The Membership & Registration Committee (M&R) exists to manage membership applications on behalf of the Institute, potential registrations with the Engineering Council (ECUK) as EngTech, IEng and CEng, plus the Authorising Engineer registers. It consists of a small, but dedicated team of volunteers ably supported and facilitated by the Head Office team, particularly Karen and Clair.
I first became involved in the M&R Committee in the late 1990’s, having recently become registered as a Chartered Engineer through the Institute. The then Membership Manager, Tammy Simmons, ‘invited’ me to become part of the Committee, I think the conversation went along the lines of ‘you will join the M&R won’t you..?’. As a recent registrant she was keen for me to appreciate how the Committee facilitated that journey and to act as a catalyst for some overdue change.
Back then, everything was done in person, 2-3 time per year and applications took many months to process. Today, the M&R Committee operates in a significantly different way and far more efficiently, with the experience of the potential member/registrant always central to the focus of the meetings. Most meetings are now virtual and all applications are reviewed prior to the meeting by 3 reviewers (plus an additional audit in selected cases) and membership can be awarded on consensus. Only non-consensus applications are reviewed by the full committee, along with all applications for potential registration with ECUK. The purpose and focus has moved from ‘enforcing’ the standards to ‘upholding’ them, acting as a point of peer review as opposed to a barrier or ‘test’ to membership and/or registration.
Copious notes and records are kept throughout each stage of the process to ensure transparency and fairness in all decisions and to ensure all applications are assessed on their merits with a view to encouraging applications and assisting all in attaining membership and/or registration. This also extends to the registration with ECUK to ensure rigorous peer review, without creating barriers. Much focus is placed on the review of Engineering Practice Reports ahead of any potential call to Interview, to ensure that all potential registrants are provided with the best opportunity to present their career experiences for peer review against the ECUK competencies.
This has recently culminated in a training day which I was asked to facilitate, for all Engineering Council Assessors and potential Assessors, to try and drive further improvement and consistency. In the spirit of peer review, this was designed as an interactive session with guidance provided and full participation of all delegates to share their experiences, understanding and queries. Feedback has been very positive and we hope to repeat this session for more potential Assessors, as we need to diversify our cohort to better reflect our membership and potential membership.
Over the past 25 years of involvement with M&R and as an Assessor, I continue to learn much, and I can honestly say that I get far more out of the experience than the time effort that I put in. Whether it’s debating applications, assessing potential registrations, interviewing candidates for registration or mentoring applicants through their registration journey, it has helped me widen my perspective on Healthcare Engineering and helped me keep in touch with those progressing through and who will be our future leaders of the profession.
The work of M&R continues and we will continue to strive to improve the experience of potential members and registrants, if this could be of interest to you, please reach out to the Head Office team and let them know, there are many opportunities to provide new members with support and mentoring to develop their careers and in turn develop the collective capability of our Healthcare Engineering and Estates profession to the benefit of all stakeholders, not least our patients in the future.
Greg Markham BEng(Hons) CEng FIHEEM MIET MIWFM
February 2024