Engineering major changes

A change of name and premises by the Institution of Engineers of Ireland reflects its aim to change both its image and attitude, writes Dick Ahlstrom

The body that represents Ireland's engineers gets a significant makeover today with a new name, a new look and a new approach to the world at large. The Institution of Engineers of Ireland (IEI), now in its 170th year, changes from today to Engineers Ireland.

The name-change is only a small part of what this venerable institution, established in 1835, hopes to achieve in the coming months.

"We are really trying to change the way we do things, to change the perception people have," says formerly IEI, now Engineers Ireland president, Anne Butler.

She admits that many have the view that engineers are "nerdy types" and people don't really understand what an engineer does. "I think it is the hard hat thing, wellie boots and hard hats. People don't see engineering as being software development," says Butler. "A lot of that relates to poor communications."

As part of its last corporate plan, the IEI, which represents 21,000 engineers of all types on this island, decided to look at people's perception of engineering. As a matter of course the body promotes the profession and exhorts people to study engineering, but it also wanted to tackle its image thing, says Engineers Ireland director general, Kevin Kernan.

People cling to an outdated view of the profession, he believes. Many picture road-building or engine repairs as the preserve of the engineer, and the term itself is also abused. Titles such as sanitation engineer or glass wall maintenance engineer for those who clean loos and windows only adds to the confusion, he says. "These are some of the perceptions we are trying to fight."

With this in mind the then IEI decided to undertake market research and hire psychologists to develop ways to help people understand what engineers do. This wasn't just for the institution's benefit, the Irish economy can't function without engineers.

"The engineering sector has been the driver of the Celtic Tiger," he states. The number of engineers working in Ireland doubled over the 14 years from 1991, about the time the Celtic Tiger began to roar.

"The graduates actually went to work in those sectors that were drivers for economic development," says Kernan, including information and communications technology, biotechnology, pharmachem, medical device manufacture and of course the myriad engineers associated with the construction industry.

The marketing studies sent a chill through the IEI's headquarters on Clyde Road, Dublin. "There was no recognition for the Institution of Engineers, no recognition of IEI," says Butler.

The psychologists also contributed, says Kernan. "There was a lot of psychology behind what we are tying to do."

In part it was generational, with younger people disconnected from the academic work ethic needed for engineering.

Things change from today however. The Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, will this evening preside over the re-branding, the launch of a redesigned Engineers Ireland logo, based on the Greek letter phi, and the opening of a new €4m education centre built behind the Clyde Road headquarters.

Engineers Ireland will also launch a report, Engineering A Knowledge Ireland 2020.

It describes what Ireland has to do if it is to become one of the top five world economies based on GDP per capita.

One startling statistic from the document indicates that by 2020 we will need about 2.75 times more engineers than we have today.

Engineers Ireland has also planned new public outreach activities to complement existing programmes such as its STEPS programme for school pupils and its series of school talks and presentations on what engineers do.

Its primary school "K'nex" competition, in which pupils put together projects using this building toy, attracted 7,000 participants last year, says Kernan. "We hope to double that number this year," he adds.

The education centre has a 135-seat lecture theatre and an 88-seat conference room plus office space.

These will be used mainly for ongoing education for engineer members but also offer opportunities for public talks and meetings, says Kernan.