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EYE@Antwerp Get to know “Antwerpen”, the location of our upcoming conference, and why you should join EYE@Antwerp! // page 16

New horizons Studying and working abroad // page 4

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Welcome

Dear readers,

Welcome to the second issue of the EYE Contact. After such a great response to the first issue (nearly 3,000 readers!) we have updated the layout. This was done thanks to the support of one of our members, Verein Deutscher Ingenieure / The Association of German Engineers (VDI). This issue focuses on something central to EYE’s values – studying, working and liv-ing abroad. Starting any new job or course of study can be difficult – but add to that trying to find accommodation, registering to pay tax or learning a new language, and it is enough to make you stay at home! This issue features interviews with young en-gineers who have already taken on the challenge, and has some useful advice on adapting your CV to meet local standards. A 2005 study by the European Union identified the main factor discouraging people from moving around Europe as a fear of losing social networks. EYE provides young engineers with a social and professional network all over Europe! Since the last is-sue we have enjoyed a hugely successful conference in Dublin, hosted by Engineers Ireland. The organising team did a fantastic job and certainly helped young engineers ‘build networks to the world’. Our next conference will take place in Antwerp, Belgium, from the 6th - 8th of Sep-tember 2013 thanks to Koninklijke Vlaamse Ingenieursvereniging / The Royal Flem-ish Society of Engineers (KVIV) and Vlaamse Ingenieurskamer / Flemish Chamber of Engineers (VIK). Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more information.

I hope that you enjoy reading this issue,

Siobhán McGrath, Member of Engineers Ireland Secretary General of EYE

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Contents

eye catcher // page 4

careers // page 23

eye conference // page 14

engineering society // page 20

inside eye // page 27

Why should I study or work abroad? EYE members report on the practicalities as well as personal benefits

Appropriate technology: the role of engineers in sustainable development Technology is an essential factor in sustainable development. A report on Engineers Without Borders

Review of EYE@Dublin and outlook of EYE@Antwerp EYE offers conferences twice a year. Here is a compilation of 2013’s highlights!

When in Rome, do as the Romans do – international job applications Help for job seekers on how job applications are handled in different countries

EYE Embassy of Germany Our new Facebook group to support young and future engineers to adjust to an unfamiliar environment

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Should I Study or Work Abroad? At the beginning of your studies, people will tell you that nothing is more important than getting it done as quickly as possible, good grades are a must, and your profes-sors will be most impressed with you when you whittle away every sunny afternoon in a dusty lab or in the library. Why, then, do more and more students consider studying abroad? And not just consider – they do it: For single semesters, for full academic years, for their thesis, for their masters, or even for a Ph.D.

So how do they do it? Where do they get their information? How do they finance it? Is it for you? And most importantly: What do they get out of it?

Some EYEs have taken the time to answer those questions for you, based on their own experience working or studying abroad. So – off to new horizons! With a little help from fellow young engineers! Arnoud Jordan, Member of the Royal Institute of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI NIRIA). BSc and MSc Land and Water Management 1- What was the main reason that you de-cided to do an internship abroad? I wanted to work on big scale projects and this was not possible in the Netherlands. So I de-cided to look for a nice place abroad, and man-aged to find an internship in India and also one in Suriname, in South America. How did you choose a country? For India I found a company that was willing to give me an internship at one of their projects which happened to be in India. For my stay in Suriname I found a health organisation that had a project and was searching for knowledge to implement the project. How did you finance it? For the project in India I was paid for the internship, and the cost of living was paid by the company. The project in Suriname was financed by me, except for the cost for liv-ing which was paid by the health organisation.

// My project manager helped me to feel well prepared for India

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2 - How did you plan your trip before departure? For India a lot was taken care of by the company. I also had some background infor-mation from the project manager before leaving for India. So I was well prepared. For Suriname I had to arrange everything myself, but once I arrived the organisation took care of me. Where did you find information about the countries and the facilities there? By searching the internet, talking with the project manager and from friends and fam-ily who had been there before. 3 - What kind of skills did you develop? Flexibility and practical thinking. What were the main benefits you had by working abroad? It widened my horizons. Did this experience increase your employment prospects? Yes I think so, but it is hard to tell. Did you have any difficulties or what were the main drawbacks in a country you didn’t know before? (Culture differences, money, language…) Mainly the cultural differences made it difficult to interact and feel really at ease in both countries. What advice would you give to engineering students of young professionals wishing to study abroad? Be flexible, never suspect the usual and talk to colleagues and friends who have been to the country you want to go. What was your best memory of your journey? The experience of working abroad and seeing places you would never have seen otherwise.

// During the field trips this was my project house (the little building was the toilet)

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Cornelia Fleischer, Member of The Association of German Engineers (VDI) Biopharmaceutical Engineering What was the main reason that you decided to do an internship abroad? How did you choose which country to go to? How did you finance your stay? I had worked as an au-pair in the USA before starting to study, and was getting restless to leave my home country again. I reached out through my lecturers and on my own, contacting companies and laboratories in English-speaking countries. I focused on those, because I knew my language skills were good enough to professionally get the most out of an internship and also not have the language barrier be an obstacle to my work. Once I had offers, there were several things that contributed to the choice of country. First and foremost the internship project and finances, fi-nancing the move, ease of organising the move and stay, and visa regulations. After my decision was made, I applied for a grant to cover travel expenses from the DAAD(Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst /German Academic Exchange Service), which was awarded and covered half of my travel expenses. I was paid a small wage, dug into my savings account and was supported by my parents. 2 – How did you plan your trip before departure? Where did you find informa-tion about the country that you were going to and the facilities there? Is there any specific source of information you used? A colleague of mine put me in contact with an international Ph.D. student, who was moving and looking for a roommate right around the time I started my internship. We got in contact via e-mail and arranged everything, so that when I arrived, I had a room – if no furniture – and a friend. Since I had lived in the USA before, there was not much information I needed on general stuff, and my colleagues were very helpful when it came to institution specif-ics, even before I arrived. I used the embassy homepage to find out about specifics regarding visa and entry regulations and of course I asked my roommate and, later, other internationals I came to know. Travel blogs or expat-blogs are also good sources of information.

// View of our porch before Halloween

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3 – What kind of skills did you develop? What were the main benefits you had by working abroad? Did this experience increase your employment prospects? The internship project was an “as-we-go” project, meaning that we devel-oped a strategy based on the labora-tory findings. Not only did I learn the work skills and how to manage my time, but also how to connect procedures, what to look out for, which points to prioritise. My practical laboratory skills grew much more than I would have anticipated. The laboratory environment was very international, and we were encouraged to dis-cuss challenges across team borders. I got to know people from all over the world while learning the tricks and tweaks of procedures I had only known theoretically, and also was granted glimpses into Indian, Chinese, Polish, Russian, and Persian, cul-ture, economics, politics, and education. It taught me that communication is key, in all aspects of life. My internship project was later published, with my name among the other authors - my colleagues and supervisors. I hope at least that publication will improve my em-ployment prospects, if all those softer skills don’t! 4 - Did you have any difficulties or what were the main drawbacks in a country you didn’t know before? (Cultural differences, budgetary issues, language…) Since I had lived there before, I knew what I was getting myself into, for daily life. But of course money was a big issue, as well as safety, and legal issues. On my second weekend there, someone got fatally shot at the bus station I usually used after work. I was very scared by that, so I killed my savings account and bought a car. Which brought a whole set of new issues onto my plate! But mainly, I would say staying yourself while taking everything in is a challenge. Es-pecially if your friends complain that your grammar (of your mother tongue) is going whack, and you generally can’t be reached because you’re either busy or asleep. Of course homesickness is also an issue, as is knowing that your time there is limited. 5 – What kind of advice would you give to engineering students and young professionals wishing to study or work abroad? What do you remember best from your journey? If you get the chance – do it. If you don’t get the chance - create one! Even if things in advance aren’t set up ideally, and make you doubt whether you should do it – once

// Hours and hours of filtering – the first step of my experiments

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you are there, you’ll have so many chances to set things right! This is your chance to step out of your comfort zone, and grow! Generally, you will have a cluster of international friends in a matter of weeks, and you will stay in contact for years! Be open to anyone, and don’t get offended if you get prejudice thrown at you – you are an ambassador, and this is your chance to change the way people see your profession, or your country. If someone invites you somewhere – say yes! If you want to go someplace – ask others to come. Swap experiences with people, because those will be the memories you share. I, for my part, have a couple of those. What I remember most, probably because it still is something I regularly use, is how to cook Indian food. I learned that from an Indian friend, who in exchange hoped to learn how to cook German food, and finally asked: “Why is all you ever cook Italian?” Aude Martin, Member of the National Bureau of Engineering Students (BNEI), France Engineering student at Ecole Centrale Marseille, specialisation in Optics and Photon-ics 1 - What was the main reason that you decided to do an internship abroad? How did you choose which country to go to? How did you finance your stay? When I was 15, thanks to a program funded by the Franco-German Youth Office, I had the opportunity to stay in Germany with a family and to go to high school for half a year. I really enjoyed the time there and I decided to go back as soon as I left. In my engineering school, studying or working abroad for at least six months is compulsory and the choice I had to make was rather to decide about the purpose of my stay. I thought that working abroad would be a more interesting experience since I could both try my taste for research in the field of optics and experience intercultural work. I got a six month contract as a Hiwi-Student (research assistant) at the Institute of Applied Physics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). I was paid but it was not enough for my stay so my parents helped me financially. 2 – How did you manage to plan your trip before departure? Where did you find information about the country that you were going to and the facilities there? Is there any specific source of information you used?

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The main problem with working rather than studying abroad as a student, was that I could not use the help of the university or Erasmus to find accommodation. I mainly found information on the internet or thanks to the few friends I already had in Germa-ny. 3 – What kind of skills did you develop? What were the main benefits you had by working abroad? Did this experience increase your employment prospects? Besides my language skills, I think that working abroad taught me a lot about inter-cultural communication and management. Before I had only heard about mono- and polychronic cultures, differences in hierarchical distances, high and low context cul-tures, but during my stay I experienced those concepts. I think it is very important for engineers nowadays to work abroad to be aware to what extent differences in culture can impact on the course of a multinational project. I have also experienced that knowing those issues is not enough to make a project work; you should also earn the trust of its coworkers and hierarchy by trying as much as possible to fit into the culture that you work with. This experience is a big plus on my CV because I have gained experience in my field in a reputable laboratory, and I have proved to be quite adaptable since I have been working on a challenging subject in an international team speaking in English and German. 4 - Did you have any difficulties or what were the main drawbacks in a country you didn’t know before? (Cultural differences, budgetary issues, language…) I did not have particular difficulties when working in Germany since I could already speak German well enough to communicate, the costs of living in Germany are ra-ther lower in comparison to France and the cultural gap between France and Germa-ny is quite subtle. That is why I could not name any big drawbacks so easily, but one thing that particu-larly surprised me when I first arrived in Germany and especially at the Technical University was the proportion of women studying engineering or physics. I naively thought the rate would be equal or even higher than in France but it is definitely the opposite and I found out that women in science are quite rare in Germany. 5 – What kind of advice would you give to engineering students and young pro-fessionals wishing to study or work abroad? What do you remember best of your journey? It might be difficult to find a job or an internship abroad but you should use your net-work and particularly the network of the professors of the university you went to. They are often willing to help and thanks to international cooperation on research projects and contacts with former students, they have an extended network.

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What I particularly enjoyed during my stay was the working environment. The team was made of people passionate about their subject, really involved in their job and willing to extend their knowledge in the field. I also really enjoyed living in a student city where there are a lot of activities designed for a student’s budget and you can meet a lot of students from all over the world.

Tim Kayser, Member of The Association of German Engineers (VDI) Masters student in Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University Brunswick 1 - What was the main reason that you decided to do an internship abroad? How did you choose which country to go to? How did you finance your stay? I was coming to the end of my bachelor degree, which included a compulsory internship, which I had done at EADS Astrium in Bremen, Germany. During that time I had a lot of contact with interns from abroad, which made me think and realise more and more that it was time to do the same: leave the country, learn a new language and even more importantly getting to know a new culture. Since I still had to write my bachelors thesis and EADS Astrium had asked me to write it at their company, it was an excellent opportunity to link this with going abroad, because EADS Astrium has several sites throughout Europe. The fact that it brought me to Paris was the best, because I really wanted to get to know the French culture! Living in Paris is very costly. I was concerned about how to manage the finance of my stay, but the will, the fact that it was a paid internship, re-ceiving CAF (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales, housing allowance) and being OK with using my savings made it possible to fulfil one of my dreams. Still now, I do not regret a cent or a second of it! 2 – How did you manage to organise your trip before departure? Where did you find information about the country you were going to and the facilities there? Is there any specific source of information you used? The biggest challenge organising my stay in Paris was finding accommodation. My goal was to find an apartment from Germany in advance without showing up there before. The reason for that was that I wanted to save some money, since it would have been quite expensive going to Paris in order to look for a flat, while it is not even certain that I would be successful in finding one.

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Therefore I checked through probably every existing website relating to accommoda-tion in Paris. Most of the time it was much too expensive or it seemed to be a fake offer. It was very frustrating, also because contacts at the company I would be work-ing for could not help sufficiently either. A couple days before I was supposed to de-part, I got quite lucky in finding a homepage of a family called Ledru, who rent rooms to young people in Paris without a lot of bureaucracy (www.centralparisrentals.com). 3 – What kind of skills did you develop? What were the main benefits you had by working abroad? Did this experience increase your employment prospects? The skills I have developed during my stay in Paris are various. Beginning with tech-nical skills due to the project I worked on, the skills in promoting the work one has done, learning how to work in a company with different colleagues from all over the world, followed by the skills of learning to adjust and feel comfortable living in a huge city with people, whose language one barely speaks in the beginning and ending with the skills I have developed in intercultural meetings. Consequently, I have seen, experienced and learned a lot, which definitely improves my employment prospects. Firstly due to the developed skills and proven capabilities to manage such an adventure, and secondly due to the contacts I have made. // ILA (International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition) trade fair, Berlin. My French colleague and I present our exhibit, the FDMU (Functional Digital Mock Up). 4 - Did you have any difficulties or what were the main drawbacks in a country you didn’t know before? (Cultural differences, budgetary issues, language…) Looking back, I can say that in general everything went more than just fine! I have had an amazing stay, met incredibly nice people, who became my friends, and ex-perienced great things.

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I must say though that I had some difficulties with the language. I have barely spoken any French, but I so wanted to change that. Living with English people and speaking English at work did not help with my French. Fortunately though, from time to time, I have had more and more opportunities to practise and improve my French, so that by the end I could speak quite good French. Nevertheless, I had several moments, where I was dissatisfied with my speaking and comprehension skills. Luckily I have good friends who supported me and stayed close to help me. 5 – What kind of advice would you give to engineering students and young professionals whishing to study or work abroad? What do you remember best of your journey? First of all, my advice is to take the chance and do it, whatever it takes! It is going to be an overwhelming experience to live in a different country with different habits. If you are tolerant and open minded, you will experience something unpredictable. Go out, talk to the people, enjoy your life and work hard. Take every chance you can get. Don’t be shy especially in speaking a foreign language. Yes you will make some mis-takes, but it doesn’t matter. It’s about what you try and the effort you put in. To put it all in a little phrase: Profitez-bien! // EADS colleagues and I enjoy the jazz night at “frigo” in Paris. The band “Hot Tips” is a friend of mine.

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EYE Task Force Member

Project Engineer

@ Invensys Rail

United Kingdom

Young Railway Professionals

youngrailwayprofessionals.org

CHRIS WATERS

What kind of engineer are you?

I'm a Signalling Project Engineer. I'm responsible for planning and managing the engineering work involved in resignallingprojects on the railway. I also get involved in tendering and estimating and high-level systems design at the start of projects.

What is a typical day at an EYE conference for you?

The day starts with a good breakfast where I can catch up with people from the last conference and meet some new faces before the workshops and lectures. Throughout the day you're interacting with people from lots of different backgrounds and disciplines, so it's never dull and you learn a lot.

The evenings are spent socialising, whether it's the Gala Dinner or a cultural excursion followed by an informal meal at a nearbyrestaurant, planned by the local organising team. At some point during the conference the Council (of which I am a member) will meet, where we debate the future of EYE on the behalf of our members, and begin to plan future conferences.

Why do you like participating to EYE events?

No man is an island, and to be a good Engineer you need to be able to sometimes see things from a different perspective, plenty of which you'll encounter at an EYE conference! The people who attend these events are always keen to share their experiences and learn from each other, and the opportunity to see a new country, guided by locals, is always a bonus. Not to mention that the people I see at EYE aren't merely acquaintances; they're my friends, and I'm always pleased to see them.

What is your favourite impression of EYE, shown above?

This is a shot from the upper level of the main hall of the World Engineers' Convention in Geneva, 2011. Not to mention the spectacular scenery of the surrounding area, but getting to be a part of a such a huge event as an EYE member was a great privilege.

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Review of EYE@Dublin – Building Networks to the World // Paul Murphy, President of EYE@Dublin, welcomes participants. Naoise Ó MuirÍ (Lord Mayor of Dub-lin, mid), Michael Phillips (President of Engineers Ireland, right) and Tim Mönkedieck (past Secretary General, left) at the opening ceremony. © Engineers Ireland

Between the 7th and 9th of June, Dublin became host to yet another stellar EYE con-ference, hosted by Engineers Ireland. In the (frankly, rare!) Irish sun over 90 dele-gates from the member organisations met at the Ballsbridge Hotel in the prestigious ‘Embassy row’ of Dublin. Following industrial visits to Gormanstown gas pipeline interconnector, the air traffic control tower of Dublin Airport and Ringsend waste water treatment plant, drinks and craic were to be had with Naoise Ó MuirÍ (the Lord Mayor of Dublin) and Michael Phillips (President of Engineers Ireland), with one high-ranking official sure to leave with a case of chain envy! The craic continued as delegates embarked upon a musical tour of Dublin’s tradition-al pubs, followed by a night of partying in a slightly less traditional, but still very Irish, club. Saturday saw the introduction of short ‘TED style’ talks to EYE, which were well re-ceived, presided over by the President of EYE, Paul Murphy. In the afternoon work-shops were held, with topics ranging from “Business Flirting” to Cyber Security.

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The Gala dinner was held at the Old Jameson Distillery, where we were treated to a very fine meal washed down with plenty of the local tipple courtesy of the distillery as well as Irish music and dancing. // Participants of EYE@Dublin, June 2013. © Engineers Ireland The band didn’t show any signs of stopping once everyone had found their dancing feet, eventually breaking out from the venue into the rest of the distillery for a conga line that would put any wedding party to shame! Sunday saw the close of the conference, with an Engineers Without Borders work-shop and BBQ lunch hosted by Engineers Ireland at their headquarters nearby. Those who didn’t have flights to catch were treated (or for those of a more Celtic per-suasion subjected!) to yet more sunshine as they tried their hands at Hurling and Gaelic football, the traditional games of the Gaelic Athletic Association. During the closing plenary delegates said “thank you” to Tim Mönkedieck as the out-going Secretary General, and welcomed Cornelia Fleischer as the new Deputy Sec-retary General. Of course, none of this could have happened without the commitment and energy of the organising team, who under Paul’s leadership have managed a fantastic conference, again raising the bar for conferences yet to come. Chris Waters, Member of the Young Railway Professionals (YRP), UK EYE Task Force Member

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EYE@Antwerp: Move. Transport. Trans-cend. – September 6th- 8th 2013

KVIV (Royal Flemish Engineering Society) and VIK (Flemish Engineering Chamber) will join forces to organise the next EYE conference in Antwerp, Belgium. The youth branches of both organisations started working more closely together about one year ago and the organisation of the EYE@Antwerp conference will tighten the bonds even further. The theme of the conference will be Move. Transport. Transcend. Move. Move your car. Commute to work. Eat some exotic fruit. Hop from metro to train and travel to that sunny place from the catalogue. Order a package online and expect it home the next day. Try to imagine the immense engineering challenges that come along with the transport and mobility of people and goods. Move yourself to the EYE Antwerp 2013 conference in September and connect with open-minded young engineers from the 22 EYE member associations, representing more than 150,000 young engineers in Europe. Transport. Transport of energy and utilities is the key to devel-oping the sustainable world we dream of. How do we balance an electricity grid? How do we deliver ser-vices to remote locations? Modern demands stretch existing networks to their limits. Where will the future transport us next?

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Transport knowledge and skills into your brain. Not by some kind of direct brain-computer interface, but by joining our industrial visits, attending the talks and work-shops featured at the EYE@Antwerp 2013 conference and sharing experiences with your fellow attendees. Transcend. Transcending borders and continents, data networks connect our world and beyond. Surrounded by Clouds, our vision gets clearer. The continuous ex-pansion of these networks and the way we use them is fundamentally changing the world we live in. Transcend your peers by discovering new opportunities in the various industries that are represented at the conference. Look beyond the walls and discover the unique environment offered by Antwerp through our intricate selection of social and cultural activities. Conference venue Situated in the trendy Het Eilandje area, the modern Holiday Inn Express Antwerp City-North over-looks the Willemdok Marina and the MAS museum (see picture below) in the Antwerp Harbour. The hotel is close to the R1 ring road, and with am-ple underground car parking. Moreover, the hotel is the proud owner of the Green Key certificate! This is an international accreditation for environmentally friendly tour-ism companies. Free Wi-Fi Internet is available for conference attendees throughout the hotel. The hotel is close to the Antwerp Central train station which is only 30 minutes by train from Brussels airport. From the central station you can reach the hotel by foot, bus, bike or take a taxi.

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Gala dinner venue Centrally on the Antwerp Meir (The main shopping street) you can find a genuine palace. The originally 18th century building used to be a thingummy of im-portant rulers such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Willem I of the Netherlands and the Belgian Royal House. It has been entirely renovated since 2001. Nowadays one can enjoy a historical visit, a luxurious lunch and stylish pralines. Is there a better place to have gala dinner? We don't think so and we’ll therefore take our conference visitors here! Program More details about the Program can be found on our website www.eyeantwerp.be In short, the Program will offer the following:

• Honorable and respected guest speakers, from across Europe • Interactive workshops, focusing on all domains of transport • Industrial visits focusing on different engineering disciplines • Cultural submersion in one of the oldest cities on the continent • Multiple informal networking opportunities

Cultural visit to the city of Antwerp On Sunday morning we will show you the beautiful city of Antwerp. A team of experi-enced city guides will show you the highlights of the city. Antwerp (Dutch: Antwerpen) is the biggest city in the region of Flanders. The over-whelming friendliness of the people of Antwerp and their innate penchant for good food (and also chocolates and specialty beers) and good living, combined with their low stress lifestyle, makes it a desirable and relaxing place to visit. www.visit.antwerpen.be Renowned for being the "world's leading diamond city", more than 70% of all dia-monds are traded in Antwerp. The Diamond Market is the hub of the economic sec-tion in Belgium. More than 85% of the world’s rough diamonds, 50% of cut diamonds, and 40% of industrial diamonds are traded in the city.

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Due to its long and culturally rich history, the city of Antwerp houses many interesting historical buildings from different historical periods, as well as a lot of interesting mu-seums. Recently it has become a trendy city, attracting a lot of Flemish and foreign artists, writers, intellectuals, and actors. This is reflected in the city's many trendy bars and shops. Antwerp is a city with many faces. It is a very dynamic city, offering a perfect mix of history and present-day modern life. Belgium

• Bruges (Brugge) — Very nice medieval town. Often called "Venice of the North", because of the numerous canals that flow through and under it. Well worth an overnight stay, since it is most romantic at night and very safe.

• Brussels — The capital of Belgium and some say, the capital of Europe. Multi-

cultural and multilingual. Unfortunately, some of the city's historic (medieval) centre was destroyed at the end of the 19th century when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands and Brussels was made capital of the new country.

Nonetheless, Brussels is known as a city of "hidden gems," where you can turn a street corner in a less-than-breathtaking area and come face-to-face with an opulent and unexpected Art Deco or Art Nouveau building. Its popu-larity with tourists in recent years has been steadily increasing.

• Ghent — A medieval town a bit like Bruges, with more emphasis on cathedrals

and other big buildings. Great centre of medieval paintings exhibited in and around the cathedral of Sint-Baafs.

How to attend? Registration will open July 1st 2013 on our website www.eyeantwerp.com and is open to young engi-neers of all EYE’s members, see www.e-y-e.eu/ members. The conference fee will be kept low due to the hard work of the organizing committee and with the help of sponsors. Attendance will only cost €150 which includes 2 nights accommodation, The opening reception, industrial visits, workshops and lectures, the gala dinner and cultural visit, and of course, lots of networking opportunities! Bert Goossens, Member of the Royal Society of Engineers (KVIV), Belgium EYE President

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Appropriate Technology: the Role of Engi-neers in Sustainable Development Technology is the foundation to sustainable development and alleviating poverty in the developing world. Young engineers hold the key to a brighter future for millions of people and have the potential to help them access water, cleaner energy, healthcare and communication technologies. // Young engineers participate in an energy workshop on building batteries. © EWB-UK, by A. Elias Sustainable engineering is vital in developing countries in order to match the re-sources available and the capabilities of the environment with the appropriate tech-nologies. With growing industrialisation of developing countries it is also important to take into account the amount of energy that technology uses. Through careful designing and manufacturing, the impact on the environment can be managed, resulting in a neutral or positive effect on the consumption that technology uses. In order to provide basic human needs such as access to water and sanitation, healthcare and also in areas such as the creation of jobs through entrepreneurship, engineers are essential. Particularly in the developing world, the engineer’s role becomes even more imperative in creating technology which is appropriate and meets immediate needs for the long-term.

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Housing, healthcare and the creation of industry are just three examples of the integral role that engineers can play in bettering not only the day-to-day life of people in developing countries, but also putting in place schemes which will continue to increase quality of life. Housing is a fundamental human right as set out by the United Nations, yet 20% of the world’s population is still homeless or living in very poor conditions. En-gineers can rectify this by designing durable housing which can withstand, and equip people to manage, natural disasters. By applying these designs with sustainable materials and using apt construction techniques, shanty towns can be replaced with stable, durable housing. Whilst healthcare is at the forefront of providing a better quality of life in developing countries, access to mobility is a highly important, but an often over-looked, factor. Those who suffer from physical disability in developing countries are, more often than not, excluded from their communities and denied basics rights to education and mo-bility. However, rapid developments in mobility innovation, thanks to pioneering engi-neers, means that the lives of those in the developing world can be vastly improved. The design of this technology must be adaptable and specific to the conditions of each environment. Just as advanced medical equipment can be useless in an inappropriate setting and without the right training, mobility resources must match and be maintainable in de-veloping communities; engineers are pivotal in making this happen. In addition to meeting these urgent needs, engineers can be part of helping people in the long-term. By creating environmentally sound technologies and teaching commu-nities how to use such technologies, people can begin to boost their productivity and sustainability, for example in farming, whilst also reducing the negative impact of in-dustrialisation. Engineers Without Borders is a movement by young engineers interested in making this happen! These organisations provide the opportunity for to get involved with pro-jects to advance the sustainable development and implementation of technology in developing countries. There are many ways to get involved, including placements abroad for a hands-on approach, research into areas of interest and training through talks, events and

// Power Up: A solar panel Is installed. © EWB-UK, by S. Goss

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workshops. Contact details for EWB organisations around Europe are listed below - get in touch about using your engineering skills to be the change today!

List of Contacts Germany info@ingenieure-ohne-grenzen.org Belgium (fr.) info@isf-iai.be Netherlands izg@kiviniria.nl UK enquiries@ewb-uk.org Ireland info@ewb-ireland.org France courrier@isf-france.org Spain contacta@isf.es Italy info@isf-italia.org Denmark info@iug.dk Portugal info@epdah.pt Greece ewbgr@ewb.gr Macedonia contact@ewb-mk.org.mk Norway info@iug.no Switzerland info@ingog.ch Sweden international@ingenjorerutangranser.se Daisy Meager Engineers Without Borders, UK

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When in Rome, do as the Romans do – International Job Applications

Weather you would like to start your career after achiev-ing a university degree, or you are looking for a new challenge as an experienced professional, working abroad requires careful planning and preparation.

Everyone who would like to gain international experience needs to start with an inter-national job application. This requires a comprehensive understanding of the assort-ed international education systems and the individual, cultural uniqueness of any giv-en country. Comparing application processes for jobs in different countries may ap-pear difficult, because both the layout and content vary from country to country. Information on age, marital status and heritage, as well as a photograph are taboo in the UK and the US. In China, in addition to this personal information, the status of your health is also requested. A short cross-check below shows how job applications are handled in different countries. Expatriates must also adjust to local systems, customs and culture. EYE Embassies on Facebook are a discussion forum for questions about language, society and cul-tural conventions and thus a great place to get started! Mirella Vladimirova, Member of the Federation of the Scientific Engineering Unions (FNTS), Bulgaria ITSM Support Specialist at Coca Cola Hellenic

// Follow the tips below for applying for a job. © VDI

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Application Guidelines 2013 Overview of the most common documents Common countries and regions at a glance (part 1)

US, UK, Ireland China Italy Eastern Euro-

pe France

Additional letter

Yes, letter of motivation or cover letter

Yes Yes, not a traditional cover letter

No, not a tradi-tional cover letter

No

CV

Yes, but no information re-quired on origin, age, marital status, children, religion

Yes, with in-formation on gender, age, marital status and health status, both in Chinese and in English

2-to 3-page resume, usu-ally without mentioning the current employer

Yes Short and precise resume

Photograph No Yes No No No

Degree certicicates No No No No No

References

Information about 2 to 3 references (mostly former supervisor in-cluding name, function, and telephone num-ber are speci-fied)

Letters of recommenda-tion which may be writ-ten by a col-league, man-ager or friend

No refer-ences or letters of recommen-dation

List of references

4-6 references listing former managers and colleagues

Certificates of training or apprenticeship

Include a list within your CV Yes No

Proof of any completed training and / or study

No

Additional documents No

Copy of identity card No No No

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Common countries and regions at a glance (part 2)

The Netherlands Germany, Austria,

Switzerland Spain Scandinavia

Additional

letter Yes Yes Yes Yes

CV Yes, with details of name, address, age

Yes, with details of name, address, date of birth and marital status

Yes, with details of name, address, date of birth

Yes

Photograph No Yes Yes Yes

Degree certificaties No Yes No No

References Unusual Unusual Yes, references can be noted in the CV

Yes

Certificates of training or apprenticeship

No Yes, certificates of training and / or study

No No

Additonal docu-ments No No No No

Source: VDI application guide, www.vdi.de/bewerbungshandbuch

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Electrical Engineering Student University of Malta University Engineering Student Association uesa-mt.com

Daniel Cumbo

Faces within EYE

What kind of engineer are you?

I am currently studying Electronics and Electronics Engineering at the University of Malta. I would like to specialise in the field of Systems and Control.

What is a typical day at an EYE conference for you?

A typical day would include meeting different people from all around Europe with one common interest, Engineering. Both professionals and students ex-perience the necessity and implementation of this profession in manufacturing and industry, learn about on-going research and update each other about pre-sent issues regarding this profession through indus-trial visits, talks and workshops. Whilst learning about different cultures and enjoying the day with like-minded people.

Tell us in a few words why you like participating in EYE events:

EYE@Malta 2012 was my first EYE event, and since I was just entering this field, I jumped at the opportunity to create new contacts, make new friends and gain a better insight of what I am to expect. I would like to participate in future events to continue building a net-work of engineers around Europe, to learn about the different disciplines in engineering and to learn differ-ent perspectives and techniques when tackling a problem, which ultimately would benefit my career. The opportunity to visit a dif-ferent country and to catch up with old friends and acquaintances whilst doing so is a bonus and makes EYE events even more compelling.

Electrical Engineering

@ University of Malta

Malta

University Engineering Student Association

uesa-mt.com

DANIEL CUMBO

What kind of engineer are you?

I am currently studying Electronics and Electronics Engineering at the University of Malta. I would like to specialise in the field of Systems and Control.

What is a typical day at an EYE conference for you?

A typical day would include meeting different people from all around Europe with one common interest, Engineering. Both professionals and students experience the necessity and implementation of this profession in manufacturing and industry,learn about ongoing research and update each other about present issues regarding this profession through industrial visits, talks and workshops.

Whilst learning about different cultures and enjoying the day with like-minded people.

Why do you like participating to EYE events?

EYE@Malta 2012 was my first EYE event, and since I was just entering this field, I jumped at the opportunity to create new contacts, make new friends and gain a better insight of what I am to expect.

I would like to participate in future events to continue building a network of engineers around Europe, to learn about the differentdisciplines in engineering and to learn different perspectives and

techniques when tackling a problem, which ultimately would benefit my career. The opportunity to visit a different country and to catch up with old friends and acquaintances whilst doing so is a bonus and makes EYE events even more compelling.

.

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EYE Embassy of Germany: New EYE Facebook group When thinking about studying or working abroad, one of the main challenges is find-ing important information: details about work culture, academic studies and everyday life. It helps to be informed about the foreign society, its culture and infrastructure. EYE Embassies are meant to support young and future engineers to adjust to an unfamil-iar environment. European Young Engineers (EYE) is launching its first group of this type on Face-book, which can be accessed under “EYE Embassy of Germany“. Current tips and hints on cultural or technical events are posted and young engineers can find valu-able contacts or mentors. "In order to gain a foothold in foreign cultures, it is essential to deal with language, society and intercultural issues” says Tim Mönkedieck, former Secretary General of EYE and member of the Association of German Engineers (VDI). EYE Embassies will communicate in English, but some links may lead to information provided in the native language of the host county. Young engineers are invited to join the group and ask or answer questions with their European peers. Questions or comments about the EYE Embassy project can be sent to embassies@e-y-e.eu. facebook.com/europeanyoungengineers facebook.com/groups/eyeembassy.germany/ Ponnappa Cheranda and Franco Schubert, Members of of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) EYE Task Force Members

Click here

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// From top to bottom, from left to right: Tim Mönkedieck (past Secretary General), Cornelia Fleischer (Deputy Secretary General), Franco Schubert and Chris Wa-ters (both Task Force Members). Unfortu-nately missing on this photo: Siobhán McGrath (Secretary General)

New Faces in EYE

As shown in our previous issue of the EYE Contact magazine, EYE does not only consist of delegates joining conferences and local teams organising conferences, but also of a small nucleus, a core team ensuring the con-tinuous improvement of our network. Aiming high when EYE was founded back in 1994, the position of a Secretary General was defined. Within EYE, this position is staffed by an elected delegate of one of its members. Fur-thermore, a Deputy Secretary General ensures that the network is always capable of acting. For two years Tim Mönkedieck (the Association of German Engineers, VDI) has been in the role of Secretary General of EYE. As EYE@Dublin has marked the end of his term, Siobhán McGrath (Engineers Ireland) follows him, lead-ing the network as of June 2013. Along with this, a new Deputy Secretary Gen-eral has been elected by the EYE Council: Cornelia Fleischer (the Association of German Engineers, VDI) joined the team and will consequently follow Siobhán in two years. Of course EYE’s core team consists of more than two people: The EYE Task Force completes the mentioned nucleus. A team of four coordinators drives ambitious pro-jects and developments within EYE, such as the publication of this EYE Contact eMagazine, the establishment of the EYE Embassies and the coordination of our so-cial media channels. Franco Schubert (the Association of German Engineers, VDI) has become the suc-cessor of Ponnappa Cheranda (the Association of German Engineers, VDI) and Colin Arthur (Institute of Engineering & Technology, IET) has been replaced by Chris Waters (Young Railway Professionals, YRP). Welcome aboard to the new faces within EYE – let’s continue exploring Europe, sharing our experience and growing our network! EYE thanks everyone involved for their continuous efforts – you make Europe a bit smaller, every day! Tim Mönkedieck, Member of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) Past Secretary General of EYE

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Imprint Editor ___________________________________________________________________

European Young Engineers c/o Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V.

T +49 (0) 211 62 14 455

F +49 (0) 211 62 14 148

VDI Platz 1 40002 Düsseldorf Germany

office@e-y-e.eu www.e-y-e.eu Image References ___________________________________________________________________ EYE - European Young Engineers EWB-UK - Engineers Without Borders UK (S. Goss, A. Elias) Engineers Ireland KVIV - Royal Flemish Society of Engineers VDI - The Association of German Engineers

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EYE Members

Belgium // Antwerpen KVIV - Royal Flemish Society of Engineers www.kviv.be

Ireland // Dublin Engineers Ireland www.engineersireland.ie

Belgium // Wommelgem VIK - Flemish Chamber of Engineers www.vik.be

Italy // Salerno GIOIN - Association of Young Engineers of the Province of Salerno

Bosnia-Herzegovina // Sarajevo Steleks - Student Association of Electrotechnics of the University of Sarajevo www.steleks.ba

Italy // Salerno EYE Italia (eyeIT)

Bulgaria // Sofia FNTS - Federation of the Scientific engineering Unions www.fnts.bg

Malta // Valletta UESA - University Engineering Students Association www.uesa-mt.com

Denmark // Copenhagen IDA - The Danish Society of Engineers www.ida.dk

Netherlands // Den Haag KIVINIRA - Royal Institute of Engineers in the Netherlands www.kiviniria.net

Luxembourg // Luxembourg ANEIL - Association Nationale des Etudiants Ingénieurs www.aneil.lu

Netherlands // Wageningen KLV - Royal Agricultural Society www.klv.nl

Finland // Helsinki UIL - Union of Professional Engineers in Finland www.uil.fi

Norway // Oslo NITO - Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists www.nito.no

France // Paris BNEI - National Bureau of Engineering Students www.bnei.org

United Kingdom // London ACE – Association of Consulting Engineers www.acenet.co.uk

France // Paris FI - French Association of Female Engineers www.femmes-ingenieurs.org

United Kingdom // London IoM3 - Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining www.iom3.org

Germany // Düsseldorf VDI - The Association of German Engineers www.vdi.de

United Kingdom // London IMarEST - Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology www.imarest.org

Hungary // Budapest MTESZ - Federation of Technical and Scientific Societies www.mtesz.hu

United Kingdom // London YRP - Young Railway Professionals www.youngrailwayprofessionals.org