26 MEMBER NEWS Stand-out year for students at the University of Greenwich Communities Local network volunteers take away tips from UK conference Volunteers from local networks across the UK attended the Communities Volunteer Conference in July, sharing best practice and taking away ideas for future activities. The biannual event, organised by the UK Communities Committee (CCUK) was held at the IET’s Austin Court in Birmingham this year. Over 30 of the UK’s local networks were represented by one of their own volunteers, selected by each of the local committees. The conference programme included two days of talks, many related to the theme of ‘How to keep volunteers satisfied’. There were also opportunities to network, a practical challenge involving racing robots, and the UK final of the Present Around The World (PATW) competition. “It was a great way to share ideas and learn about how other regions work,” said Jeremy Creasey CEng FIET, Chair of the CCUK. “Everyone picked up tips from each other on good practice, whether these were better ways to advertise local events or ways of recruiting new committee members.” “I found the talk on how small and medium enterprises and local networks can help each other very useful,” said one local network delegate. “We will definitely be contacting the IET Enterprise Partners team to put us in touch with local SMEs.” The sometimes misunderstood topic of how governance works in the IET was also covered. Chair of the Volunteer Engagement Board Virginia Hodge explained how volunteers are at the heart of the IET and described her own story of progressing from local network volunteer to the Board of Trustees. It was not just local network volunteers who found the event useful. “It’s a great way for IET staff to meet and get direct feedback from volunteers on how they feel about the IET,” said Joanne Longton, Senior Staff Member of the CCUK. “This gives us some insight into how we can better support volunteers.” The next UK CVC will be in 2020, although the CCUK organises regional roadshows every few months to engage with local networks. Look out for further announcements of when the next roadshow will visit your region. Less than a year after forming, an IET student group at the University of Greenwich has won the 2018 IET On Campus Group of the Year Award. “We did a lot of things to get it right - STEM events, industrial visits and technical events. We got involved with local networks to plan events together, and connected with IET communities around the world to share ideas,” says Rich. The hard work has not just been for the recognition; Rich indicates that he and other students are involved in IET On Campus for their professional development. “You get opportunities to engage with professionals in the industry, which can lead to papers and research projects which you can put on your CV,” says Rich. “You also get to network with other peers and like-minded individuals and communities, further increasing your knowledge. I’m changing careers, so this is a good opportunity for me to enhance my portfolio.” Looking back over the past academic year, Rich describes the highlights: “We went to the IET Young Professionals Lecture on Wearable Tech last November. We’d never seen anything like it before – we got to see tech where you could hug a shirt and it would hug someone in another country wearing a linked shirt. Very recently we had the opportunity to represent IET On Campus at the UK’s Community Volunteer Conference, with the aim of showing why and how local networks should get involved with On Campus. ” Congratulations to the IET On Campus group at the University of Greenwich and thank-you to all who took part in 2018’s competition. The 2019 IET On Campus Group of the Year Award is now open for entries. If you’re part of an On Campus Group, apply for a chance of winning £1,000 for a team activity: www.theiet.org/goty IET On Campus – University of Greenwich committee with IET staff Rich Blair, a mature computer engineering student, set up IET On Campus – University of Greenwich at the UK university in July 2017. He and a committee of volunteers, Lauren Aves, Vadim Smirnov and Lily Welch, have since organised a range of activities for engineering students. Member News – November 2018 www.theiet.org/communities