GSNet Conference 2017 at The Toon
On the 31st March and 1st April, the annual GSNet Conference took place in Newcastle as GSNet Representatives from various G&S regional committees, panels, and council gathered to share best practice and discuss the learnings from events held in our respective regions.
Egbert Engineer Challenge
The conference began with regions introducing their respective Egberts! At the last GSNet meeting in November, each region was given a plain egg called Egbert and asked to come up with a design that showcase Egbert as an engineer. Egbert wants to have a clear identity to shower where he has come from. London’s Egbert was a tunnel engineer and represented the magnificent engineering feat that is the London Underground! There were inspired designs from other regions but London’s Egbert came out on top following scoring from the judging panel!
Website Update
Next, Steve Burleigh, ICE’s Group Web Manager, gave us a rundown of the latest update on the ICE Website. The ICE Website has undergone significant upgrade over the past year. A new version of the IPD has recently gone live following on from previous user feedback. All existing data has been successfully carried across with improved access to IPD for SCE, DE, and Trainees. The Events sections of the website are also looking at a revamp to make filter searching easier.
International G&S Community
The G&S community is growing globally and it was evident by the participation of G&S members from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia at this year’s conference. Henry Tong and Max Ng from the Hong Kong G&S gave an insightful presentation on the major infrastructures projects in Hong Kong and the incredible delegation trips the committee takes to countries such as Singapore and Denmark! The president of the student chapters in Malaysia and Indonesia also joined via WebEx to explain the variety of career events and activities amongst international G&S members.
Communication and Social Media
Social media is a key component of how we communicate with G&S members in today’s digital world and with the help of David Roberson from the ICE Social Media team, we discussed the opportunities and threats posed by the emergence of social media. Most G&S committees manage their own Twitter and Facebook accounts and with the help of platforms such as Buffer and Hootsuite, the management of social media channels can be simplified and better organised.
Zombie Apocalypse
When GSNet members spotted the words “zombie apocalypse” on the conference agenda, we weren’t sure what to expect! It turns out that it is a popular STEM activity carried out by our host the North East Region to engage student in developing an engineering mindset! Following a debriefing about the hypothetical post-apocalyptic world from the North East Chair Laura Chatwin, we worked together as teams to plan a safe route avoiding zombies and selecting energy generation options to power a new community.
Wilderness Years
When ICE members finally become chartered, qualified members of the ICE, sometimes they are faced with the question of “Now what?”. A new initiate of the GSNet is to provide support to newly qualified members to achieve their new professional goals. Ideas such as the introduction of junior panels that work together with senior expert panels and Mentor Match schemes were discussed. This is an infant project that is looking to gain momentum while aligning to existing schemes within the ICE.
The GSNet Conference of 2017 was a huge success, bringing together the best of all the G&S community from around the globe. We look forward to the lead up to ICE200 and the excitement that it brings to our engineering profession!
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
By Jacky Ng, ICE London G&S GSNet Representative 2014 to 2017
@jackyckn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackyckn/
To get involved in your local Graduate & Student Network, visit: www.ice.org.uk/GSnet
