Institution of Engineering and Technology

IET Savoy Place

Discussions started in 2004 between the IEE and the IIE about merging to form a new institution. In September 2005, both institutions held votes of the merger and the members voted in favour (73.5% IEE, 95.7% IIE). This merger also needed government approval, so a petition was then made to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom for a Supplemental Charter, to allow the creation of the new institution. This was approved by the Privy Council on December 14, 2005, and the new institution emerged on March 31, 2006.

The Society of Telegraph Engineers (STE) was formed on May 17, 1871, and it published the Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers from 1872 through 1880. Carl Wilhelm Siemens was first President of IEE in 1872. On December 22, 1880, the STE was renamed as the Society of Telegraph Engineers and of Electricians and, as part of this change, it renamed its journal the Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers and of Electricians (1881 – 82) and later the Journal of the Society of Telegraph-Engineers and Electricians (1883 – 88). Following a meeting of its Council on 10 November 1887, it was decided to adopt the name of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). As part of this change, its Journal was renamed Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1889, and it kept this title through 1963. In 1921, the Institution was Incorporated by royal charter and, following mergers with the Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers (IERE) in 1988 and the Institution of Manufacturing Engineers (IMfgE) in 1990, it had a worldwide membership of around 120,000. The IEE represented the engineering profession, operated Professional Networks (worldwide groups of engineers sharing common technical and professional interests), had an educational role including the accreditation of degree courses and operated schemes to provide awards scholarships, grants and prizes. It was well known for publication of the IEE Wiring Regulations which now continue to be written by the IET and to be published by the British Standards Institution as BS 7671.

The IET hosts the archive for the Women's Engineering Society (WES) and it has also provided office space for WES since 2005.

The modern Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) traced its heritage to The Vulcanic Society that was founded in 1884 and became the Junior Institution of Engineers in 1902, which became the Institution of General Technician Engineers in 1970.[4] It changed its name in 1976 to the Institution of Mechanical and General Technician Engineers. At this point it merged with the Institution of Technician Engineers in Mechanical Engineering and formed the Institution of Mechanical Incorporated Engineers in 1988. The Institution of Engineers in Charge, which was founded in 1895, was merged into the Institution of Mechanical Incorporated Engineers (IMechIE) in 1990.

The Institution of Electrical and Electronic Technician Engineers, the Society of Electronic and Radio Technicians, and the Institute of Practitioners in Radio and Electronics merged in 1990 to form the Institution of Electronics and Electrical Incorporated Engineers (IEEIE).

The IIE was formed in April 1998 by the merger of The Institution of Electronic and Electrical Incorporated Engineers (IEEIE), The Institution of Mechanical Incorporated Engineers (IMechIE), and The Institute of Engineers and Technicians (IET, not to be confused with the later-formed Institution of Engineering and Technology). In 1999 there was a further merger with The Institution of Incorporated Executive Engineers (IIExE). The IIE had a worldwide membership of approximately 40,000.

The Institution of Manufacturing Engineers (IMfgE), formerly the Institution of Production Engineers (IProdE), was founded following the initiative of one H. E. Honer who wrote to a technical periodical titled ‘Engineering Production’ suggesting that the time was ripe to form an institution for the specialised interests of engineers engaged in manufacture. As a result of correspondence generated by this letter a meeting was held at Cannon Street Hotel in London on 26 February 1921. At this meeting it was decided to form the IProdE in order to; establish the status and designation of production or manufacturing engineers; to promote the science of practical production in industry; and to facilitate the interchange of ideas between engineers, manufacturers and other specialists. The term ‘production engineering’ came into use to describe the management of factory production techniques first developed by Henry Ford, which had expanded greatly during the First World War. The IProdE was incorporated in 1931 and was granted its armorial bearings in 1937. From the outset the Institution operated through decentralised branches called local sections wherever a sufficient number of members existed. These local sections were self-governing and elected their own officers. Local sections held monthly meetings at which papers were read and discussed. Outstanding papers were published in the Institution's journal. Named papers commemorating the work of the following eminent production engineers were read at national meetings: Viscount Nuffield, Sir Alfred Herbert, Colonel George Bray, Lord Sempill, E. H. Hancock, and J. N. Kirby. National and regional conferences were also arranged dealing with specific industrial problems. Active councils were gradually established worldwide including in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Institution's education committee established a graduate examination which all junior entrants undertook from 1932 onwards. An examination for Associate Membership was introduced in 1951. The Second World War further accelerated developments in production engineering and by 1945 membership of the IProdE stood at 5,000. The 1950s and 1960s were perhaps the most fruitful period for the Institution. Major conferences such as ‘The Automatic Factory’ in 1955 ensured that the Institution held a place at the forefront of production technology. A Royal Charter was granted in 1964 and membership stood at over 17,000 by 1969. In 1981 the IProdE instituted four medals as part of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations comprising; the International Award, the Mensforth Gold Medal, the Nuffield Award and the Silver Medal. The Mensforth Gold Medal was named after Sir Eric Mensforth, founder and chairman of Westland Helicopters and a former IProdE President. The medal was awarded to British recipients who had made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of production engineering technology. Today the Mensforth Manufacturing Gold Medal is the IET's premier manufacturing award. Financial constraints, a slowing in membership and a blurring of distinctions between the various branches of engineering led the IProdE to merger proposals in the late 1980s. The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) had interests very close to those of the IProdE. The IEE was a much larger organisation than the IProdE and the proposal was that the IProdE should be represented as a specialist division within the IEE. While these talks were reaching fruition in 1991 the IProdE changed its name to the Institution of Manufacturing Engineers. A merger with the IEE took place the same year, with the IMfgE becoming the IEE's new Manufacturing Division.[5]

The IET is governed by the President and Board of Trustees.[6] The IET Council, [7] on the other hand, serves as the advisory and consultative body, representing views of the members at large and offering advice to the Board of Trustees. Since founding the IET, several prominent engineers[8] have served as its President and the recent Presidents are listed below:

The IET represents the engineering profession in matters of public concern and assists governments to make the public aware of engineering and technological issues. It provides advice on all areas of engineering, regularly advising Parliament and other agencies.

The IET also grants Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer, Engineering Technician, and ICT Technician professional designations on behalf of the Engineering Council UK. IEng is roughly equivalent to North American Professional Engineer designations and CEng is set at a higher level. Both designations have far greater geographical recognition. This is made possible through a number of networks for engineers established by the IET including the Professional Networks, worldwide groups of engineers sharing common technical and professional interests. Through the IET website, these networks provide up-to-date sector-specific news, stock a library of technical articles and give members the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas with peer groups through dedicated discussion forums. Particular areas of focus include education, IT, energy and the environment.

The IET has an educational role, seeking to support its members through their careers by offering a professional home for life, producing advice and guidance at all levels to secure the future of engineering. For instance, the IET accredits degree courses worldwide in subjects relevant to electrical, electronic, manufacturing and information engineering. In addition, it secures funding for professional development schemes for engineering graduates including awards scholarships, grants and prizes.

For the public, the IET website provides factfiles on topics such as solar power, nuclear power, fuel cells, micro-generation and the possible effects on health of mobile phones and power lines. The IET runs the bibliographic information service Inspec, which is a major indexing database of scientific and technical literature and publishes books, journals such as Electronics Letters, magazines such as Engineering & Technology and conference proceedings. Over 80,000 technical articles are available via the IET Digital Library.

IET.tv is one of the world's largest collated resources of authoritative and multidisciplinary engineering and technology content. Comprising in excess of 6,500 presentation, lecture and training videos, this high quality engineering information offers research insight, workflow solutions and access to inspirational events and expert communities. With a range of search and user functionalities, IET.tv enables online video access to a range of topics and expertise. IET.tv also has an YouTube presence, where it publishes a wide variety of content related to engineering and technology.[9]

The IET has several categories of membership, some with designatory postnominals:

• Honorary Fellow (HonFIET)

Refers to distinguished individuals whom the IET desires to honour for services rendered to the IET. [10]

• Fellow (FIET)

Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET) refers to a person who has demonstrated significant individual responsibility, sustained achievement and professionalism in engineering areas relevant to the interests of the Institution.[11]

• Member (MIET or TMIET)

This category is open to professional engineers (MIET) and technicians (TMIET) with suitable qualifications and involvement in areas relevant to the interests of the Institution. MIET is a regulated professional title recognised in Europe by the Directive 2005/36. [12][13][14] MIET is listed on the part 2 professions regulated by professional bodies incorporated by Royal Charter-Statutory Instruments 2007 No. 2781 Professional Qualifications-The European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007.[15]

• Associate

Open to persons with an interest in areas relevant to the interests of the Institution who do not qualify for the Member category.

• Student

Open to persons studying to become professional engineers and technicians.

The IET has a journals publishing programme,[16] totalling 24 titles such as IET Software as of March 2012 (with the addition of IET Biometrics and IET Networks). The journals contain both original and review-oriented papers relating to various disciplines in electrical, electronics, computing, control, biomedical and communications technologies.

Electronics Letters[17] is a peer-reviewed rapid-communication journal, which publishes short original research papers every two weeks. Its scope covers developments in all electronic and electrical engineering related fields. Also available to Electronics Letters subscribers are something called the Insight Letters.[18]

Micro & Nano Letters,[19] first published in 2006, specialises in the rapid online publication of short research papers concentrating on advances in miniature and ultraminiature structures and systems that have at least one dimension ranging from a few tens of micrometres to a few nanometres. It offers a rapid route for international dissemination of research findings generated by researchers from the micro and nano communities.

The IET refers to its region-specific branches as "Local Networks".

• Engineering
• Glossary of engineering
• Engineering ethics
• Faraday Medal
• IET Achievement Medals
• Mountbatten Medal
• Society of Engineers UK
• Society of Professional Engineers UK

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