HKIE - Time to change
Since the announcement of the new incumbent of the Chief Executive and Secretary (CES), I have received questions on why I would choose to take up the challenges and what I have in stock in overcoming them. As readers are probably aware, I completed an engineering career within the civil service for more than 35 years and retired in late 2018. Obviously, there are alternatives open to me on how I would lead my retirement life. Over the years, there were occasions when I assisted the Institution in different aspects. With Monica resigning early this year, I started to feel that I could become instrumental in bringing about positive changes to the Institution and therefore elevating the profession to the next higher level. I believe this will be much more meaningful to me than just withdrawing to complete retirement at this time.
As the custodian of the Institution, certainly the CES has a constitutional role of supporting the Council to manage the institutional business and discharging its various functions including safeguarding the requisite professional standards and facilitating learned society activities. What is more, however, is that the CES holds a strategic position to advocate for and also implement changes. Readers will agree with me that we are now all facing unprecedented circumstances. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is on all fronts encompassing economic, social and environmental. As many has said, the world will never be the same even after the pandemic has receded. Moreover, rising public expectation in virtually any service provision in recent years has repeatedly cast doubt on the professionalism of engineers. To me, the prevailing difficult environment is both posing a threat and also offering an opportunity to change.
Perhaps, it is still early days for me to lay out a detailed roadmap with elaborated pointers for change. However, from what I have gathered so far, there could be a number of areas where the Institution can look for enhancements. As a longer-term goal, revamping governance of the Institution will provide the anchor for continuous improvement. For the more immediate missions, we shall implement value-added functions in terms of streamlining qualification and membership procedures, championing intellectual exchange activities and pursuing the essential route towards innovation. Boosting professionalism is another key item on our agenda for restoring public confidence and hence rebuilding a better image of the Engineer in society. All these will be pressed ahead at full steam after completing some necessary upgrading on both of our internal hardware and software systems.
I know we can count on all members of the Institution to render us full support in the journey of rejuvenation. On that note, may I express my deep gratitude to Monica who has devoted decades of efforts in keeping the Secretariat in good shape. I also wish to welcome Ir Eva Kong who has now joined us as our new Director. I trust she will prove to be of immense value in both the planning and execution of the roadmap to change.
Venue and voting centre(s) for the 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM)
For the 46th AGM to be held in June 2021, the Council approved the proposal that the HKIE Headquarters and the Hong Kong Red Cross Headquarters are to be the voting centres, and the latter of which would be the venue for the 46th AGM.
As we all know, President Ir Prof P L Yuen has made “Believing is Seeing - Innovation for Transformation” the theme of this Session with the aims of igniting members’ thoughts on innovation and entrepreneurship, and assisting members on their individual journey of innovation. To mark the beginning of a series of planned initiatives, the “Championing Innovation” Kick-off Ceremony was held on 28 September 2020, and more will be shared at the Presidential Address on 9 October 2020. Video highlights of the Address will be uploaded to the HKIE website soon after the Presidential Dinner.
The Young Engineer of the Year Award 2021 - Call for nominations
Since 2003, the Young Engineer of the Year Award has been recognising and rewarding the achievements of young engineers who have made significant contributions to the profession, community of Hong Kong and the Institution. This year’s Award will be open for nominations until 5:00pm (Hong Kong time) Tuesday, 1 December 2020. Please visit the HKIE website for details on eligibility and nomination procedures.
Recruitment of School Ambassadors for Session 2020/2021
To promote the engineering profession to the younger generation, the HKIE School Ambassadors Programme launched in 2003 was extended to primary schools in 2019. In this Session, the Programme will also be conducted online to cope with current social distancing requirements.
If you are interested in being a School Ambassador, please visit the “Career as an Engineer” Corner on the HKIE website for more details.