IChemE Matters: Nominations sought for IChemE’s Board of Trustees and Congress

ICHEME owes a great debt of gratitude to its many volunteers, all of whom give their commitment, knowledge, and expertise to help us provide the best possible support we can to everyone involved in and with chemical and process engineering.

With the start of the 2024 election cycle nearly upon us, we will soon be seeking nominations for volunteers willing to get involved in two important bodies. The Board of Trustees is IChemE’s governing body with overall responsibility for shaping and delivering strategy, while Congress is the member advisory body of IChemE, comprising up to 40 volunteer members from across the membership. Both are elected by their peers. Congress consists of two electoral colleges: one that elects on a geographical basis (regional college) and one that reflects the spectrum of membership grades (functional college).

Both Nigel Hirst, IChemE’s president, and I are keen to encourage members to consider standing for election. Alternatively, you could consider acting as a supporter for another suitably qualified colleague, peer, or friend, as they submit their own nomination.

Roles open

Some of the roles require members to have specific skills and experience or to have reached a certain membership grade. Therefore, please carefully read the requirements detailed further down this article before submitting your nominations.

Board of Trustees

The 2024 election cycle will see a higher than usual turnover of trustees. The Board of Trustees are keen a similar situation does not happen in future elections.

In accordance with By-law 72 which allows the trustees to determine the terms of office for vice-presidents and ordinary members prior to the start of an election cycle, and in order to assist in creating a pattern of rolling retirements on the Board, the trustees have agreed to vary the terms of office of a number of the vacancies.

The following terms of office will therefore be offered in the 2024 elections:

• Vice-president (Qualifications): a one-year term from 2024 to 2025, returning to a three-year term from the 2025 election
• Vice-president (Member Engagement): a two-year term from 2024 to 2026, returning to a three-year term from the 2026 election
• Vice-president (Learned Society): a three-year term from the 2024 election, continuing with a three-year term from the 2027 election onwards
• Ordinary member (#1): a two-year term from 2024 to 2026, returning to a three-year term from the 2026 election
• Ordinary member (#2): a three-year term from the 2024 election, continuing with a three-year term from the 2027 election onwards

In addition, the trustees agreed that the two seats on the Board previously referred to as “regional seats” would continue to be voted on by all voting members, but nominees for each seat would be drawn from the appropriate constituency:

• UK seat – nominees can only be eligible members with a UK address
• RoW seat – nominees can only be eligible members with a non-UK address

For the 2024 election, it is the RoW seat that will be advertised. The full list of trustee roles that will be open for nominations is therefore:

• President for 2025/2026 (deputy president from June 2024)
• Vice-president (Qualifications) – for a one-year term only
• Vice-president (Member Engagement) – for a two-year term
• Vice-president (Learned Society) – for a three-year term
• Ordinary member – for a two-year term
• Ordinary member – for a three-year term
• “Regional” ordinary member (RoW seat)

Congress

In total, there will be 23 available seats on Congress (16 in the Regional College, and seven in the Functional College).

Regional College vacancies

• South Africa
• All Ireland
• Australia (two seats)
• Canada l Netherlands
• Rest of World
• UK Eastern
• UK North East (two seats)
• UK North Scotland
• UK North West and North Wales
• UK South East
• UK South Central
• UK South Scotland
• UK South West

Congress: Functional College vacancies

• Chartered (three seats)
• Early career (three seats)
• Student