KCLES leads the chanting against Closure of the Division of Engineering

Last year’s KCLES President, Lynda Nwike (pictured), led the chanting at the demonstration of the ‘No Cuts at King’s’ campaign shortly before the meeting of the College’s Council on 30 June. A large crowd gathered to demonstrate against all of the proposed cuts at King’s, especially the closure of the Division of Engineering. The Engineering student body the KCLES, the College’s general student body the KCLSU and many individual students have campaigned tirelessly against the closure of Engineering since it was announced in June. They plan to continue this effort as the next session starts and throughout the phase-out period between now and 2013.

Editorial

I am pleased to announce that the first edition of the King's Engineer received many favourable comments from alumni, and I'd like to specially thank the KCLA for their moral and financial support. Well, here is the second edition and we hope you find this just as informative and interesting.

Unfortunately, the very sad news of the planned demise of undergraduate Engineering teaching and the Division of Engineering in the College naturally forms the basis of several articles within this alumni newsletter. The saddening news certainly does not mean that the KCLEA is finishing as an organisation; it will, when teaching finishes in four years time, continue as an alumni organisation to serve the great number of valued Engineering graduates who have and are still passing through the Engineering Faculty/Division.

In the meantime alumni need to show strength and commitment to the staff and students when they may be at their greatest need. Also of special mention is the upcoming AGM (27 November). I would welcome all those who can attend to come and express that famous underlying King’s engineering comradery, hopefully demonstrating the willingness we all have to problem-solve the upcoming challenges together.

--Nigel Sharp
Honorary Editor

What is KCLEA?

KCLEA is the (free membership) graduate association for engineers who have studied or worked at King's. It's aims are the following:

• To facilitate communication between members
• To facilitate communication between the College and the members
• To provide support for the College and current engineering students
• To provide support for the King's College London Engineering Society

If you have any stories you would like published in the next edition of the King’s Engineer or just want to find out more please contact the Editor.

KCLEA Events Schedule

2009

23 September: Fullers' Brewery, Chiswick, London W4; tour and tasting.

8 October: King's Engineers’ Day. Get together with a group of your King's Engineer friends and celebrate your time at King's – then tell the KCLEA committee about the celebration; you might be awarded the '13 Club Trophy'.

29 October: 13:00 KCLEA Guest Lecture: From Star Wars to Sterilisation, A Career in Engineering 1962 – 2008, by David Watling (Room TBA, please e-mail us)

27 November: KCLEA Annual General Meeting. Light Refreshments.
Venue: King's Strand Campus
Time: 18:00

2010:

The provisional list of events for 2010 is:

22 May: Walk and pub lunch

11 June: Engineers' lunch @ King’s

17 July: Visit to Brooklands (Weybridge, Surrey) motor and air museums.

14 August: Visit to BBC TV centre, White City, London.

15 September: Visit to Hook Norton Brewery

7 October: King's Engineers' Day.

Come along to all or any of these events and enjoy meeting Engineering contemporaries or new faces who have shared the King's Engineering experience. An enjoyable day is guaranteed!

Please notify your interest to the Keith Newton, KCLEA Entertainments Secretary, and further details for the visit will be sent to you as they become available. Details will also be posted on this website.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:
THE PHASING OUT OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING TEACHING AT KING'S

You will all, I am certain, by now be aware of the very sad news that Engineering as a taught undergraduate discipline is to be phased out from King's with the last intake being this September. This means that, in four years time, there will be no undergraduate Engineering taught in the College which was arguably the first university/college to have a formal Engineering department in the UK.

As an Engineering alumnus, you should have received a letter from the Principal setting out the reasons for the decision. It appears that the real crux of the problem is that Engineering performed poorly in the recent Research Assessment Exercise and the College considers that the Division lacks both the international rating and the critical mass to be sustainable as it stands. However, the College does not accept that certain areas of research within the Division have the possibility of flourishing by linking in with other science departments or with Medicine. Engineering in total will not be going from King's but it will as an administrative unit and an undergraduate teaching unit.

I know that many alumni have written to the Principal on this matter and, on behalf of the KCLEA Committee, I would like to thank all who have done so.

Together with Andrew Parrish, the President of KCLA, I met the two Vice-Principals, Chris Mottershead and Keith Hoggart shortly before the closure was announced. We both expressed our concerns at the seeming erosion of the Physical Sciences and allied Engineering within the College but were met with the argument that the College is essentially only interested in its esteem which it sees directly tied in with research ratings. It was pointed out that investment in Engineering has effectively been neglected over the past 20/30 years or so and it was estimated that an investment of tens of millions of pounds would be necessary to bring the facilities to anything like those available at the other London colleges. The College does not have such funds available and, even if it did, it considers that such money would be better spent in improving successful departments rather than trying to resurrect a failing one.

During my over 30 years on the staff I have sat on most College committees and it was always so very obvious that Engineering was seen by the majority of the College as being at the lower end of the academic spectrum and which had to be suffered by the seemingly more esoteric departments. It was obvious to me that not only would there be little support from other departments in the College for retaining the teaching of Engineering but many would be relishing the opportunity to put the knife in.

Like many other alumni who have written to the Principal I centred on two main points:

Firstly is the fact that the College is looking for excellence and esteem and, I believe, wishes to be seen as a general all-round university. How this could be the case without one of the fundamental areas of teaching which all other all-round universities have is hard to comprehend. Secondly, and one which our Treasurer, Peter Gould, was first to point out, is that of all the disciplines taught within universities, Engineering is the fundamental one relating to wealth development rather than wealth usage or wealth transfer. I wonder how its removal from the King's curriculum will be seen in this present economic period where wealth development is seen as paramount for the nation's survival. I wonder if the College is not entering the realms of shooting itself in the foot and that, in a few years time, its regard within the university system will have reduced rather than risen, as must be the hope of the 'powers that be'.

It is essential, at this point, that we ensure as far as possible that both the students and staff do not suffer over the next four years. We have proposed, together with the KCLA, the formation of a focus group made up of KCLEA Committee members, Divisional staff, and students to work with the College to ensure that no party suffers during the phase out. To date we have not heard from the College on this proposal.

Finally, I must emphasise that this does not mean the demise of the KCLEA but essentially that the Association will, in four years time, become similar to all other alumni groups in the College in dealing solely with alumni operations and not providing prizes, bursaries and financial support for the student body. We should at least be very proud of the fact that we are possibly the only alumni group in the College actually supporting the student body.

-Norman Borrett

If you feel you could support our important activities, please write to us at info@kclea.org

A Reminder: KING’S ENGINEERS’ DAY 2009, Thursday 8 October

Look up some King’s Engineers and old friends, and find your own way to celebrate on Thursday 8 October 2009. The KCLEA would love to make this an annual event where we take some time to remember old university friends and take the time to get in contact.

If you do manage a meet-up of any kind, then contact us or upload some photos to Facebook (see below) with a brief description of who attended and when you studied at King’s. This newsletter is here to publish exactly that sort of thing.

e-petition

The KCL Engineering Society (KCLES) in conjunction with King’s College London Student Union (KCLSU) presented the above e-petition dismissal of the decision to close the Division of Engineering to the College Council on the 30 June 2009.

Originally presented in large A1 poster format, 695 names are drawn out as the circuit wiring, arguably with an underlying message of just how engineering vitally links to our current digital society. The ingenuity of the campaign, driven by students and staff has left many wondering if there is some hope that decisions made so far will be revoked or reconsidered in the not too distant future.

The 2009/2010 KCLES Committee and Future

The new committee had just been elected and an introductory meeting was held where the plans for the 2009/2010 year were introduced. The main objectives were for better communication from the Society and more academic services to the students. A new up-to-date website will be launched in September which will, without doubt, be an important resource for current students.

The preparations for the next academic year were severely disrupted by the news of the College's plans to close down the Division of Engineering as an undergraduate teaching and administrative body. A close relationship was established with KCLSU. An open meeting was organised with the people behind the plans so that the engineering students had another voice apart from the Division representatives in the decision making process. Unfortunately, the Council went ahead with the plan to close the Division and a direct consequence will unfortunately be that the world will see its oldest engineering society made dormant.

Until then, it can be ensured that the KCLES will continue to be a resource for engineering students with an even greater determination to work for its members. The relationship with KCLSU is to be strengthened and monthly meetings of an Engineering Feedback Group will be held, a group whose sole purpose will be to ensure the maintenance of high teaching quality for the students during the phase out. It will have representatives from the engineering students, KCLSU sabbatical officers and the College.

There is a lot going on for the last ever(?) undergraduate engineering students from the fine institution that is King's College London.

Words from Old and New KCLES Presidents

All my life my ethnical heritage has been a peculiar observation to new acquaintances. Call it an icebreaker. So here it goes, for the seven hundred and sixty eighth time shall I convey the following presentation; I was born in Hungary, to an Iraqi father and a Mongolian mother, raised in Sweden and moved to England for undergraduate engineering studies at King's College London in 2007.

Perhaps this background is less interesting in a country such as England that is renowned for its cultural diversity than it is elsewhere. However, having been brought up on the continent (well, peninsular), it still feels as something which I should mention.

I will not waste any more space in praising Britain's superiority in sociological topics over many other countries in the world, in an engineering newsletter.

I would like to thank everyone who voted for me in the election. I am honoured that I had so many people believing in me and am extremely happy that I will get the chance to return the favour through the services the KCLES will provide. Being a 3rd year Engineering with Business Management student, I hope that I can put some of the knowledge gained from the Management modules into practise and guide the Society with a clear plan of action over the course of a school year. It will be my responsibility that the Society offers a range of academic and leisure services to the current engineering students at KCL. Helping me achieving this is an elected committee with each member having delegated responsibilities.

-Tarek Najm
KCLES President 2009/10

Where Are We Now?

It is our intention to have AT LEAST one article in each edition from an engineering alumnus showing what has happened in his/her career since graduating from the Faculty/Division. In addition, we intend to have a 'Where are we now' section of short updates from members in order to keep us and their colleagues up to date with career happenings and, obviously, to hopefully initiate get-togethers of year groups. To this end, if you would like a full article in a future edition or have a career update could you please contact Norman Borrett at info@kclea.org

The Editor would like to thank those who sent in e-mails, and notable mentions to both Colin Brown and Anthony Titford, who hopefully will be both featured in our next ‘Where are we now?

Our first career article is from John Richardson who many will remember not only as an Engineering colleague, but also as Captain of the College Rugby team in the 1965-66 season. The photograph which shows John seated centre in the front row is also interesting in that a further four engineers are in the 1st team, namely Laurence Ben-Nathan and Dicky Evans (both with injured arms), Dave Watson and Alan Nimmey (Vice Captain).

John Richardson’s story

After graduating I worked for eight years in England completing my post graduate engineering training and having a number of what at the time seemed senior positions in industry. I was able to move from production management through management accountancy and on to commercial aspects of engineering. I left the UK to work initially in Zambia and have continued to work in international business for the last 34 years. Since 1990 I have developed a private business in the Middle East – North Africa region. The plan was to retire at 50 but, at 66, I am still living overseas and enjoying it...most of the time! I have been given a fresh impetus this year with a number of awards to our company which have shown that our contribution is recognised. It has motivated me to continue my business interests but in a modified role, giving me free time...at last!

The awards were all quite unexpected; the first being the Bagong Bayani presented to our senior engineer by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo. Then followed the British Exporter of the Year award for one of our salesmen for his efforts in the Caspian region. Shortly after celebrating these, I received the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June (2008) for services to British business interests in Libya. The award for me is basically for being the captain of a great business team who have mainly been around me for half my working life. However, I owe a lot to King's; generally for the privilege of just being there but specifically for the engineering knowledge which has been the backbone of my business life.

The opportunity at King’s College London to learn the benefits of teamwork through playing and being captain of the King's Rugby Union Football Club was also very special, running a small business is quite like being the captain of a student side when you come up against an older experienced club team. I played rugby until nearly 40; some first class but mostly captaining lesser teams. I still train occasionally with the Tripoli team along with participating in and watching a lot of sport generally.

I have had very little contact with my student friends and would really like to be "IN TOUCH" even some 40+ years on. Lunch with Andy Parrish (President of the KCLA) recently could have taken four days as we had so many memories!

-JR

Looking Back: ENGINEERS' LUNCH 2009

This year the Engineers' lunch was held on Friday 12 June, at the start of the Alumni Weekend. It was held in the River Room at the King's Strand Campus with its splendid views of the Thames and the South Bank.

The assembled group included graduates from 1939 through to 2005. Many old acquaintanceships were renewed and several new acquaintanceships made. Judging by the remarks made after the lunch, everyone found it extremely enjoyable.

It is intended to hold a similar lunch on Friday 11 June 2010 at the Alumni Weekend and the target is to attract enough Engineering alumni to ensure that the lunch must be held in the Great Hall. Book the date in your diary and bring along a group of your contemporaries.