Tom Brimson
President

• The planting of an 'Engineers Australia Forest' of trees at the Canberra International Arboretum and Gardens as part of the Engineers Australia 90th Anniversary. This event was supported by the ACT Chief Minister and acclaimed as a first for a professional organisation in Canberra
• Acceptance that swipe card technology will be used for members to register attendance at events to record points towards CPD.
• Contributing to workshops for the development of a new strategic plan for Engineers Australia.
• Contributing to ACT government initiatives including the Chief Ministers roundtable on ACT business and a workshop on sustainable transport options for Canberra.
• Hosting a “Discover Engineering Careers” workshop to assist school based career advisers in the breadth and scope of engineering professions.

Barry Finlay
President

This was quite a productive year for Newcastle Division, covering various stages of the engineer’s life cycle from schooling to engineering excellence to engineering leadership skills.

We hosted the Discover Engineering workshops for school students, and a Careers Advisers Workshop. We also contributed to research by the University of Newcastle into perceptions of engineering among primary school children.

A major focus on our PDP partners resulted in three new companies joining the Engineers Australia PDP, and a very successful workshop for existing PDP companies to share lessons learned.

Our learned society groups arranged excellent CPD opportunities for members. With our regional members in mind, our major CPD event was the Regional Convention in Grafton in June. The CELM CEO Speaker Series workshops kicked off in May to continue our focus on engineering leadership.

Two premier events were the Excellence in Engineering Dinner in August and our Engineering Excellence Awards in May.

Our excellent program could not have happened without the hard work of the volunteers and staff so I would like to thank all of them for their valiant efforts.

Read the full Newcastle Division Report  |  Visit Newcastle Division's website

Peter Hagan
President

It is pleasing to report that the Division has been quite active given reduced sponsorship and the increasing workloads among our volunteers. I wish to acknowledge the great work of our volunteers.

Delivery of CPD has been one of our major activities and work is being done to improve inadequate service to remote areas. The eminent speaker series has been greatly appreciated and well attended.

We continue to see an impressive range of quality projects in our annual Engineering Excellence Awards.

We again worked closely with Charles Darwin University in the development of courses and support for accreditation. Youth programs were conducted in Darwin, Alice Springs and Arnhem Land.

The visit of the National President gave an opportunity to show the vastness of the Division and the logistical and financial challenges faced. Finally I would like to thank the Division staff who not only deliver services to members but also represent the Division on a much broader stage.

Read the full Northern Division Report  |  Visit the Northern Division website

Andrew Chapman
President

With Engineers Australia’s 90th anniversary, and Queensland’s 150th year as a state, Queensland Division has undertaken a project to recognise the Engineering Wonders of Queensland, and their contribution to the social and economic development of the state. The top 10 Engineering Wonders of Queensland will be announced in November.

Our achievements in CPD, schools outreach programs, our regional conferences, online technical content, and public policy contributions highlight the vital input of members, ably supported by the Queensland Division staff.

I would like to thank all members who actively engage in office bearer roles, or who support our events through attendance. As a member-based organisation, this ongoing support is vital. I would also like to thank our sponsors for their generous support for our new and existing programs, our hard working staff, and of course all members of the Queensland Division Committee. The combined efforts of all of these players have delivered some outstanding results over the year.

Read the full Queensland Division Report  |  Visit the Queensland Division website

Doug Gillott
President

The past year has seen many successes and change in South Australia Division. One of the many successes was the report “Technically Speaking, South Australia – confronting the challenges facing Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM) education and promotion”. The report identified areas where South Australia is already performing well and also opportunities for improvement. It was well received by government and other key stakeholders.

In 2009 we welcomed Caroline Argent as our new Executive Director. Caroline has supported the Division through another major milestone – the purchase in September 2009 of new Division premises in the Adelaide CBD after many years deliberation over the future of our Bagot St offices.

Other Division activities have been strong throughout the year with full programs delivered by the technical societies, branches and groups. We have achieved a higher public profile measured by media references throughout 2008-2009 and have launched a significant initiative to connect senior members of the profession to the State’s parliamentarians.

Read the full South Australia Division Report  |  Visit the South Australia Division website

Peter Hitchener
President

A large and diverse team needs good communication among staff, volunteers and other stakeholders to be effective. Communication is itself a team pursuit and Sydney Division has made good progress during the year. Experience has confirmed that communication with external stakeholders, including leaders in Government and industry, extends the team’s influence.

Through volunteer initiatives two regional groups (Riverina and Central West NSW) have been rekindled, improving communication with members in those areas. We have improved channels for contact with schools and thereby our programs to encourage school students to consider engineering careers. An increasing recognition of the pivotal role of teachers is being addressed. The continued growth in our Engineering Excellence Awards with 97 level 1 entries (in Engineers Australia’s 90th year) matches the encouraging growth in all activities.

None of these achievements would be possible without the support, enthusiasm and dedication of our volunteers and the Division staff.

Thank you.

Read the full Sydney Division Report  |  Visit the Sydney Division website

Mike Brewster
President

For 2008-2009, the Division chose to focus on four key themes:

• Solid progress was made to grow the number of valued activities that CELM offers for the benefit of members.
• We worked to build on last year’s Engineering Schools Initiative so that it will continue to be successful in coming years.
• We aimed to increase awareness of engineering as a career through our bi-annual Excellence Awards; with many impressive entries and a strong turnout from industry, the Tasmanian Engineering Excellence Awards at Wrest Point Casino in August 2009 was highly successful.
• The Division was engaged in support of the National Marketing Initiative and looks forward to seeing it realise its goals for the benefit of our members.

Lastly I would like to thank the Division committee and staff for their support during the year and in particular recognise our Division Director Geoff Harper for 25 years of outstanding service to Engineers Australia.

Read the full Tasmania Division Report  |  Visit the Tasmania Division website

Madeleine McManus
President

Victoria was deeply affected by the fires in February 2009. The Division established the Joint Bushfire Response Taskforce with ACEA to assist the Victorian Bushfire Rebuilding Authority with engineering advice. This raised our professional profile and contributed to a greater understanding of the value of engineering for our community.

The Division Committee had three strategic themes for 2009:

• For sustainability, retention and growth of our membership base (now the largest Division); succession planning for the Division Committee (elections were held for state and national positions); and a sustainability focus within the CPD programs.
• For strategic positioning, we engaged with Parliamentary Inquiries, and achieved more business partners in the PDP program and more members pursuing Chartered Status.
• For value for members, our ‘on-boarding’ program for new members, and the Emerging Leaders Program, were highlights.

I would like to thank the many volunteers and staff for their assistance and hard work during the year without which none of these achievements would have been possible. In particular, I would like to thank Glenda Graham, our new Executive Director, for her support and ability to deliver.

Read the full Victoria Division Report  |  Visit the Victoria Division website

Chris Fitzhardinge
President

The theme for Western Australia Division in 2008-2009 was “Strengthening the Engineering Skills Base”.

The Division had an outstanding year with continuing strong membership growth. Engineering team members and projects in the Division achieved national and international recognition:

• Dr Jim Gill – the International Water Association’s Grand Award.
• Vaughan Gray – the Australian Young Professional Engineer.
• Francis Norman – the Australian Engineering Officer of the Year.
• The $1.4 billion Dampier Port upgrade won a National Award.
• The Goldfields Water Supply became an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

The National CELM Conference, in conjunction with the YEA National Summit in September 2008, attracted the largest gathering of engineering expertise with 700 participants at a joint event.

The restructured Division Committee and Division Advisory Board conducted several successful initiatives in their first full year of operation.

To celebrate 100 years since the formation of the WA Institution of Engineers, the Division profiled the strong engineering leadership that supported massive investment in infrastructure to underpin the fledgling Western Australian economy.

Read the full Western Australia Division Report  |  Visit the Western Australia Division website