century and will do so again in this one."
"We have major contributions to make to tackle the important challenges which face the world, such as wealth creation, climate change, third world poverty and national and personal security. If we are to succeed we need to ensure a flow of able motivated young people into the profession. To achieve that we must work even harder to persuade them of the attractiveness and the rewards of a career in engineering," added Sir John.
The Institution headquarters will be Savoy Place in London, previously the HQ of the IEE. A signing ceremony was attended by Sir John, Lord Trefgarne, President of the IIE and representatives from industry, academia and other institutions. As well as premises in London, Stevenage, Birmingham and Glasgow the Institution also has offices in New Jersey, Beijing and Hong Kong and plans to open a base in India later this year.
IET members work in a diverse range of technical backgrounds including IT, communications technology, electronics, power engineering, software, control, informatics and manufacturing and range from students to leading figures in industry, research and development and academia.
