The 35th Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The 35th AGM was successfully held on 28 June 2010 at the Jockey Club Auditorium of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Two candidates stood for election as the new Vice President this year and the method of election for the new candidates was on a "first past the post" basis, according to the Constitution. As for the incumbent Vice Presidents, the Constitution states that each must receive a simple majority of the total number of valid votes cast in his favour.

Eleven members stood for election as Elected Ordinary Members (EOM)s, against five vacancies. The method of election for EOMs was also on a "first past the post" basis, in accordance with the Constitution.

More than 1,600 members visited either of the two voting centres, the HKIE HQ or the Auditorium, to show their support and cast their votes. The results of the election of the new Vice President, the incumbent Vice Presidents and EOMs are available on the HKIE website at http://www.hkie.org.hk. We welcome the new Council Members to the new Session.

The first Council meeting of the new Session will be held in mid-July, at which appointments of members to the various boards and committees will be made.

Special General Meeting (SGM)
An SGM was convened on 28 June 2010 to consider proposals to amend the Constitution to take effect after the close of the 35th AGM. The motions put forward were adopted at the meeting.

The HKIE Members' Survey
The Institution would like to take this opportunity to thank members for their active participation and support of the online Members' Survey conducted earlier this year. A summary of the findings is provided on page 22 of the Journal and the full report is available for viewing in the Members' Login Area. Members' comments are valuable to the Institution and the Administration Board is tasked to study the results of the findings with a view towards improving service provision to members.

Supplement VII to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)
We are happy to report that, under Supplement VII of the CEPA agreement between the HKSAR Government and the Central People's Government signed on 27 May 2010, Hong Kong structural engineers will be permitted to set up structural design firms by partnerships on the Mainland.

Members who have obtained the Mainland's class 1 registered structural engineer qualifications will be allowed to act as partners in construction and engineering design offices set up on the Mainland, without restrictions on the ratio of Hong Kong partners to Mainland partners, the ratio of total capital contributed by the Hong Kong partners to that by the Mainland partners, or the Hong Kong partners' period of residence on the Mainland.

In addition, under Supplement VII of CEPA, members who have obtained the Mainland's class 1 registered structural engineer qualifications through mutual recognition are also allowed to register and practise in Guangdong.

International Engineering Alliance (IEA) Interim Meetings 2010
The IEA Interim Meetings 2010 were held in Ottawa, Canada on 21 - 25 June 2010. The meetings include workshops and various business related to international agreements. The delegation was led by Immediate Past President Ir Peter Wong of Session 2009/2010 and included Ir Kenneth Hsu, Chairman of Hong Kong APEC and EMF Monitoring Committee, Ir Prof T S Ng, Chairman of Accreditation Board and Mr Albert Chow, Director of Qualifications. In his capacity as Chairman of the Sydney Accord, Ir Dr Alex Chan also participated at the meetings. A detailed report of the meetings will be given in a later issue of the Journal.

Institutional Conferences
The Institution will be holding a number of conferences during Session 2010/2011, namely the "Conference on Climate Change - Hong Kong Engineers' Perspective" and "ICT Conference: The Way to Digital City - Sustainable Public Services and Solutions", which will take place in October and November 2010 respectively. We are also organising, jointly with the China Civil Engineering Society and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, the 2nd International Conference on Waste Engineering and Management, which will be held in Shanghai in October.

These conferences will provide a valuable platform for members to interact, exchange views and network internally as well as with locally-based and overseas bodies. Members who are interested in these Conferences are invited to visit the HKIE website or contact our Conference and Function Section for details.

The HKIE Hall of Fame 2010
The HKIE Hall of Fame 2010 is now open for nomination. To celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the establishment of the HKIE (Ordinance) and to promote the recognition of engineers in the community, the President initiated the Hall of Fame 2010, to honour outstanding members who have made exemplary contributions and outstanding achievements to the Institution, the engineering profession and the community. We look forward to receiving nominations for the Hall of Fame. Please refer to page 21 of the Journal for details. The deadline for nomination is 5:00pm on Thursday, 15 July 2010.

A talk by Ir Mak Chai-kwong, JP, former Permanent Secretary for Development (Works) on "My Career as a Civil Engineer in Government - a Brief Reflection"
We are delighted to have Ir Mak Chai-kwong, JP, former Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), delivered a talk on 23 June 2010 at the HKIE Headquarters to share his experience during a distinguished career of involvement in the development of Hong Kong's infrastructure. Members who attended the talk found his remarkable experience and sharing fruitful and inspiring. Details of the talk will be published in the August issue of the Journal.