UNITED KINGDOM Association

NEWSLETTER
No 170 October 2002

Engineers Come Out On Top...

I was delighted to see Isambard Kingdom Brunel take the number 1 slot in fast Tuesday's BBC episode of 'Great Britons' [He came 2nd overall behind Winston Churchill]. To me this demonstrates the public perception of the influence engineering has over our everyday lives, and the way that advances have positively changed and shaped society. The point was made that in Brunel's day, engineering was an exciting 'pioneer' profession where revolutionary advances were being made. Today, engineering tends to be more the application of the known rather than revolutionary. However, engineering remains fundamental to the economic well being and improved living standards of modem society.
In case you are wondering, Brunel is the engineer responsible for the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and the birth of iron ship-building. As a man of vision, he remains an important symbol for engineering in the present day.

Recent Events

Annual Summer BBQ and funday
Once again we were privileged to enjoy the fine setting of the Henley Rowing Club grounds on the banks of the River Thames for our annual BBQ last August. The turnout of around thirty people was less that in previous years although an excellent day was still had by all. Don't miss out next year ... why not mark your diaries in advance for the first Sunday of August 2003 !

Special thanks to Ian for arranging fantastic meats from the local butcher and also to his wife Melissa for co-ordinating salads and desserts. Thanks to Graham for arranging the great selection of Kiwi and local beers, wines and soft drinks - with plenty of ice to keep them all cool. Thanks also to all those that helped out on the day.

Committee Meeting held 25 September 2002
The first meeting of the new committee was held at Foster Wheelers' offices in September. Main issues discussed were increased links with IPENZ, the forthcoming social events calendar, the membership database, committee workload sharing and the future status of IPENZ UK. Some important issues were outlined in the July newsletter regarding options open to the current IPENZ UK Association, in light of recent changes to IPENZ branch rules. All members are encouraged to send their views and comments to the committee on this very important issue. Please rest assured that any final decision will be made at either an AGM or a Special General Meeting of the Association at which time all members will have the opportunity to air their views and to cast their vote on the outcome.

Copies of previous newsletters are available on the IPENZ UK Website.

Forthcoming Events
Your committee has been busy arranging some interesting events over the coming winter months....

Rugby Match England v. New Zealand (the Pohms vs. the Kiwis)
For those members who are not fortunate enough to have a season ticket to Twickenham (myself counted), we would like to invite you to the next best thing. Why not come and watch the English take on the All Blacks with a group of your fellow IPENZ members at the Walkabout pub.

Location: The Walkabout Pub, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8PY, Ph 020 7379 5555
Date: Saturday, 9 November 2002
Time: Kick off 2:30pm ... arrive early to get the coldies flowing.

This is an informal social event, so please just turn up on the day.

Annual Graduates Evening

A presentation on routes to Membership of IPENZ (MIPENZ) and Competence Assessment requirements, particularly with regard to registration in NZ as a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng). Monitored training, 'mentoring' and continuity whilst working in the UK will also be covered. The presentation will be followed by an opportunity for informal discussion of individual needs.
Date: Tuesday, 26 November 2002
Place: Southern Cross Pub, 65 New King's Road, London SW6 4SG. Nearest Tube Stations are Fulham Broadway and Parsons Green
Time: 7:30pm start and finished (the formal bit!) by around 9:00pm
Contact: Alan Raine (Professional Practice Assessment Co-ordinator) Ph 020 7957 3951 (wk) Ph 020 8810 1916 (hm) or e-mail alan.raine@kvaerner.com

Please circulate this information to any graduate engineers you feel may benefit from this forum. Location map and further details available on the website.

Christmas Soirée

As per tradition, we will be joining our Australian friends for the annual Pre-Christmas Soirée. This year we are being kindly hosted by IEAust at the wonderful Australia House venue, London. The evening is a tremendous amount of fun with good food and a lovely selection of wines, and of course we always look to try and balance - if not exceed - the numbers of our IEAust colleagues!
Date: Friday, 6 December 2002
location: Downer Room, Australia High Commission, Australia House, The Strand, London WC2B 4LA.
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Cost: £15.00 per person
Dress: 'Lounge Suit'

Australia House is located on the corner of Aldwych and The Strand. The nearest tube is at Temple. Please also note that members and their guests are reminded that smoking to not permitted within Australia House.

Please arrange your party and reply promptly using the attached reply slip (by latest 25th November) to help ensure that the Committee can make all proper provisions to welcome you to a successful evening.

Combined Technical Talk 2003

This year is IPENZ's turn to host the combined IPENZ/IEAust Technical Talk. Due to the work and social pressures leading up to Christmas, the committee decided that it would be preferable to hold the Technical Talk in the New Year rather than cram it in before the end of 2002.

After the fantastic turnout last year to hear about 'The Collapse of the World Trade Centre Towers', we are lucky to have offers from two very interesting speakers. Final date and venue details have not been available at the time of going to press, however arrangements will be firmed up over the next month. Please check the IPENZ UK Website for details of this upcoming event.

Other UK Association News

Articles for the Newsletter
As always, contributions to the newsletter would be very much appreciated. If you have any news for us, events, etc., that you would like us to tell people about in the newsletter, please e-mail or fax them to the Hon. Secretary. Feel free to write about the projects you are working on, any differences in British practice compared with NZ, or how you resolved any particular difficulties encountered.

The honorary secretary is currently editor at large of this fine publication, following in the noble tradition set by Malcolm Davidson. However, the plan (hope!) is that a keen volunteer will take over the editorship. Please contact the hon secretary for further details of this exciting opportunity.

Website
We are fortunate to have a great IPENZ UK Association Website at http://www.ipenz.org.uk

This is a reminder that membership information and details of up coming events are regularly updated and available over the Internet.

To allow more efficient communication in future, could all members please register their email address with the IPENZ UK Email List (on the website). This will enable improved information flow in the future, as well as allowing us to share your email address with other IPENZ UK members. [Note: Your actual email address isn't distributed to anyone - this is a means of enabling other members to send you email without you needing to give out your email address to other individuals and visa versa].

News From New Zealand

Terrorist Attack in Bali
Tragedy in Bali - the recent bombing in the Indonesian Archipelago has been a national tragedy for Australia, New Zealand and indeed all countries who lost people in this terrible act. More than 180 people died in the attacks, and our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the victims. New Zealand's death toll from the Bali nightclub is not expected to rise above three but police are anxious to find two people who remain unaccounted for. Several New Zealanders are in hospitals in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan after suffering burns, shrapnel wounds and cracked ribs. We wish them a speedy recovery so they can be repatriated back to NZ.

Coaches Still Weighing up Test Line-Ups
Uncertainty surrounds the selection of the All Black and England sides as they prepare for their sell-out Twickenham test meeting in two weeks.

England have got to base one with the public announcement of a squad for the November 9th test while the All Blacks touring group will not be revealed until the end of October. All Black coach John Mitchell wants to rest more of his senior players but that wish cannot be deemed concrete until the touring group of 14 forwards and 12 backs is revealed.

There are expectations in England that the their test side should win two if not all three of the November tests against the Sanzar nations but observers say coach Clive Woodward is troubled by the lack of form from a number of his senior players.

Dennis Plays Dirty in Louis Vuitton Regatta
Yes, Dennis Conners' is back in Auckland and yet again embroiled in controversy. Even Oracle BMW Racing have questioned the sportsmanship of their fellow Americans in Team Dennis Conner, who cried gear failure just minutes before the two teams were ready to race yesterday

Team Dennis Conner were beaten by Sweden's' Victory Challenge yesterday morning (3rd Oct) - their third consecutive low in the second round - and were scheduled to race Oracle yesterday afternoon but claimed they had a problem 15 minutes before the 10 minute gun. Oracle immediately raised a red protest flag - that's quid pro quo Dennis!

Key dates: Louis Vuitton Cup Finals - January 11 to January 21, 2003
Americas' Cup Final Feb 15 to March 1, 2003
Team NZ vs ?

Who NZ will race is still up for grabs, as you can see in the current race standings:

Loius Vuitton Cup, Current Standings 29/10/02

Team Won Lost Raced Points
Alinghi (Swiss) 10 1 11 10
OneWorld (USA) 10 1 11 10*
Prada (Italy) 7 6 11 7
Oracle BMW (USA) 6 4 10 6
Victory Challenge (Sweden) 6 5 11 6
GBR Challenge (GB) 5 5 10 5
Star & Stripes 4 7 11 4
Mascaizone (Italy) 1 11 12 1
Le Defi Areva (France) 0 11 11 0

* One World will lose 1 point after Round 2

 

CPEng Timetable

This is a reminder that 31st December 2002 will be the last date on which engineers may be registered under the 1924 Engineers Registration Act. After this date the register will be closed but will remain active throughout 2003 whilst engineers apply for CPEng Registration.

From 1st January 2003, IPENZ commences receiving applications for registration on the CPEng register. All applicants must demonstrate they reach the competence standards. Find out more at:

http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenzfinding/cpeng

 

Dates for Your Diary
Kiwis vs. England Rugby

 Saturday, 9 November 2002
2002 Graduates Evening

 Tuesday, 26 November 2002
Pre-Christmas Soirée

 Friday, 6 December 2002
2002 Joint Technical Talk with IEAust

 Jan 2003 (details to follow)
Site visit and pub lunch

 March 2003 (details to follow)

Return to Top *** IPENZ UK Association Contacts
Previous Newsletter Newsletter Archive Next Newsletter