» Issue 5: Autumn 2006

Presidents' Report

John Banyard

2006 is the 40th anniversary of my graduation from Imperial College, and the latter half of my presidential year will coincide with the Centenary of the College. It is strange to realise that my professional life has spanned 40% of the College’s own existence. When I received my degree I never dreamed that I would one day be President of the Alumni Association. I am greatly honoured to have been elected to do so.

The engineering profession today is very different to the world of the 60s. For most laymen, the most obvious change has been the introduction of computers and the dawning of the digital age. But the changes have been far more extensive, with increased emphasis on commercial matters and management, together with the emergence of consumer orientated societies. globalisation and environment.

The ancient Egyptians represented human life as a tree with five birds sitting on the branches. Four looked to the right and one to the left. The birds were the five ages of man, with four looking to the future and the fifth looking the other way because he was dead: at which point there is only a retrospective of what has been. There is a great danger in any organisation like CGCA that it will focus too much on what the world used to be like and fail to take sufficient account of the realities of today’s profession. Any organisation that falls into that trap will simply become irrelevant to its younger members and eventually perish.

I am delighted to say that over the last few years, the need for change has been recognised and much has been achieved. It is my intention to ensure that progress is maintained. CGCA will maintain those traditions that are relevant and seek to introduce new opportunities for members, while working with the College to ensure that the Association remains as relevant to Imperial and its alumni in the future as it has been for the first 100 years.

Finally may I encourage as many of you as possible to attend at least one of the events that are being held to mark the Imperial College centenary in 2007 and help to celebrate a great academic institution.

Roger Clegg

AS ANOTHER academic year looms, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect upon some of the major challenges and events for the RSMA and the CSC (Clubs and Societies Committee – the old Union to us oldies) that have occurred over the last year.

As ever, the restructuring of the college and reduction in funding from the College has made the operation of the RSMCSC very challenging. As such, the RSMA has been working closely with the Union in supporting the more traditional events. The last academic year has seen the Association support the Freshers Dinner, the Christmas Ball, the Bottle Match and the Final Year dinner, overseas trips to Canada and Azerbaijan and the rebuilding of the RSM mascot, Clem. The Trust meanwhile continues to provide vital support for individuals in the form of hardships loans and grants as well as UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme). However, it is gratifying to see that the CSC (Union) executive has been particularly active in raising additional funds, especially in the form of external sponsorship. Given the current strong commodities’ market and the record profits recorded by mineral resource companies, it’s a valuable source of income I hope the new executive continues to tap into.

There is now even more reason for us to continue supporting the welfare, educational and social needs of the students of the RSM. At the last RSMA committee meeting it was agreed that RSMA membership subscriptions would be increased from £10 to £15 a year for all members with the exception of life members. No one can actually remember how long the subscription levels have been static but it is definitely decades and over that period costs have continued to rise.

You as members may rightly ask ‘what do I get for paying an extra £5?’ The answer is that your valued subscriptions go towards helping the students achieve a rounded education which is getting more expensive each year. If this extra funding means that more students can graduate from the RSM and take its spirit with them into the wider world, then that has to be worth it. There are a number of logistical and technical difficulties in changing standing orders for existing members, so we are relying on you to voluntarily change your standing order with your bank!

Lastly, I would like to thank our outgoing Treasurer Paul Atherton who has provided a tremendous service to the RSMA, despite his work taking him overseas for much of 2005/6.