IMarEST Lecture to Attract Young People
A lecture ‘A Century of Marine Engineering Training' delivered by Professor Chris Hodge FREng, Chief Electrical Engineer of BMT Defence Services will be the inaugural biennial Gordon Hodge Memorial Lecture held at the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) on 16 December 2008 from 17.00 in the IMarEST venue.
"The education, training and professional development of marine engineers, scientists and technologists has always been absolutely fundamental to the mission of IMarEST," explains IMarEST's Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Vaughan Pomeroy, Technical Director, Marine Business, Lloyd's Register. "The need for well-qualified and experienced people today is crucial to safe, efficient and successful marine activities.
"Gordon Hodge made a huge contribution to the IMarEST over a prolonged period, which resulted in his appointment as an Honorary Fellow. He was a highly respected educator of marine engineers and many members of the IMarEST enjoyed the benefit of Gordon's skills and enthusiasm. In recognition of Gordon's personal contribution to both the IMarEST and to education of marine professionals, the Board of Trustees welcomed the opportunity to arrange a lecture in his memory which will focus on contemporary aspects of education, training and professional development."
Professor Chris Hodge is the son of the late Gordon Hodge who was a member of the Institute for over 50 years, and who held the unique honour of being both an Honorary Fellow and an Honorary Vice President of IMarEST.
The lecture will be held every second year (alternating with the Kelvin Lecture) and is aimed at discussing and focussing attention on how to attract young people to a career in engineering in general and marine engineering in particular. "It is essential that we make engineering attractive to young people - everything in society has a debt to engineering; and marine engineering underpins world trade, world security, and enables economic and sustainable development of the sea. These are all messages I will be stressing in my lecture," says Professor Hodge.
"I will be looking back over the history of marine engineering, using my Father's life as an illustration; and looking to the future with a review of what is needed to attract young people to science and engineering and how we should balance their academic and practical training to their greatest advantage."
