Presidential Blog: Recognising the present (and future) of chemical engineering

Presidential Blog: Recognising the present (and future) of chemical engineering

6th December 2024

As the end of 2024 edges ever closer, there’s been no let-up in activity at IChemE. Over the past month I have been privileged to join a fantastic range of events dedicated to celebrating excellence within our membership and encouraging younger and future members of our profession to consider how they can make a real difference to our world.  

First off, mid-November saw us partner with EngineeringUK to deliver The Big Bang on Location, an exciting event that gave young people aged 10-18 the chance to explore the breadth of career opportunities available in chemical and process engineering. Ably supported by our volunteers and attended by distinguished guests including MP for Rugby, John Slinger, and the Mayor of Rugby, Councillor Simon Ward, this engaging on-site careers fair saw engineers from various sectors speak to 300 school students about the many routes into being a chemical or process engineer, before giving them the chance to experience real-life engineering challenges via a selection of interactive activities.

It was a great pleasure to take part in this event and meet several of our volunteers first-hand, as well as to see so many members of the next generation inspired by what they saw. I would like to thank everyone involved for making it such a success. 

It was also an honour to represent IChemE at UNFCCC COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, recently, to talk about our vision of engineering a sustainable world, our new Climate Change briefing, the recently launched technical challenge report and the UNSDG-aligned DiscoverChemEng campaign. We made some great connections with government officials, universities, industry bodies and NGOs to follow up on, and hope to collaborate with these at some point in the future. 

Something equally worthy of celebration this month was the presentation of the 2024 IChemE Global Awards. Now in its 30th year, this distinguished event has long been recognised as the world’s prestigious chemical engineering awards ceremony and the 2024 winners certainly lived up to this billing. Congratulations to those who emerged victorious in all 16 of this year’s categories and thank you to everyone involved in making this annual spectacle as illustrious as ever. Praise must also go to our judges, sponsors, and the four young IChemE members: Molly Bell, Wadoud Hazineh, Alexandra Roe and Archie Goodburn, who hosted so brilliantly on the night. This event would not have been possible without you.  

On the theme of acknowledging talented individuals, I am delighted that submissions are now open for the 2025 Young Engineers Awards for Innovation and Sustainability (YEAIS). This year, I was privileged to have been part of the YEAIS’ pilot event and was completely blown away by the standard of entries from across the board. So, if you’re an IChemE member aged 18-30 in the UK, Australasia or Malaysia and would like to demonstrate your commitment to engineering a sustainable world, I encourage you to submit your poster entry as soon as possible. You have until the 27 March 2025 to apply. Best of luck! 

To continue talking sustainability, I was also charged this month with chairing a roundtable to discuss the realities of industrial decarbonisation. This expert gathering saw several barriers to carbon reduction identified and explored, with key stakeholders from industry and government using the discussion as a springboard to put forward possible policy solutions to aid the transition to net zero. As ever, I was incredibly grateful to be involved in facilitating such an important conversation, and I hope that everyone who gave their time to the debate found it as valuable and rewarding as I did.  

In closing, may I wish those that celebrate a safe and happy holiday season. I hope that you take time for a well-earned rest and enjoy recharging your batteries alongside friends and family. I’d like to thank all our members and volunteers for their continued hard work in ensuring that IChemE remains the chosen professional home for chemical, biochemical and process engineers across the globe. Please do also remember that your membership subscription is due on 1 January, so if you haven’t done so already, make sure to renew your membership and maintain your IChemE membership benefits for 2025. Click for a reminder of everything that your IChemE membership offers. I extend my very best wishes to you all, and I hope you have a pleasant holiday break. 

Previous presidential blogs

Back to blog