My name is Guy Hodgkinson and I am a Chartered Fellow, EngExec, CPEng and a practising professional Electrical Engineer, Engineering Manager and Member of Engineers Australia for over 20 years.

I have had the fortune to serve the engineering community in Victoria on Division Committee for the past term, and am seeking to continue to contribute for the next term.

I have always been, and remain committed to our members first and foremost. Engineers Australia is a membership based organisation and in whatever capacity I serve, I always have our members in the forefront of my mind, and seek to represent them and their issues and concerns.

In particular, I am keenly interested in engaging with regional members here in Victoria, and I have had the privilege to be the past Chair of the Regional Advisory Committee where I continue to represent the issues, ideas and concerns of our regional membership base at Division Committee level. Also, whilst living and working in Melbourne, I have the opportunity of engaging with our metropolitan members, and listening to their views, issues and ideas. As such I feel I have a great understanding of the issues that currently drive our Victorian Members, and want to continue to represent them and help to bring those issues to the Victorian Division Committee.

I am committed to not only helping to get the next generation into the wonders of engineering and the possibilities that being an engineer can bring, but also I enjoy helping to develop our younger professional engineers where I work through a formal mentoring program via the Electric Energy Society of Australia, a Technical Society of Engineers Australia. I also work to recognise and preserve our wonderful engineering heritage – the tangible efforts of our past members’ endeavours - where I serve as a member of Engineering Heritage Victoria.

Engineers Australia is by no means perfect; no such institution is. However, I have always believed – and continue to do so – that we as a learned profession need a common voice, and I wholeheartedly believe that Engineers Australia is best suited to be that voice.

We are the largest representative body for engineers in the State, and as such I believe we need to work towards supporting our members, those both metropolitan and regionally based, and to integrate our members interests and concerns, at both State and Federal levels, and within governments, institutions and businesses. As such, I seek to be re-elected to the Victorian Division Committee and to continue to work for, and represent, our Victorian State Membership. I hope I have your support.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

In last 18 years, I have been involved in a wide range of oil and gas projects at different levels.

My career took me to three different continents and more than 20 countries to execute these projects.

On top of the technical experience, I gained extensive experience in working with multicultural teams. This was not possible without having a credible certification from a well-known engineering institute.

During last few years, being Fellow Chartered member of Engineers Australia gave me an advantage and created more opportunities for me.

While living in Singapore, I was honored to serve as treasurer of Engineers Australia Singapore Chapter and had opportunity to meet and discuss the challenges with Engineers Australia members at different stages of their career.

Having benefited from this society, I feel obliged to serve Engineers Australia and its members with sharing my experience. I believe my previous committee experience as treasurer will help me to be an effective serving member of committee.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

Victoria is in the middle of an unprecedented infrastructure boom and I believe it is vitally important that Engineers Australia, as the peak industry body, provides the necessary support and advocacy to the engineering profession during these exciting times. As a member of the Victorian Division Committee, I will focus on:

• Helping Engineers Australia providing a collective voice to government on matters of importance to the engineering profession, and to promote the profession amongst the community;
• Ensuring that Engineers Australia provides support, advocacy and training to local engineers, so that we can all maximise our opportunities in the current infrastructure market;
• As the state moves towards registration of professional engineers, ensuring that Engineers Australia provides necessary support and guidance to the industry as it transitions to this new regulatory environment;
• Supporting the great work being done by the Technical Societies within Engineers Australia, who provide a focal point for knowledge sharing and technical CPD. Technical societies represent why many of us became engineers in the first place, and provide an important link between industry and academia as we constantly strive towards ‘best-practice’;
• Perhaps most importantly, ensuring all members of Engineers Australia receive value for money for their membership, and encouraging all members to get involved to maximise the opportunities available to them.

I am a Chartered Geotechnical Engineer, with over 13 years in the industry, and have worked across Australia and New Zealand on a range of transportation, civil infrastructure, maritime and renewable energy projects.

In parallel, I have been involved in supervising graduate development programs for over 4 years as well as team leadership, project management and client management roles.

I am currently a member of the Victorian Chapter committee for the Australian Geomechanics Society, and a volunteer facilitator for the Engineering Leadership Program at Monash University. I believe this experience equips me with the necessary skills to actively contribute to the Victorian Division Committee.

It is an exciting time to be an engineer in Victoria. I look forward to making an active contribution on the Division committee and representing the interests of all Victorian engineers.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

The preferential voting system for election of multiple candidates means that your first preference vote is crucial. Please use your first preference wisely and avoid effects related to ballot paper order!

Our nation relies on solid engineering outcomes for economic and environmental prosperity. We face declining STEM interest and educational standards. A generation of seasoned engineers approach retirement with the prospect of leaving an experience void behind them. Global concerns, such as climate change, require innovative and workable engineering solutions.

Engineers Australia must attack the post-truth culture and ensure quality technical input is available to key national decision makers. We are an unparalleled organisation in terms of access to thinking and passionate individuals striving to engineer a sustainable future. Engineers Australia must optimally harness the creative minds of willing volunteer members to guide national and global engineering endeavour for the benefit of all.

Engineering policy perspectives are increasingly cross discipline. What constitutes an engineer of the future is evolving slowly from our picture of an engineer of the past. Engineers Australia must actively lead national engineering policy and foster the engineering skills base of the nation. We best perform such roles through encouraging wide membership input.

Engineers Australia must maintain our professional reputation for well-considered input, but not at the expense of wide, and visible, public engagement. These are areas that are of increasing importance to the engineering profession. Strength for the profession, and results for the community, "STEM" from ensuring we maximise expert engineering input from members as we produce public policy statements with valuable substance.

Engineers Australia requires thousands of leaders to optimise our output. I intend to assist in raising the profile of options for improving the way we harness and inspire these leaders. In representing members and the profession, I expect to question assumptions about the way things are done. Ultimately leadership comes from within for a membership based organisation, so crucial to the nation's future.

I am the current Chair of the Bendigo Regional Group, and a past Deputy Chair and active member of the Victorian Division ITEE Committee. I have a diverse background in ITEE, spanning telecommunications and software engineering, and branching into electric vehicles, energy, and construction. I value the importance of focus on the big issues such as national communications system infrastructure (past Chair of Working Group within EA Victorian Division ITEE) and infrastructure more generally (water, transport, energy, medical). I have a solid background in engineering research, significant exposure to large corporations and non-corporate enterprises, and prior involvements with multiple start-ups. I have had the pleasure of being associated with a number of large projects, and many less visible, but equally important smaller ones. I am passionate about technology to the extent that it can bring pragmatic solutions and increased productivity and efficiency to important problems.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

Candidate Background

I have a professional background in municipal engineering that spans 20 years and have delivered a diverse mosaic of works that throughout Queensland to Victoria.

I am a Chartered Fellow and Engineering Executive of the Institution of Engineers Australia. I am the Manager Asset Lifecycle Planning at Court Services Victoria, which is a Victorian Government statutory body. As the Manager Asset Lifecycle Planning, I am responsible for the lifecycle renewal investment across a statewide facility portfolio of $1.05 Billion, to ensure optimum renewal investment and benchmarked levels of service are met.

My background as a senior officer in a local and state government, and service on upon State Government advisory boards and reference groups (GRG) provides me with in-depth experience in corporate governance, strategy and oversight. I am a current National Congress member and Victorian Divisional committee member.

Policy Statement

I am proud to be a part of an institution that is undertaking the development and implementation of contemporary services to its members. I will focus upon the promotion of the NER registration framework as the singular point of truth for all members of the engineering team, to assist in ensuring that should any statutory registration come into effect, the register is seen as a source of protection to profession and the community.

I will advocate strongly for the use of the NER as a benchmark for Government, industry and academia where the registration of professionals is required under professional practice and service delivery schemes. I will advocate strongly on behalf of the profession to raise the profile and further promoting the profession to help the community understand the role engineers’ and the engineering team plays.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

I work in the energy sector, with a specific focus on transformation of electricity networks to support the transition to renewable and low emissions electricity generation. I am excited by the opportunity that the energy sector has to support emissions reduction across both energy and transport sectors.

During my career I have worked in a range of roles in manufacturing, and led technical and strategic consulting team’s providing advice to energy and water utilities. I am currently working for AusNet Services to promote transmission development in Victoria, and previously had responsibility for strategic and operational planning of both the electricity transmission and electricity distribution networks.

Engineers and technically capable people are essential to driving and supporting the continued development of infrastructure that supports our lifestyle. I am motivated to re-join the Victorian Division Committee, after a break of more than 10 years, to help promote the value of engineering input into significant development decisions and ensure that the voice of the engineering community is heard.

I have a long history of supporting diversity across the engineering profession, in particular, personal experience in mentoring, sponsoring, and encouraging women to study STEM subjects and take up STEM related professions. My current employer, AusNet Services, is actively promoting diversity in the professional via scholarships, supporting technology focussed activities for high school students and employment opportunities for female engineers and apprentices.

I look forward to being a representative for engineers in Victoria and to your support in this election process.

Jacqui holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial) with 1st class honours from the University of NSW

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

I have recently re-joined Engineers Australia, after on-off membership over the years as I did not see value in the association for the career pathway I was taking through industry and into more strategic planning roles and into a general management pathway.

I am at a transitional point in my career where I have the time and capacity to give back and I’m genuinely interested in improving the relevance of the association to Engineers working broadly across industries and also to encourage our Engineers of all ages and levels to stay connected.

I see Engineers Australia as a means of growing our knowledge of what is happening around us in different fields with and an excellent forum for building powerful networks. Many of us, including myself, shy away from enormous benefits of networking and relationship building, focussing intently on the “job at hand”.

Most recently I have been working in the property development space, in my own business, after a successful automotive career within General Motors both here and in Singapore into the Executive Director of Portfolio Planning for a region spanning Asia, Middle East, Africa and Australia and New Zealand and I am looking to re-enter the corporate or government space down the track.

I am encouraged to join and try and make a difference as I have seen other much stronger professional organisations in other fields and I’m keen to look at improving the reach of Engineers Australia within Victoria. I have in the past led the Young Professionals Group with the Australian Institute of Management and also most recently led the Women’s Council in Singapore for General Motors.

More broadly, I have been involved in many diversity related committees over my tenure at GM, working to improve it as a workplace of choice for all thorough focus on flexibility, inclusion and driving out unconscious bias. I am passionate about increasing participation of women in STEM and in also in enabling more women to lead at the senior executive and board levels.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

I started my engineering journey 12 years ago designing safety critical systems.

Through the different technical and managerial roles I have embraced, I learned how important it is to create and maintain bonds between different engineering disciplines to achieve successful projects.

I believe our engineering workforce will have to face changes at an accelerating pace due to new emerging technologies.

As engineers we will have to prepare for tomorrow while maintaining, if not raising, our engineering standards.

By joining Engineers Australia Victoria Division, I endeavour to promote professional development and sustainable engineering values.

Furthermore, I am looking forward to supporting EA's strategic direction by contributing in raising STEM awareness in order to prepare young Australians for tomorrow's challenges.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

I am a civil and structural engineer who have had 10 years’ experience in building and construction industry. I have been involved in successful delivery of many projects, working on various roles providing advices and implementing a variety of management systems.

My works covering a good selection of both the types and the phases of projects, ranging from rail, bridge, road, mining to defence areas, from tender phase to maintenance handover phase. Benefited from my solid engineering background, I have developed strong expertise construction and design management, project management, contract, commercial and financial management areas, focusing on leading and working together with the project team to achieve the optimised outcomes for both the project and the client.

My expertise has been very successfully applied in the building and construction industry in constructability reviews, costing reviews, contractual and commercial advice, ensuring my project and contract management skills for my clients are commercial, pro-active, informed and instil confidence and leadership for the project team and stakeholders.

I also applied this experience to value engineering and value for money analysis and has provided key input to the establishment and analysis of value for money performance for my clients.

Engineers Australia plays an important role in advancing the engineering profession globally and as leaders shaping a sustainable world. It represents its members’ interests, sets the highest standards for the industry and encourages the growth of the individual professions.

I appreciate what Engineers Australia stands for and what it has brought to myself and the broader world of engineers. Engineers Australia’s vision lines up exactly with what I have been always passionate about: making a difference in the industry, promoting equal opportunities and speak out loud for the engineers.

By nominating for a position on the committee, I see myself taking on a more actively engaged role within the organisation to channel my passion into actions towards a better and bigger engineering world. I hope to continue and expand upon the works I have been doing, help implement the initiatives of the division committee and contribute to moving towards the growing vision of both the organisation and the individual engineers.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

As a public sector professional engineer, I bring experience across a range of industries including transport, infrastructure, defence, information technology and maritime and ports.

My passion for how strategic decisions are made and risk is managed has led me to further study in decision analysis and business through Stanford University and the Melbourne Business School respectively.

I bring a track record of delivering creative solutions to unusual problems by connecting ideas across disciplines, and am excited by the potential to solve tricky public policy challenges using the systems thinking approaches I have applied throughout my career.

The good governance and strategic positioning for EA Vic Division is crucial to its continued influencing of public policy and delivering value for members and my experience in governance and strategy in engineering and technical organisations will help me contribute to this objective. My experience has covered a cross section of public sector functions including project delivery, emergency management, procurement, regulation, policy and service delivery.

I have held a range of volunteer roles at Engineers Australia including CPD coordinator for the Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management (the college’s predecessor) and Deputy Chair of the Mechanical Branch at Victoria Division.

I'm passionate about engaging with the community, especially young people, on STEM topics and education. As a young rural student, I was fortunate to have access to amazing opportunities for exposure to careers in STEM, and I’m keen on finding new and relevant ways to leverage the talent and ideas of EA members to appeal to kids and particularly girls today. I’ve been a speaker on the Engineers in Schools Program and I am a mentor on the Women in Transport mentoring program.

I have a Bachelors of Engineering (Mechatronics) with Honours and Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) from Sydney University, a Masters of Business Administration from Melbourne Business School and a Professional Certificate in Strategic Decision and Risk Management from Stanford.

I was highly commended in the Victoria Division Young Professional Engineer of the Year Award in 2010 and completed the Engineers Australia Emerging Leaders Program that same year.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.

Hello, my name is Sam Taubert, I am a senior dams engineer at GHD, Melbourne and am applying for the division committee position in Victoria.

I am a chartered engineer and have been a member of Engineers Australia since graduating from Monash University in 2011.

During my 7 years of working as an engineer I have been privileged to meet a wide range of engineers whom are affiliated with Engineers Australia. I believe that undertaking this position will assist me in continuing my path on becoming an accomplished engineer.

As a senior engineer within GHD my role extends not only into providing technical support but also leadership and mentoring with engineers and other peers. This is a responsibility and role I feel confident in fulfilling. I therefore believe that the next step in my career would be to provide leadership to engineers not only in GHD, but also in the wider Engineers Australia community.

Outside of engineering I am the chairman of a national charity – Donor Mate. As the chairman my role not only includes leading the strategic direction of the charity and the board, but also continual stakeholder engagement to ensure that we as a charity meeting our compliance and governance obligations. I also work to promote further private and public funding for the charity. Through this role I speak to a diverse range of people, from health professional, government officials, philanthropic managers and the public. The skills I have learnt in this role would assist me in maintaining and growing relationships with future engineers.

I believe that I could successfully fulfil the responsibilities and requirements to be a division committee member for Engineers Australia and correctly adhere to the Office Bearer Code of Conduct, follow applicable Engineers Australia Policies and procedures and meet WHS obligations and responsibilities.

Thank you for consideration of my expression of interest.

Candidate Disclaimer: The view represented in this statement is that of the Candidate and not Engineers Australia.