The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) was formed in March 2006 when the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) wanted to provide an inclusive and interdisciplinary body.
With more than 150,000 individual members worldwide and operating in 37 countries, the IET has 43 local networks in the UK. Members work in a number of disciplines including electronics, power, software, transport, manufacturing, control and informatics as well as academia and range from students to leading figures in industry, research and development and education.
The Institution aims to lead in the advancement of engineering and technology by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and ideas at a local, national and global level and promoting best practice in industry and encompasses the knowledge network.
Business Partners
As well as having many individual members the IET has more than 1500 Business Partners. Being an IET Business Partner shows an organisation’s commitment to professional development for their staff including how staff members can reach accreditation with the IET. Free to join, Business Partners provides a forum for networking with other business partners and the opportunity to be involved in debate on the state of the industry. For more information about becoming a Business Partner, see the website here.
Careers
Career development, including professional registration, is essential to the success of the engineering industry. The IET is licensed to assess members for registration at Eng Tech, IEng and CEng levels and to accredit degree programmes and professional development schemes. Professional registration demonstrates an individual’s commitment to the industry and to personal career development.
As part of its services to members the IET has recently launched Career Manager and Engineering and Technology jobs which work together to best serve members and the industry. Career Manager is an online skills development tool allowing members to build a personal profile, set objectives and measure successes. Engineering and Technology compliments Career Manager, with the aim to be the authoritative service for recruiters to advertise and for people to find a job in engineering and technology industries.
Publishing
The IET is a major publisher, producing world renowned peer review journals, academic and professional books and the Inspec database. Inspec is the leading English language bibliographic information which assists engineers, scientists and others with their research. Service providing access to the world's scientific and technical literature in physics, electrical engineering, electronics, communications, control engineering, computers and computing, information technology, production, manufacturing and mechanical engineering. To compliment our expert panels and networks the IET also publishes eight sector magazines, which are specific to engineers working in a particular field, for example, communications and power. The IET also publishes the IEE Wiring Regulations.
Housed at Savoy Place, London, the IET library provides access to the latest technical, business, marketing and company news and research to stay abreast of developments in their field of expertise. The Institution also operates a digital library which gives access to more than 50,000 technical papers from journals and magazines.
Conferences and events
A key part of the global knowledge network are the conferences and events which the IET stages around the world. These range from highly specialised and technical events which provide a valuable resource for engineers through to major international conferences which attract high profile speakers. All the events provide a key opportunity for knowledge sharing, networking and education.
Education
Part of the remit of the Institution is to engage with young people about their career choices and to promote engineering as a valuable, worthwhile and exciting career choice. To this end, the IET runs an extensive education programme, from Education 5-19 to University accredited degree programmes and continual professional development for members after graduation.
The IET accredits degrees in 86 universities and colleges in the UK. Using accreditation criteria set out by the Engineering Council UK, transferable skills are also a vital part of a degree and the IET will not accredit a degree programme which does not include communication and team working skills. In the past concerns had been raised from Industry about the quality of graduates. Employing a graduate who has studied an IET approved degree programme shows the employer that the candidate is prepared for the modern demands of industry.
The IET undertakes a number of activities each year aimed at young people to engage with them about careers in engineering and technology. These include the Faraday event, which each year looks at the engineering and technology behind a particular industry through a live interactive show which is staged in a number of towns in the UK and also in Asia-Pacific.
Power Academy
The Power Academy was set up in partnership between businesses, universities and the IET. It was established to form an engineering scholarship fund for students wanting to study electrical engineering at Imperial College London, Strathclyde, Manchester, Southampton, Queens University Belfast. Students on the scholarship are supported financially with their studies but are also offered work placements with the sponsoring companies.
Young Woman Engineer of the Year and Young Women Engineering Apprentice of the Year
Young Woman Engineer of the Year is the UK’s premier awards recognising the achievements of women in the industry. Only 5.4 per cent of the UK’s engineers are women and the IET is committed to raising the profile of this career to women and creating suitable role models for younger women to look up to.