Trinidad and Tobago: Ten years on

A decade after joining IChemE, the Trinidad and Tobago Member Group has grown into a vital professional network linking industry, academia and the next generation of chemical engineers. Aniqah Majid explores how it was built – and what comes next

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S identity as an energy nation runs deep. Since the country’s first oil well was drilled in 1857, hydrocarbons and downstream industries such as ammonia production have shaped both its economy and its engineering talent. Ten years ago, that industrial legacy found a new professional anchor when Trinidad and Tobago formally joined IChemE and established its own member group.

Founded in 2015, the Trinidad and Tobago Member Group (TTMG) was created to support the country’s chemical engineers, strengthen links between industry and academia and ensure the profession’s contribution was visible both locally and internationally. A decade on, the group has grown into a focal point for professional development, mentoring and student engagement – and offers a case study in how strong engineering communities can be built in smaller but strategically important regions.

Laying the foundations

The idea for a Trinidad and Tobago member group emerged in 2014, during a meeting at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) campus, when current IChemE president Raffaella Ocone brought together more than 60 IChemE members and engineers to discuss the region’s distinctive industrial landscape.

“That was the first time I was in a room with so many chemical engineers and I will never forget it,” recalls Marian Watson, a programme leader at UTT and one of the founding members of the TTMG.

“It was mind-blowing, [Ocone] put forward the idea for a member group as by that time, we had two universities who had accredited chemical engineering programmes and a vibrant industry – a wonderful time for chemical engineering. We had set up a steering committee in September and officially launched the member group in October 2015.”

Other formative members included Maurice Massiah, Christopher Farquhar and Canute Hudson – all process engineers with decades in the oil and gas sector.

Before the group existed, IChemE membership in Trinidad and Tobago was largely driven by multinational operators such as bp, Shell and Atlantic LNG, which encouraged engineers to pursue Chartership. The member group helped broaden that engagement, creating a shared forum that reflected the country’s close-knit links between academia and industry.

That connection was already visible during IChemE accreditation visits, when current TTMG chair Astor Harris invited assessors to tour Phoenix Park Gas Processing Limited, then one of the largest gas plants in the western hemisphere.

“The reason I invited IChemE to the plant wasn’t to show off its size,” says Harris “But because we had hired a lot of the students from UTT in the operations department and we wanted to show the close interaction we had with UTT and industry.”

Ocone adds: “It was clear that there was a strong appetite for a forum in which chemical engineers could come together, collaborate and ensure their collective voice was heard.”

Nurturing networks