Supporting engineers Member News July 2019 8 Annual Dinner raises funds for future engineers This year’s Annual Dinner has raised vital funds for our Engineering Horizons Bursary and Diamond Jubilee Scholarship schemes – which support engineering students and apprentices, including those who have faced financial difficulties or personal challenges. Thanks to the dinner, which attracted more than 700 engineers and technologists to London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in February, we’ll be able to support more engineers in training. The Annual Dinner was also a chance for engineers to network, make contacts and bring their brand to a new audience. Experienced members of the profession mixed with scholarship and bursary recipients at a ‘Rising Stars’ reception, which was followed by a meal and further networking continuing into the evening. Entrepreneur, football club manager and star of The Apprentice, Baroness Karren Brady CBE, spoke about her career in an inspirational after-dinner speech. Attendees heard about the leadership and courage it took to oversee a football club at just 24, as well as a work ethic which has seen her rise to the very top. One attendee said: I found Baroness Karren Brady’s speech exceptionally inspiring, and I would like to think that the buzz of inspiration I gained from it helped me at the Assessment Centre I attended the following day, as I have now received a job offer!” Scholarship and bursary recipients at the Rising Stars reception Baroness Karren Brady CBE giving an after-dinner speech on her career A scholarship recipient attending said: “As an IET Diamond Jubilee Scholar, it was an absolutely amazing opportunity to be invited to the 2019 Annual Dinner. I really enjoyed the experience and sitting with guest speaker Karren Brady was fantastic!” Next year’s Annual Dinner will take place on 19 February 2020. For more information about how you can get involved by booking a table or sponsoring an aspect of the dinner, please email the team at annualdinner@theiet.org For more information on our scholarships and bursaries programme, please visit theiet.org/support