IChemE Matters – April 2025

Collaboration and commitment

Mark Apsey, IChemE president

IT’S been a period of intense collaboration. Earlier this month, I had the privilege of meeting with the presidents and CEOs of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). This gathering was more than just an informal meeting; it was a convergence of ideas and a testament to the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.

We discussed topics of mutual importance and agreed the general need for enhanced collaboration between our institutions. By working together, we can amplify our impact and drive meaningful change across all engineering disciplines.

One topic we can usefully collaborate on is promoting the value of chartered status to employers and government. It’s crucial we highlight the benefits to ensure our members are recognised for their expertise and professionalism. We also discussed the immediate issue of re-skilling to tackle current shortages in the workforce and the importance of celebrating early career engineers who have already joined our community. By combining forces, we can create more opportunities to recognise and support the next generation of engineering talent.

Skills were again on the agenda in late February, when IChemE hosted a roundtable on defossilising the chemical industry. We brought together experts from industry, academia, government, and the third sector to discuss how we can transition away from fossil fuels. Two prominent themes emerged: the need for a clear vision for the future of the chemical industry and the critical role of a skilled workforce for bringing about change. Recent world events, from record low levels of global sea ice to unprecedented winter temperatures in the Arctic, underscore the urgency of our mission. They are stark reminders of the stakes involved. I urge all of you to take these discussions to heart and to act within your spheres of influence. Remember there are also IChemE resources including those on the Sustainability Hub that can support your activities and development. Together, we can drive the change needed to engineer a sustainable world for generations to come.

I always welcome any feedback, and value any input or ideas – you can contact me at president@icheme.org

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Setting the roundtable

Duncan Lugton, head of policy and impact

I often talk about the policy roundtables we host, so in this issue, I wanted to give a peek behind the curtain at how we plan and prepare for them.

Firstly, how do we decide what to cover? The organisation’s values and mission give us general areas to focus on, such as process safety and sustainability, but within those we ask what kind of conversation might be valuable for us to convene: what are the important policy agendas at the moment? What topics are being neglected? Where do chemical engineers have something unique to say? Where do we have expertise? To answer these questions, we speak to other experts – for instance with the Learned Society, Special Interest Groups, and with our counterparts in the wider policy world.  

To take one example, our roundtable on the safety of battery energy storage systems was prompted by a feeling that this topic wasn’t being discussed enough, and that the national conversation was only really focusing on e-bike and e-scooter fires, and neglecting larger-scale batteries. When looking at who to invite to a roundtable, we find that the best conversations involve people with a mix of different backgrounds, eg from industry, academia, government, professional engineering institutions, regulators, and third sector organisations. We are lucky that IChemE has great strengths in its convening power and the breadth of its membership – being able to draw on our Special Interest Groups, industry partners, and wider networks makes this part much easier! Once we have a guest list and a topic, there’s still plenty of work to do. To prepare for the conversation, we do desk research to better understand the topic and the current landscape. We look at what has been published recently, what the government has been saying, and any other news or wider developments. This feeds into the briefing materials we produce for the attendees and chair in advance of the event and helps us work out some questions to focus on in the conversation. Again, this part of the process is made much easier by the expertise we can draw on at IChemE.  

All this preparation ensures that our roundtables are informed, focused, and impactful. By bringing the right people together, asking the right questions, and fostering meaningful discussions, we can ensure that chemical engineers contribute to the big conversations that drive real change. 

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IChemE Connect: What’s being discussed?

MORE than 5,000 members are registered on IChemE Connect, the Institution’s online forum. It has over 100 dedicated communities that bring together members of Special Interest Groups, Members Groups and other areas of personal and professional interest.

Current topics that members are discussing include the “chemical engineering gig economy” with tips being sought on the types of work can be done to earn extra income. The Women in ChemEng community is discussing chartered status and imposter syndrome. And there is an all-member thread on “analog engineering” with participants discussing its value in the face of ever-expanding digitalisation.

IChemE has also launched a new community focusing on Neurodiversity in ChemEng to coincide with Neurodiversity Celebration Week that ran from the 17-23 March.

To join these discussions, first activate your IChemE Connect profile here: www.icheme.org/connect

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Ireland member group expanding activities

A NEW committee has been formed to reinvigorate the All Ireland Member Group with the goal of expanding activities across Ireland.

The group had been inactive and there was a desire to expand the scope of its activities which had been mostly focused in and around Cork and Dublin.

The committee is now planning a fresh programme of events. All members living in Ireland are automatically part of the group. Members are urged to join the Member Group community on IChemE Connect for updates on upcoming activities.

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Wanted: contributors for Hazards conference

ICHEME is inviting abstract submissions for its Hazards process safety conference taking place from 4–6 November in Birmingham, UK. The Hazards conference provides a platform for experts to share knowledge and practical insights on key aspects of process safety. IChemE is inviting contributions from both members and non-members. The call for content closes on 23 May. For more information on submitting an abstract, visit: www.icheme.org/hazards35