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March 2014

Increasing the number of women in engineering


Special report from France on how they are increasing the proportion of female engineers
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EYE has been bringing together young engineers from across Europe since 1994. How has Europe changed since our first conference?
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20 Years of EYE
Exploring, sharing and growing since 1994

EYE@Sarajevo
Come and celebrate our 20th year with us in Sarajevo. Not convinced? You will be when you read about our last conference in Antwerp!
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Welcome

Welcome,

2014 is an exciting year for us: we are officially 20 years old (older than some of our members!). EYE was established in 1994 by young engineers from Belgium and Germany. Today EYE has 22 member associations in 15 different countries! Our last conference was hosted by two of our earliest members, KVIV and VIK, in Antwerp in September 2013. This was an impressive introduction to Belgium engineering, culture and hospitality. Thank you to all the volunteers who made it happen! To start the celebrations for 2014 our next conference will be held in BosniaHerzegovina a first for EYE! EYE@Sarajevo, hosted by STELEKS, will be held from the 31st May 1st June 2014 following the theme Common Purpose. More information can be found on the conference website www.eyesarajevo2014.com EYE was recently invited to speak at a conference on Employability of Engineering Graduates: A Vision for the Future in Brussels, Belgium. We shared our expertise on volunteering and global skills development with the participants. With high unemployment levels for young people across Europe, a wide stretching professional network to improve mobility has never been more important. If you havent attended an EYE Conference yet, please make this the year that you do! You wont be sorry. As the world becomes smaller, we have reached out to young engineers in Asia by attending the annual conference of the ASEAN young engineers last November. This has opened up opportunities for EYE to share knowledge and experience with young engineers from Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan!

I hope that you enjoy reading this issue! Siobhn McGrath, Member of Engineers Ireland Secretary General of EYE

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Contents
eye-catcher // page 4
The EYE network turns 20 this year the first delegates of our conference certainly lived in a different world! Read about how Europe has changed in the past two decades (with an engineering spin!)

eye conferences // page 8


We look back at our last conference in Antwerp and look forward to EYE@Sarajevo at the end of May.

engineering society // page 11


Learn how E.ON is tackling the challenge of storing surplus energy, and how Femme Ingnieurs are tackling the gender disparity in French Engineering.

careers // page 16
We talk to two EYE members about moving from their home countries to work and study abroad. The yearly Hannover Messe is fast approaching the place to be if you want to work in Germany!

inside eye // page 21


What has EYE been up to since the last conference? News of our recent contact with young Asian engineers and interaction with international engineering groups.

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Twenty years of EYE


Its been twenty years since EYE began with a conference in Strasbourg. Despite the records of EYEs early days being lost to the sands of time, 1994 is still a recent memory for some, while some of our youngest members werent yet around! We look back at the state of Europe and of engineering in those days and consider how lucky we are to have the conveniences of the 21st century.

What did Europe Look Like? Even Europe was a fundamentally different place 20 years ago. In January 1994 under the presidency of Greece the European Economic Area (EEA) was brought into existence, followed by applications for membership from Hungary and Poland. Referendums were also held in Austria, Finland and Norway; with two out of three resulting in positive responses the total number of EU countries rose to fifteen. Of course in 1994 there was no single currency; previous to the // European Union Member States in 1994 (blue) includEuropean Monetary Union there ing soon-to-be members (lighter blue), present-day existed eighteen different members in grey. currencies within the EU. In November 1994 the European Monetary Institute council met for the first time in Frankfurt, paving the way towards the European Central Bank and the single currency. In addition to this a number of cooperation agreements and free trade arrangements between the EEC and neighbouring nations were in place, meaning money flowing around Europe was in even more currencies!

Getting around Europe in 1994 1994 marked the opening of the Channel Tunnel, (affectionately known as the Chunnel on the English-speaking side) creating a land link between England and France. Eurostar services between London Waterloo, Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels South began in November. The Channel Tunnel is the second largest rail tunnel in the world, and still holds the record for the longest undersea section of any tunnel; constructing the tunnel from both sides of the channel was a significant feat of
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engineering. Like all modern tunnels, tunnel boring machines (TBMs), over a hunhundred metres long and weighing over 1000 tons, were used to carve the tunnel from either end. In total eleven TBMs were used; six from the UK and six from France. The French TBMs lived very different lives from the English; given names (Brigitte, Europa, Catherine, Virginie, Pascaline, Severine) while the English were simply referred to by their alphanumeric identification numbers. Once the tunnel was complete Frances TBMs were dismantled to reuse parts, while the majority of the English machines were steered under the tunnel to be buried forever. One of these still sees use today as a convenient earth rod for the electrical distribution network inside the tunnel!

The Schengen Agreement which allows us hassle-free travel across borders within the EU was still a fledgling idea, signed in 1985 between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, The // The views not great, but Le Shuttle does allow you to drive your car from England to France Netherlands and West Germany and further augmented in 1990. However it was not until 1995 that free movement and the abolition of border controls between the signatory countries was implemented. It is now possible to travel all over Europe without ever getting a mark in your passport (if you even need one)!

Communications The younger EYEs may not recall a time before cellular phones and mobile internet were common, but the delegates at Strasbourg might have been some of the initial designers of the GSM standard we take for granted today! In 1994 the jury was still out over which cellular standard would claim market dominance, and the notion of being able to roam across borders (even in Europe) was still a distant dream.
// UK-based EYEs always have to be a little more prepared before coming to the continent!

Even at home you wouldnt dream of loading up your browser for a quick
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YouTube or Netflix session - average dial-up connection speeds peaked at 28.8 kbps (thats kilobits per second, meaning a 2-minute MP3 took 10 minutes to download!), where the likes of CompuServe and World-NET could connect you to the CB simulator (an early chatroom) or GIF-laden sites hand-coded in HTML that always seemed to be under construction. Of course this new way to communicate with friends came at a price, 0.024 a minute in addition to a monthly fee as well as the inconvenience of tying up the telephone line for the rest of the night! What lies in the future for EYE? The Task Force and Council are working hard to ensure that EYE offers the most it can to delegates and members who continue to interact with the organisation throughout the year. We want to facilitate your careers and studies by helping you make contacts from across the continent and help you overcome the challenges posed by working of studying abroad. EYE is striving to expand and welcomes new member organisations, particularly from countries which dont currently have any representation within EYE. The formulation of a long-term strategy is a key goal of the current Task Force, and we take very seriously the responsibility and duty of care we have to the network that has built up over the past two decades. Well never say youre too old to come to a conference, but for those whose time has come to move on we plan to develop an EYE Alumni Network that allows past EYEs to keep in touch and enjoy the benefits of being a forward-thinking, outward-looking European citizen. Well continue to work for you during this anniversary year and we hope youre as excited as we are about EYEs future!

// The EYE Task Force meeting in Paris, January 2014

Chris Waters, Member of YRP, UK EYE Task Force Member

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What type of engineer are you? I work for Bord Gis Networks, the national gas transmission and distribution company in Ireland. Im a qualified civil engineer, but the work I do is a variety of business and engineering disciplines. Im currently on rotation in the Safety Department, where I work to continue the safe operation of Irelands natural gas network. What is a typical day at an EYE Conference for you? My first conference was EYE@Dublin 2013, so a typical day is difficult to describe. However, from that experience, I think EYE conferences consist of a balance of opportunities to learn such as the industrial visits, talks and workshops and the opportunity to socialise with peers throughout the conference. Why are you involved with EYE? I really enjoyed my first conference and I think its a testament to EYE conferences that so many people return year on year. I particularly liked discussing how engineering happens across Europe with my European counterparts. I now look forward to seeing how engineering happens across Europe at the upcoming EYE conferences. The fact that the conference locations are dotted throughout Europe is an added bonus.

NA OGRADY
Graduate Civil Engineer Bord Gis Networks

IRELAND

ENGINEERS IRELAND

// na and the EYE@Dublin Organising Committee

What is your favourite impression of EYE? It was great to meet all of the dedicated engineers that volunteer for the Young Engineers Society (YES) in Ireland and helped to run EYE@Dublin 2013. The effort that is put into organising and running an EYE conference is immense. Its inspirational to think that this effort is made by groups of young engineers across Europe on an ongoing basis!
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Conference Preview: EYE@Sarajevo


Common Purpose: Together, Stronger, Into the Future, 31st May - 1st June 2014

The 20th anniversary year for EYE begins in BosniaHerzegovina! From the 30th of May to the 1st of June 2014 the student organisation STELEKS will host the EYE conference in Sarajevo. Under the theme of Common Purpose we will experience interesting presentations, workshops and get to know the regional industry during company visits. Apart from just information and discussions about subjects for and from engineers, it is a matter of course that in such a historically significant town, the history and culture of the region is also a subject. As usual, there are also excursions, a gala dinner and all the other great activities that you can expect at an EYE conference! The total cost for this conference is 160 per delegate which will include two nights' accommodation, food, public transport, experienced guides, support in the case of staying on for tourism, your choice of industrial visits and the gala dinner. Places are limited, so please www.eyesarajevo2014.com register as soon as possible through

// Join us in Sarajevo! Learn about Bosnia-Herzegovina from local young engineers

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Conference Review: EYE@Antwerp


Move. Transport. Transcend. 6th - 8th September, 2013 For the organisers of EYE@Antwerp, a two year preparation period culminated on September 6th of last year with the arrival of our first guests at the hotel in the morning. From the original idea to highlight Antwerp as a transport hub of goods and services, we tried developing a programme that united this goal with immersing participants in Antwerps rich cultural history and the epicurean lifestyle of its inhabitants (which included many of us).

// Antwerp City Hall

Companies started buying into our idea, supplying us with not only sponsorship, but also possibilities to show our participants nuclear power plants, the new Antwerp Harbor extension, and guest lectures surrounding our main conference theme. City College supported us in allowing us the use of some of the nicest venues in town, such as the historical city hall for our opening reception, and the newly renovated city archives for the closing ceremony. Volunteers started pouring in from everywhere, providing a sometimes much needed // The conference concluded with a cruise down the helping hand in the last weeks Scheldt leading up to the conference. We were ready. At least, that's what we thought. Because there was one thing that we hadn't considered yet: our participants. We hadn't anticipated their enthusiasm on the company tours, their openness towards the experiences we offered them and most notably their willingness to party! And it is exactly that which made the conference a success well beyond our imagination. Thanks to everyone, and we will hopefully see many of you again (and many new people) in Sarajevo! Jeroen Janse, member of KVIV, Belgium
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What type of engineer are you? Im a materials science engineer. Belonging to the kind of engineers who are crazy about alloys, wood, ceramics, plastics or shape memory alloys. What is a typical day at an EYE Conference for you? It starts with a black tea or coffee to get back to life. After that some workshops about topics which are really interesting, for example on stress management. This is followed by a nice lunch and a bit of time to talk with the people who you havent seen for a while or who are new. Then a trip to a company, other workshops or something else. Finally the day ends with a nice dinner and socialising, with dancing and talking and having a lot of fun. Why are you involved with EYE? EYE events are special events: they are not like a normal conference where you just get scientific information. EYE conferences are about science and the people. You will learn a lot but you also can make good friends at these conferences. One more thing is that you can travel a lot and see different European countries through the eyes of young engineers living there. Local volunteers organise the conference and show you a lot of special things about their country, which you wont see as tourist.

TABEA WILK
Materials Science Engineer BAM GERMANY

VDI

// Traditional Irish music in the Jameson distillery

What is your favourite impression of EYE? That is not an easy question because every EYE conference I visited had its own favorite impression! My favorite memory of EYE@Dublin is the Jameson Distillery. We got yummy drinks, a tour through the exhibition, nice food and a lot of Irish dancing which was a lot of fun. All I have to say about EYE Conferences is come and visit one and make your own decision!
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Report from France: Increasing the number of women in Engineering


What do numbers tell us? Even though girls represent almost half the students in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) related classes in French high schools, and get higher grades than boys [1] in their national final high school exams, they only represent a quarter of students studying engineering and only 17% of working engineers. This difference becomes even greater for some specialties; women represent less than 10% of the workforce in Electronic, Civil and Mechanical Engineering [2]. What is the reason for this very poor and stagnant representation of girls in French engineering studies in the last 10 years?

Whats at stake? Due to young peoples lack of interest in careers in science, France is lacking in engineers and scientists. While 50% of clients are women, businesses are slow to adopt gender diversity in their workforce and are therefore deprived of intelligence that would allow business to adapt to the reality of our society. Firms that understand that a mixture of men and women in their teams can foster creativity and efficiency, sometimes find they cannot satisfy their need to recruit female engineers and scientists.

What are the impediments? Reasons that hinder women to moving towards engineering studies are complex and multifaceted. They are based in part on stereotypes. Sciences are usually seen as masculine, which leads girls to censor themselves and doubt their abilities, parents to be afraid of this orientation for their daughters, teachers to unconsciously push boys more to science than they push girls. Even though some businesses do show their willingness to hire women, they have their share of responsibility as the average salary of female engineers is 27% below that of men, with a visible difference immediately upon hire, which increases over the years. The vast majority of women who study STEM degrees are flourishing, love their careers and are successful!

What can we do? At a time when STEM sectors are less attractive to young people, in order to avoid a global shortage of engineers and scientists, France must increase its proportion of
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female engineers. One of EYEs Member Associations, Femme Ingnieurs (in English, Women Engineers) is committed to ensuring that French governments, schools, businesses and professionals are mobilised to change things by working on two components:

1. Upstream To promote girls' access to scientific careers, particularly Engineering studies. For example, we propose: Mandatory education of school teachers to the issues and stereotypes that impede girls in the choice of studying technology and science [3] Mandatory presentation of scientific studies for all students, with awareness of girls 2. Downstream To promote the personal and professional development of qualified engineers, we propose to: Promote and encourage the development of women's networks within companies Promote female role-models, based on highlighting the careers of young women who have chosen to study sciences Exempt from income tax the hours given by volunteers working to promote scientific and technological professions during their working hours European economy and society have everything to gain by encouraging more female engineers. Femme Ingnieurs wish is that all engineers, men and women, commit so that every girl interested in science is encouraged to follow a career in STEM, and has the opportunity to excel in a career in Engineering.
[1] Information from the French Ministry of Education (July 2010) about the results of the 2010 Baccalaurat with 91% girls achievements and 87% for boys. [2] Annual survey of the CNISF (2009). [3] See our analysis and research summarized in the publication "Beyond ideas", carried out jointly by the associations Femmes et Sciences, Femmes et Mathmatiques and Femmes Ingniuers.

Aline Aubertin President, Femmes Ingnieurs What is the engineering organisation that represents you doing to (1) encourage girls to study engineering and (2) to keep qualified females working in engineering? Join the conversation on LinkedIn!
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Solving the energy storage challenge: technology and innovation at E.ON


One of the key challenges of the transition from traditional to more sustainable energy sources is the lack of storage opportunities for renewable energy. Innovative concepts in this field are the so called power-to-gas and power-to-heat technologies, as well as various battery technologies, which can be used to store excess renewable energy and use it when demand arises. Gerbert van der Weijde, Technology & Innovation Manager at E.ONs Innovation Center for Energy Storage, in Germany, is very familiar with these technologies and describes how he is part of this journey.

What is your area of expertise? I currently work as Technology & Innovation Manager at E.ONs Innovation Center Energy Storage. Over the past five years I have been working on understanding the role new technologies play in our industry, subsequently demonstrating the most promising innovations in concrete projects and developing the capabilities E.ON needs to make good use of these concepts in its businesses.

Please describe some of the projects you are currently working My colleagues and I are responsible for setting up and coordinating E.ONs activities related to energy storage. This includes batteries from household scale (refrigerator size) to grid scale (container size), power-to-gas and power-to-heat / heat storage. My focus is on providing the commercial perspective on these activities: understanding how we can best generate revenues with the various technologies; identifying and evaluating concrete business opportunities; setting up projects with partners within and external to our organisation.

// Power-to-gas unit in Falkenhagen 13

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My work is very diverse. It varies from speaking with a large technology supplier about the characteristics of its technology and the role it could play for the company to sharing our knowledge with E.ONs other units and developing projects to support their business. It also includes meeting with potential customers and drafting the sales contracts for the WindGas we produce in Falkenhagen a unit that uses wind power to run electrolysis equipment that transforms water into hydrogen, which is then injected into the regional gas transmission system.

Why are these technologies innovative and how could they be implemented in the market? With an increasing share of renewables feeding into the energy system, it becomes more and more important to be able to provide additional flexibility, to keep the system in balance. Without energy storage, this will not be possible. Right now, most energy storage projects have a pre-commercial, demonstration character. Exactly when the large breakthrough of energy storage will take place is hard to predict, but we are working hard to make it a reality.

How did you end up working in the energy industry? I studied Applied Physics and have a masters degree in Management of Technology. While writing my master thesis in 2008, I learnt about the fascinating challenge the energy industry and society as a whole are facing: ensuring a reliable, affordable and sustainable supply of energy. Finding the right balance between all three factors is extremely important, but also very complex. I decided that I wanted to contribute in finding solutions and therefore pursue a career in the energy industry. I joined E.ON in 2009 through the Graduate Program as I wanted to work in a global company that could offer interesting opportunities for my personal and professional growth.

What advice would you give to young engineers in Europe who are considering a career in the energy market? The energy industry is currently going through a phase of rapid change. There are plenty of interesting topics to work on and many opportunities for young, ambitious engineers to make a difference. Determine what you would like to achieve in your working life, be informed about current happenings in the energy market and talk to people who are already working in the industry. If you feel you would like to join us at E.ON, check our website for job opportunities at www.eon.com/careers.

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What type of engineer are you? Im currently working as a Research Engineer in the area of biomass, solar and alternative energy technologies. I work on numerous development projects with a view to optimise and develop new energy generation technologies in addition to making more effective use of both current and new energy sources. Why are you involved with EYE? My first EYE Conference was Dublin 2013, which I helped to organise with Engineers Ireland. My main aim for attending the conference was to interact with fellow European engineers and learn more about the intricacies of multicultural interactions. Meeting so many engineers from all over Europe helped develop a strong network of friends and colleagues in many different countries, which I hopefuly can work with in the future.

COLIN KEOGH
Research Engineer and Energy Consultant

IRELAND

ENGINEERS IRELAND
// Colin taking the Formula Student car for a spin

What is your favourite impression of EYE? I really enjoyed working with other engineers from around Europe, which also allowed me to use the lessons learned during the presentation on Cultural Awareness as Competitive Business Advantage. I learned a great deal about the regional business quirks exhibited by other cultures and the workshops showed some of these quirks first hand.
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European young engineers on the move


Getting involved with EYE opens up many opportunities! Attending an EYE conference allows you to meet engineers from all over the world, and find out how they found opportunities to develop their global career. Youll also have opportunities to meet guest speakers, sponsors and hosts from global companies or international research organisations. Two young engineers who have attended EYE Conferences discuss how involvement in EYE led them to global opportunities!

Jamie Shirra, UK Jamie earned a much-coveted summer Internship with CERN in Geneva, Switzerland following a visit to them with EYE, during the World Engineers Congress (WEC) in 2011. Jamie now works for 3M.

What was the main reason you decided to seek an internship abroad? It has always been an aim to get some experience of working abroad. During my third academic year of university, there was an opportunity to gain some research experience in another university, company or institution. I saw this as a great opportunity to meet my aim!

Was attending an EYE conference helpful in finding your work abroad? During the EYE@WEC event I got the opportunity to speak with some CERN employees who helped me to understand more about the organisation and the people who work there. Meeting many inspirational and keen EYE members, many of whom had experience working or studying abroad cemented my idea to go abroad.

How did you choose the internship you did? Were there funding issues to be addressed? CERN is completely synonymous with research it seemed an obvious choice for a research project! CERN have a fantastic and well established student programme which suited what I wanted to do. It was a bit of a whim applying as a chemical engineer to a particle research establishment, but it was worth a try! The programme I applied for and got was the Technical Student Programme In terms of funding, CERN provide a very ample living allowance to all the students who join the programme this provided more than enough for food, accommodation and a good social life!
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How did you organise the trip before departure? It was all very last minute for me I had several exams in the week before I departed which stopped me from organising much at all! CERN has a hostel (more like a hotel than a hostel though!) which can be booked before you arrive. Connecting from Geneva airport to the campus is really simple, so that allowed me to have somewhere to stay for the first month or so. If Id have been more organised, I would have booked two months in the hotel up front, then cancelled once Id found accommodation, as the booking can be cancelled with 24 hours notice.

Did you get to apply what you had learned at university while working? What kind of skills did your internship teach you? I learned quite a lot about computer modelling of processes and problem solving. Another skill which I didnt appreciate until my final year design project was the ability to work independently for long periods of time on open ended projects. All these skills were applied to my design project, an open ended problem which as a small team we attempted to solve. Computer modelling and problem solving were big parts of this process, and the independent working allowed me to complete my individual tasks effectively.

Did this experience increase your employability? I would like to think so! As it happened, I was offered a position with another company who I completed an internship with, but without achieving this placement and other extracurricular engineering activities I suspect I wouldnt have been as appealing!

What did you enjoy the most about your time at CERN? What did you enjoy the least? CERN and Geneva are amazing places meeting incredible and inspiring people (student interns, through to Nobel Prize winners and astronauts!) both inside CERN and in Geneva itself! There are loads of interns (from CERN, the UN and hundreds of other organisations), and the UN organised an interns drinks evening every Thursday. This was a great way to meet lots of people from different backgrounds and with different experiences. Being at CERN for seven months was much longer than most of the interns so there would always be fresh faces and different people to meet! The flip side of Geneva is the incredible demand for accommodation. There are not enough apartments, so the prices are very inflated. I ended up having to live in two apartments, and doing two stints in the CERN hotel in seven months, which wasnt ideal!

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What advice can you offer to a student in the same situation, is there anything you would have done differently? Just to jump at the opportunity! Mixing with loads of people from so many different cultures was a great experience, one which I havent had the pleasure of repeating yet! There are loads of ways of funding yourself abroad so do some research and get the experience!

What is your fondest memory of your time there? I was at CERN on the day they announced the Higgs results myself and a friend arrived at CERN at around 7 am to try and get a place in the auditorium (people who arrived at 5:30 am didnt get in so we had no chance!), but watched the announcement from a satellite room filled with physicists and engineers, many of whom will have had a direct input to the results. When the data was announced, the room was electric! That was an amazing experience, and one which Ill be able to say I was there to in the future!

Michaela Spiteri, University Engineering Students Association Malta (UESA) Michaela moved to the UK to study for her MSc in Biomedical Engineering at Brunel University, and is now at the University of Surrey studying for a PhD in Medical Image Processing.

What was the main reason you decided to study abroad? At the time when I applied for an MSc in Biomedical Engineering and PhD in medical image processing neither course was available in Malta. Studying abroad allowed me to use equipment and learn things that I could not have otherwise used/learnt in my home country. I enjoy meeting new people from different cultures and travelling, studying abroad is a winwin situation in that aspect, because you get to improve your education whilst being a tourist for the whole duration of the course! Was attending an EYE conference helpful in finding your work abroad? It did not directly contribute, however it did give me the confidence to reach out and search for courses in countries other than my home country. How did you choose the university you did? Were there funding issues to be addressed? I chose the institutions depending on location (I still wanted to be close to an airport to be able to travel back home) as well as for the ranking. Both Brunel University and University of Surrey rank highly in engineering. I obtained a scholarship from my own
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home country to study at Brunel and I am currently sponsored by the University of Surrey for my PhD. How did you organise the trip before departure? My mother flew up to the UK with me for the first week of my MSc. I also spent hours researching how to get around the area months before leaving. England, specifically the London area, is very well organised in terms of transport, therefore it is very easy to get around. Most UK universities also have ambassadors which help international students understand the culture and help them use the local public transport.

Did you get to apply what you had learned at university while working? What kind of skills did your placement teach you? Following my MSc, I carried out a placement at the NHS (the UKs National Health Service). It was a shadowing placement, throughout which I followed various medics around and was shown how biomedical equipment is used in the medical industry. I was not allowed to touch anything because of the nature of the internship; however I made many contacts and developed a new awareness of how biomedical equipment is used. It also taught me to look at engineering from a clinical aspect.

Did this experience increase your employability? Yes it did. I believe it helped me in obtaining my spot as a PhD candidate at the University of Surrey.

What did you enjoy the most about the placement? What did you enjoy the least? I enjoyed meeting new people and learning about the adverse range of jobs I could undertake in the future. The thing I enjoyed least was the paper work and the lengthy application process!

What advice can you offer to a student in the same situation, is there anything you would have done differently? Try your best to land an internship before graduating! It really increases your employability and helps you grow as a person! What is your fondest memory of your time there? I'm still here! Good times still rolling! On a serious note, I have really opened up my horizons in terms of opportunities. This is mostly through the different people I have met and things these different people have taught me.

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Young Engineers Day at the Hannover Messe


EYE members have been invited to attend the Hannover Messe, the world's biggest industrial fair, by German young engineers. Every year around 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors descend on the fairground in Hanover for this event. On Monday 7th April 2014 the VDI will host 80 students from Denmark at the fair and have invited EYEs to join a special program for the group. You will have the opportunity to listen to English presentations, take part in a company visit or talk to recruiters from global companies like Audi, DB or Schunk. After that there is enough time to visit the fair on your own and its definitely worth it! There are limited places free for EYE members. If you are interested in joining us at this event please contact us through office@e-y-e.eu

// Hannover Messe is a great place to meet companies look for jobs

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EYE Meets Young Asian Engineers


EYE was kindly invited to AFEOs (ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Federation of Engineering Organisations) annual meeting, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, last November. The theme of the conference was Implementation of Green Infrastructure in ASEAN Countries, which focused on the challenge of sustainable development of infrastructure to support these nations economic growth. The young engineers met to give updates on the activities that they were doing to support their organisations young engineers. This included social activities like volunteering to improve the local environment, and organising internships between each others countries.
// Siobhn and some of the Indonesian Young Engineers

2015 will see the formation of shared economic community among the ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), similar to the idea of the European Union. This agreement will include improved mobility of workers between countries and mutual recognition of professional degrees. Thank you to all the young AFEO engineers for their hospitality, especially the local hosts, Persatuan Insinyur Indonesia (PII)!

// EYEs seat at the conference table

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Want to work or study in Germany?


The EYE Embassies project is designed to keep young engineers connected outside of EYE Conferences. If you are thinking of moving to Germany then join the EYE Embassy of Germany and ask local young engineers about where to live, study, eat, shop, pay taxes, or party! Youll also meet other young engineers who have moved to Germany to study or work. Find the EYE Embassies through our Facebook page.

Click here...

...then here ...

.....and discover Germany!

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EYE invited to share its knowledge on global skills for employability


EYE was invited to speak at a conference on the employability of engineering graduates, hosted by SEII (The European Society for Engineers and Industrialists) and CLAIU-EU (Council of Associations of long cycle Engineers from a University or a Higher School of Engineering of the European Union) in Brussels, Belgium. There were views from students, industry and academia on how the needs of these stakeholders, and society, could be met through engineering education. Siobhn McGrath, the Secretary General of EYE, spoke about employability skills developed by young engineers through volunteering. She spoke about how volunteering for EYE gives a unique opportunity for young engineers to bring their skills to the next level, by practicing them in an international environment. Team work, communication and leadership are all made harder when everyone in the group has different first languages, culture, and experience. Siobhn argued that young engineers can take responsibility for their own employability and professional development. She told how being involved with EYE demonstrates to employers that the candidate has a wide professional network, knowledge of the latest engineering issues across Europe, that they know how to conduct them self in a professional environment and are interested in engineering beyond what they learn in university.

Get involved! Call for new member organisations


EYE offers free membership to European engineering organisations with young members (typically under 35 years old). By joining EYE, your students and young professional members become EYE members. This entitles them to attend EYE Conferences and enjoy all other the benefits that come with being a member of EYE. Does your organisation want to offer its young members extra membership benefits including two international conferences a year and twice yearly issues of the EYE Contact? Do you want to offer your young members the chance to build a professional network across Europe, and let them gain a competitive advantage in employment? If you are a young engineer who wants your organisation to get involved, let them, and us, know! We can be contacted by emailing office@e-y-e.eu

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Imprint
Editor European Young Engineers (EYE) c/o Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V. VDI Platz 1 40002 Dsseldorf Germany T +49 (0) 211 62 14 455 F +49 (0) 211 62 14 148 office@e-y-e.eu www.e-y-e.eu

Image References Thanks to: Cornelia Fleischer (VDI) for cover picture and pictures of EYE@Antwerp Chris Waters (YRP) for picture of Europe VDI - The Association of German Engineers for pictures of Hannover Messe Engineers Ireland for picture of EYE@Dublin organising committee E.ON for pictures of power-to-gas plants EYE@Sarajevo Organisers for picture of Sarajevo The following images are used with permission of the originators under the CC-BY license: Christopher Elison (flickr: Chris-Elison) Picture of UK Passport and Euros Rich (flickr: rakh1) Picture of interior of Le Shuttle Details of the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY) are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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EYE Member Associations


Belgium // Antwerp KVIV - Royal Flemish Society of Engineers www.kviv.be Belgium // Antwerp VIK - Flemish Chamber of Engineers www.vik.be Bosnia-Herzegovina // Sarajevo Steleks - Student Association of Electrotechnics of the University of Sarajevo www.steleks.ba Bulgaria // Sofia FNTS - Federation of the Scientific engineering Unions www.fnts.bg Denmark // Copenhagen IDA - The Danish Society of Engineers www.ida.dk Luxembourg // Luxembourg ANEIL - Association Nationale des Etudiants Ingnieurs www.aneil.lu Finland // Helsinki UIL - Union of Professional Engineers in Finland www.uil.fi France // Paris BNEI - National Bureau of Engineering Students www.bnei.org France // Paris FI - French Association of Female Engineers www.femmes-ingenieurs.org Germany // Dsseldorf VDI - The Association of German Engineers www.vdi.de Hungary // Budapest MTESZ - Federation of Technical and Scientific Societies www.mtesz.hu Ireland // Dublin Engineers Ireland www.engineersireland.ie Italy // Salerno GIOIN - Association of Young Engineers of the Province of Salerno Italy // Salerno EYE Italia (eyeIT)

Malta // Valletta UESA - University Engineering Students Association www.uesa-mt.com Netherlands // The Hague KIVI - Royal Institute of Engineers in the Netherlands www.kivi.nl Netherlands // Wageningen KLV - Royal Agricultural Society www.klv.nl Norway // Oslo NITO - Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists www.nito.no United Kingdom // London ACE Association for Consulting and Engineering www.acenet.co.uk United Kingdom // London IoM3 - Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining www.iom3.org United Kingdom // London IMarEST - Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology www.imarest.org United Kingdom // London YRP - Young Railway Professionals www.youngrailwayprofessionals.org

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