Machman 2015

The IDC of Machining Science in Sheffield would like to invite you to MachMan 2015 on 21 October, a machining and manufacturing conference for student researchers at all levels.

The event offers an opportunity to showcase student research and develop networks between research centres from across the UK. The conference will be based at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing and will include a tour around the facilities.  

To find out more and book please download the flyer (PDF) or visit the website.

EngD centre coordinators meeting - new date TBA

Each year, a meeting is held of managers and coordinators of EngD industrial doctorate centres. In 2013, it was hosted at the TSBE centre at the University of Reading, and in 2014, it will be hosted by the IDC in Machining Science at the AMRC Training Centre, Catcliffe, Sheffield ("the AMRC is well worth seeing if you haven’t visited before").

Most centre managers will have been contacted about this, but if you think you may have missed the notification or would like to know more, please contact Andrea Haworth, centre manager in Sheffield - her email address is a.haworth@sheffield.ac.uk.

(Updated on 7 March to reflect date change - now looking at dates in late Spring, early Summer.)

To RE or not to RE?

An email from Dr Andrea Haworth, Centre Manager at the Industrial Doctorate Centre in Machining Science (University of Sheffield) has got people talking about "how IDCs refer to EngD students/Research Engineers (and perhaps more importantly how EngDs refer to themselves)."

We appreciate that there is good reason and a strong steer to call them “Research Engineers”, but many people have a job title “Research Engineer” and aren’t EngD candidates. 

I really do try, but if I refer to  “Research Engineers”, most people don’t know that I’m talking about, or might, at best, assume that I mean someone who has gained the EngD qualification.

I tend to alternate between “EngD student” (which I don’t like but which is sort of understood) or ”EngD Research Engineer”, or as a complete get out, just “EngD”.  On business cards the students are referred to Research Engineer/ EngD Candidate or similar.

I was wondering whether “Postgraduate Research Engineer” might do (cf “Postgraduate Research Student”).  Or have I just invented something else to confuse? How do other IDCs handle this? 

Responses

• Sally Hawthorne at Southampton's IDC on transport and the environment said: "the students themselves wish to be known as ’EngD researchers’ and that’s what’s on their door signs and on their business cards."
• From the Manufacturing Technology centre at Nottingham, David Shipley said: "We tend to call ours Research Engineers or EngD Research Engineers. They seem to appreciate not being referred to as students externally. ... Ours tend to have Research Engineers on their business cards."
• Steven Yeomans (Loughborough's CICE) also said: "I use Research Engineer when dealing with anyone other than internal university systems, where I then use the term EngD student."
• David Stanley (Nuclear Engineering IDC) adopts the same approach: "externally we try to use 'Research Engineers' as much as possible and we also get them to put this on business cards. It adds a bit of kudos at conferences etc."
• Justine Easten from STREAM's Newcastle location, says: "I use EngD Research Engineers, and our researchers have business cards to say this, followed by their industrial sponsors name...."

The AEngD has tended to use 'Research Engineer' too, but what do you think? If you are engaged in an EngD programme, what title do you prefer?