Members Update January 2009

Louise Craig - Chief Executive Officer

IFE Members' Update

I AM delighted to announce that, following the call for nominations, John Woodcock will become international president-elect for 2009-2010. Members will be aware of the tremendous contribution John has made in representing the interests of Engineering Council UK registrants on the Board of Directors. John will take up the role in July 2009, when the current president-elect Bill Stewart follows Paul Richardson to become international president.

John Judd has been awarded the highest honour of Life Fellowship of the Institution, in recognition of his outstanding achievements in furthering the aims of the IFE during his 35 years of involvement. Further details of his award can be found on p.5. I would like to add my personal thanks to John for his support and guidance over the past year, as he steered the Institution through some challenging times and helped ensure that 2008 proved remarkably successful.

Membership for 2008 has climbed yet again to an in-year figure approaching 11,500, and further increases are likely following the strengthening of worldwide branches from 39 to 40. Details of all the Institution's branches can be found at: www.ife.org.uk/branches, including information about the two additional branches in India and the new Middle East branch, based in Oman. IFE members are urged to contact their local branch if they are not already a member of it. All members should have received their renewal letter and 2009 membership card. For members of overseas branches, your local branch will have received your 2009 card; please make contact with your branch.

March 2009 examinations

The achievement of Ofqual recognition for the Institution, as reported last month, has further increased uptake of examinations, and it is likely that March 2009 will reflect a large increase in bookings, particularly among UK fire and rescue services. The deadline for bookings for March 2009 examinations has now passed. Good luck to all candidates as they prepare for March papers.

As an Awarding Body, the Institution is in the process of registering IFE examinations as qualifications through Ofqual and every effort will be made to do this prior to the March examinations, although the exact time frame cannot be guaranteed, as it depends on the regulator. Further updates will be made available to branches via www.ife.org.uk and in e-newsletters. We anticipate that almost 4,500 examination papers will be taken in March 2009 and it is good to see, in particular, a marked increase in Preliminary papers being taken in countries facing severe economic disadvantage, hopefully encouraged by the reduction in fees for 2008.

IFERG Steering Group

My warmest congratulations go to Eur Ing Jim Marsden, Peter Wilkinson CEng, Chris Hughes CEng, and Jack Goble EngTech, who, following nominations, have joined the IFE Engineering Council Registrants' Group (IFERG) Steering Group. A warm welcome, also, to Nathan Hewitt (co-opted) and Peter Menzies, who is the corresponding registrant member based in New Zealand.

Nominations are still being sought for an Incorporated Engineer who is registered with the Institution to join the group. If you are currently an IEng registrant member and are interested in joining, please contact Helen Ross (helen.ross@ife.org.uk) for more information.

Finally, here are some dates for your diary. Fire and Rescue 2009 (12-14 May 2009) and International Firex (11-14 May 2009) will be co-located at the NEC, Birmingham. And the Institution's Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow from 1-2 July 2009. Considerable interest has already been shown in it, so please book your place early to ensure your place and accommodation.

Admissions to membership

Congratulations to the following members, who were admitted to membership in the period up to 8 December 2008:

Fellow (FIFireE)

Fuller, Paul Maurice

Member (MIFireE)

Boustras, Georgios

Foh Wah, John Loh

Goodwin, Scott

Gurley, David Michael

Hanneman, David

Hendren, Barry

Higgins, James Patrick

Morgan, Kenneth

O'Connor, Paul Nigel

Pascoe, Garry Michael

Rierson, David J

Riley, Christopher P

Thorley, Steven John

White, James

Woodward, Richard

Associate (AIFireE)

Bennett, Stephen Bryan

Daniels, James Francesco

Finn, Mark

Kalyanaraman, Karthik

Sheeran, Christoper Joseph

Graduate (GIFireE)

Anderson, Matthew John

Barrett, Peter Patrick

Breslin, Terry

Bristow, Grant Stewart

Clarke, Hamilton Graham Bayliss

Corry, Natalie

Dhyani, Ashok

Dixon, Terence William

Doherty, Steven Michael

Doyle, Trevor William

English, Andrew Charles

Evans, Gareth

Giannakakis, Savvas

Kumar, Bhawesh

Lal Kumara, Waduge

Metcalf, Stephen George

Newman, Andrew

Pyne, Nicholas

Soni, Vinod Kumar

Van Hoppe, Daniel

Wilkinson, Ian

Wilson, Pelenda Devage Kamal Ajantha

Technician (TIFireE)

Ager, Kieran

Dello, Christopher

Harris, David James

Holmes, Peter George

Manning, Andrew David

North, Michael

Admissions to the IFE Registrants' Group

Engineering Technician (EngTech)

Birkmyre, Trevor

Rigg, Derek John

Ryan, John Gerard

Smith, John Richard

For information on membership and registration, please contact Gill Haynes on +44 (0)1608 812 583 or e-mail: gill.haynes@ife.org.uk

Register of Fire Risk Assessors and Auditors

Congratulations to the following, who were admitted to the Institution's Register of Fire Risk Assessors and Auditors in the period up to 8 December 2008:

Life Safety Assessor

Lewis, Clive

Mannings, David

Rizos, Claire

Information on the Register and a full list of Registrants can be accessed at: www.ife.org.uk/frr