Articles
Hartill – who has just taken up his post as IMechE president after 20 years volunteering for the Institution – isn’t an expert on CFD, but he knew enough to help the student find where to look, who to ask, and provide contacts and links to Institution resources. It took him less than five minutes, but hopefully saved the student weeks of time. “I was happily able to use my knowledge of the IMechE to benefit a fellow member,” says Hartill.
It was an ad hoc interaction, but it highlights one of the key motivators behind IMechE’s new strategy, something which Hartill has spent the past two years helping to develop, and which will be a key facet of his year as president.
Hartill’s association with IMechE started in the late 1990s, when he was still a mechanical engineering student at University College London. As he progressed through his career with defence company AWE, he continued to volunteer for IMechE, across many boards and committees, council and now the trustee board. “My broad experience across the IMechE hopefully puts me in good stead for the year ahead,” he says.
He has enjoyed a distinguished career at AWE, including as Design Authority (Trident), leading the design, qualification, assessment and approval submission of the Mark 4A modifications to the UK’s Trident Re-entry System and then, as chief warhead engineer, working closely with the Ministry of Defence and US agencies to support the assessment and establishment of the UK’s replacement warhead programme. Hartill says he is very proud of the contribution he has made towards maintaining the UK’s continuous at-sea deterrent over the past 20 years and looks forward to continuing this in his recent appointment as chief technologist, responsible for technology improvements, providing direction on R&D, innovation and experimentation and driving technology integration into capital investments.
Since 2021, he’s been chairing the IMechE strategy committee, which has been developing a long-term vision for the Institution, taking inputs from and consulting widely with members and employees. During an address in early June, in a packed lecture theatre at One Birdcage Walk, he launched the new strategy to members, employees and the public – now he has the challenge of leading the beginning of its implementation.
What does the year ahead look like for you in terms of your time as president?
“It’s an exciting year ahead. We introduced the strategy committee to develop the long-term vision and objectives for the IMechE. I’ve chaired that for the last two years, and my first big priority as president is launching the strategy and engaging widely on it, explaining why it’s important and how everyone can be involved. I’m really looking forward to it – it’s perhaps taken longer than other organisations would have spent, but I was really passionate about ensuring that we do it collaboratively. You have to do that in an organisation like the IMechE with 110,000 members worldwide.”
Can you sum up the strategy in a few words?
“现在我们的愿景是成为全球包容性和digitally enabled engineering community. When we say global, we mean a genuinely international organisation, not just a UK-based one with overseas members. We will improve our membership accreditation process, recognition schemes, services and community – making them a leading standard, relevant to the modern, global world. Inclusive has two elements: being inclusive of all grades of members and ensuring our people feel welcomed, that they feel they can bring their whole self, and their voice is listened to, but also making sure we’re inclusive of all types of engineering. Our members will naturally be mechanical technicians and engineers, but for many decades now they have also needed to have expertise in other disciplines. And then the digital side is just so fundamentally key in an international organisation: by using digital technology we aim to build thriving, networked, inclusive, global engineering communities, and deliver customised services to support technicians and engineers throughout their careers.”
What would you say is IMechE’s role in supporting the engineering profession?
“We now have two very clear goals. Developing, registering and supporting our members to be their best for a more inclusive and sustainable world is priority number one. And we must also maximise the impact of our members to promote engineering, inform opinion and stimulate innovation for the benefit of society. Fundamentally we’re an education organisation, we’re here to help our members learn and excel, providing lifelong support. Our members are leaders, experts, generating knowledge and innovating solutions – we will harness their expertise to engage and impact society positively.”
So what does success look like? A year from now, what would you like to have achieved?
“如果我们到今年年底,我们参与其中d with as many people as possible, and we start seeing people aligning with the strategy, and changing what they do as members and employees, I will be super happy. I also want to ensure that we’ve landed a formal programme to realise a modern facilities estate, fit for the future of the IMechE, ensuring long-term financial stability for the organisation. The other big thing is communication – how we explain to our members what we offer, and the services we provide so that we can help them be successful. That’s what I’m passionate about – to help and support our members to be the best technicians and engineers they can be.”
WatchGiles Hartill’s presidential addressand find out more aboutIMechE’s new strategy.
Want the best engineering stories delivered straight to your inbox? The Professional Engineering newsletter gives you vital updates on the most cutting-edge engineering and exciting new job opportunities. To sign up, clickhere.