CIBSE’s Young Engineers Network (YEN) is a global network with regional hubs around the world. CIBSE provides extra support to this network of emerging building services professionals by running site tours, soft skills talks and panels, and collaborative networking events with other institutions. YEN committees also assist with student engagement, building awareness of the diverse career opportunities in building services engineering.
Every year CIBSE hosts a Young Engineers Network Global Conference with the intent of bringing together all the regions to plan for the year ahead and celebrate the year that just past.
This November CIBSE ANZ YEN Chair, Niro Siriwardena, attended the conference in Belfast.
"It was an intense but amazing few days where I had the pleasure of meeting other talented YEN chairs from all around the globe, present to Built Environment students at Ulster University, take a poke around the new Belfast Grand Central Station, and brainstorm how we can improve the experience of early career CIBSE members."
(Site Tour around Belfast Central Station)
The conference was an opportunity to examine how the group can better serve young professionals.
A key outcome agreed over the 3-day event was to take a globalised approach to the leadership training and the activities run by the regions, and to homogenise YEN's approach to serving young engineers. This governance framework will ensure all regions have a strong foundation from which to develop and can continue to grow.
Another key outcome agreed was to make an effort to explore sharing technical sessions across regions. An example of this may be ensuring that there are dial-in/web conferencing options available for events, ensuring that attendees from all regions can attend and learn technical and region-specific information. In the instance that this is not possible, materials or contacts are to be shared so that the same event can be emulated in another region. This will improve the technical capability of all CIBSE YEN members - not just those attending from one region.
(Presenters at Ulster University. (left to right): Bushra Oosman, CIBSE YEN UAE, Zoe Dickson, CIBSE YEN London, Lizzy Pettitt,CIBSE YEN London, Niro Siriwardena, CIBSE YEN ANZ, and Aishwarya Chengappa, CIBSE YEN UAE)
The YEN congregation and students at Ulster University were also fortunate to receive a presentation by Niro on Building regulations in Australia, with a focus on how it's different (but also very similar) to the Building Regulations in the UK.
Niro also offered a high-level introduction to sustainability markers in Australia (NABERS, Green Star), and their UK parallels.
CIBSE YEN has a strong representation around the globe, and it was a great opportunity for each of the chairs to explore how each region operates and understand strengths and ideas that can be borrowed. One potential example of a great idea (borrowed from CIBSE YEN Yorkshire) is the possibility hosting a carbon neutral event - aligning well with CIBSE UK’s position on net zero operational carbon emissions.
CIBSE has a Young Engineers committee based in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. If you would like to attend local events, to meet new people in the industry, build your network, and broaden your exposure to building services projects, click here to sign-up to YEN.
If you are looking for leadership opportunities and would like to get involved in your local YEN committee, to help organise events or with student outreach, click here to register your interest.