CIBSE President's Blog

With fewer engagements over the summer holiday period, August brought time to plan, consolidate and for many, take a well-earned break. For anyone with school aged children, there is the additional challenge of making sure that they are occupied over the summer months. The holiday period made me think about how we engage with our family and friends about what we do. I feel that the term Building Services Engineering does little to convey the variety of specialisms we cover, the impact that we have, and the importance of the work that engineers within this sector do. When asked what I do, I have taken to referring to the role that engineers play in delivering buildings that are safer, healthy, and more sustainable. I have found that the reaction to this is far more engaging than I used to have when I replied that I am a Building Services Engineer.  Another term that I’ve heard used in reference to what we do is that we bring buildings to life. It is true that when buildings are desi

A lot can happen in a month! I am delighted to say that since my previous post, I have had the opportunity to focus on collaboration with other professional engineering institutions, planning and developing opportunities for us to work together. Kicking off with the ASHRAE Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada, I was accompanied by Ruth Carter, CIBSE CEO; Hywel Davies, CIBSE Technical Director; and Tim Dwyer, CIBSE Fellow and Editor of Building Services Engineering Research & Technology (BSER&T) journal. Toronto has very fond memories for me and my family, as we were fortunate to be based there for just over four years. It was wonderful to be back there and in such a positive context. Kevin Mitchell, CIBSE President and Mick Shwedler, ASHRAE President Having met with Mick Schwedler, ASHRAE President, in London the previous month, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to discuss plans for further collaboration. I was also honoured to be able to present Mick with a gift