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[Oct 2005]
IEE and IIE Members Vote to Create New Engineering Institution
The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) announced on 2 October 2005 that members of both organisations had voted to create a new institution.
The new institution will be known as the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and will come into being in early 2006.
The IEE has 120,000 members world-wide and the IIE 40,000. Members of both institutions completed voting this week. The IEE voted 73.5% in favour while IIE members voted 95.7% in favour.
Welcoming the results, the British Government's Science & Innovation Minister Lord Sainsbury said: "This is excellent news. The new, multidisciplinary, international and inclusive body will be better able to serve its members' interests and be fit for purpose in the 21st century".
Professor John O'Reilly, President of the IEE, said: "This is an historic step for both institutions. Members have shown themselves ready to embrace the future and ensure that institutions that have served decades of engineers remain relevant in the 21st Century. Engineering is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary and global and it is important that institutions reflect the way in which their members operate".
Lord Trefgarne, President of the IIE said: "The engineering profession has for far too long been fragmented and undervalued. By bringing together all key members of the technical team, whatever their professional status, IET holds out the hope of creating a more coherent and representative organisation for our profession.
"The new institution will be better attuned to meet the needs of its members, of employers who need well qualified staff, and of wider society which benefits from the products and services underpinned by our collective efforts."
The two organisations will now begin a process to create the IET, which will require approval by the Privy Council.
www.iee.org.uk
www.iie.org.uk
ENDS