Welcome to the last edition of Sydney Division Engineering News for 2023. Engineers Australia would like to thank you for your continued support. We’d like to take the chance now to look back the achievements of our members and committee groups in 2023, and their contributions to the engineering profession and community.
This year we saw a significant rebound of in-person events across many committees. This led to an increase in activity from our committees, groups and technical societies. We also held numerous recognition events, including Chartered celebration events and Fellows luncheons. Our ongoing focus on inspiring the youth led to several STEM related activities and the successful delivery of our 2023 Engineering your Future! program.
Jamie Burrage, Sydney Division General Manager said whilst Engineers Australia continuously strives for operational improvements, what remains a constant is the strength and passion of our members, volunteers and office bearers.
As an Engineers Australia member you have been a crucial part of our work to advance to advance the science and practice of engineering to benefit the community. The work you do to elevate the voice and influence of the profession is so impactful. Engineers Australia would like to thank you for being a part of the progress we’ve made this year.
Sydney Division President, Olivia Mirza said the Sydney Division advocates sustainable engineering practices in infrastructure, technology, climate change and public policy whilst encouraging our members to engage with their local communities and contribute to the well-being and development of society.
In March, as part of the NSW Government's Women's Week celebrations, Engineers Australia held 'Engineering your Future!', engineering immersion for female and non-binary students in years seven to 10. The event was held at the Powerhouse Museum and the program was also rolled out in regional schools across NSW - from Albury to Lismore. We welcomed 460 students, over 80 engineers and over 60 engineering students across the program.
We were pleased to see our Sydney Migrant Engineers Committee celebrate their second year delivering content, information and resources to support overseas qualified engineers. The committee regularly generate a mixture of useful content, collaborate with other groups and deliver outcomes that genuinely help engineers to achieve engineering roles in Australia. In 2023, the committee helped to successfully secure roles for four overseas qualified engineers.
From a recognition perspective we were delighted to return to Parliament House to hold a Fellows luncheon in October. We welcomed more than 130 members to witness the presentation of certificates for newly bestowed Fellows, Engineering Executives and Companions. Recognising these outstanding engineers is a highlight and the icing on the cake was to hear from the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Prof Hugh Durrant-Whyte, an incredibly talented, respected and influential engineer.
In addition, our Excellence Awards continue to attract and identify the very best of Sydney Division’s engineering talent and projects, to inspire existing professionals and emerging professionals.
There are too many active committees and committee events to mention them all however we want to take this opportunity to acknowledge hard work throughout the year.
Sydney Division continues to liaise with state government. We have been delighted to assist Investment NSW with data and information to refine the NSW skills list. Our Women in Engineering and Young Engineers Australia Sydney branches continue to create compelling events, career development programs and recognition initiatives that will help empower Sydney’s engineers.
Sydney Division doesn’t intend to rest on its laurels in 2024. Next year we will look to further empower our committees with the creation of bespoke EAXchange pages, which will enable communities to communicate, promote, review and grow their own network.
Our member-led policy and advocacy program will allow our members to deliver policy and advocacy on behalf of Engineers Australia.
Engineering is awesome, and we intend to continue celebrating our members’ achievement through an increased program of recognition events.
Engineers Australia’s holiday shutdown period will run from Monday 18 December to Friday 12 January. During this time our office will be closed and there will not be any events held. Sydney Division General Manager Jamie Burrage will be on leave from Friday 15 December until Monday 29 January. Contact [email protected] with any enquiries.
We wish you all the best over the holiday period and into 2024.