IIW Annual Report 2021

WORKING GROUP YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

The IIW has identified the critical necessity for more young professionals (YPs) to pursue careers at all levels in welding and its allied technologies. The IIW also needs to attract the participation of the younger generation of welding professionals. Last year the IIW Board of Directors transitioned the Task Group - Young Leaders into a Working Group - Young Professionals (WG-YP).

The Working Group aims to attract more young people to IIW activities and support the development and training of YPs for future IIW leadership positions. Competent and dynamic YPs must be recruited to the Technical Commissions in order to ensure the

IIW’s future and to guarantee the continued excellence and innovativeness of the IIW’s technical and scientific knowledge base. Additionally, in 2021 an IIW Future Leaders Programme was initiated by the IIW Board of Directors. It includes funding to allow two YPs to join the IIW Board of Directors' meetings as guests, let them be involved in

the association’s management and gain new skills. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, face-to-face YP activities were not conducted in 2021, and events were transferred to hybrid and virtual formats. During the IIW Annual Assembly, the YP Ice Breaker was conducted online with great success and the YP International Conference planned for Kiev, Ukraine at the end of October 2021 was changed to online only. This proved very effective despite the various time zones involved, with technical presentations by YP from many countries as well as an expert keynote address on aeronautics including Electron Beam Welding of titanium rocket nozzles. IIW is also aiming to get IIW student chapters established by member societies around the world, with success already in USA, Germany, Canada, Hungary and Thailand. Having a mentor is crucial in a young person’s career. With the updated IIW Mentorship Programme, IIW addresses YPs as individuals and supports the ‘finding’ process between mentor and mentee through questionnaires and other means. The WG-YP is now preparing for the two events at the upcoming IIW 2022 Annual Assembly in Tokyo, Japan; the Ice Breaker on the Sunday afternoon prior to the Opening Ceremony and the Tuesday evening ‘get together’ for YPs. Many of the Commission chairs and Board members will be in attendance to interact with the YP. When asked what they thought about the IIW, YPs appreciated that, with its harmonious combination of representatives from research, acadaemia and industry, IIW is in a unique position to influence and attract cooperation on a global and multi-tiered scale. Those who regularly participate in IIW activities truly believe in the IIW, what it represents and what it offers, and they all come back again and again to share in the IIW’s knowledge exchange network.

MR ERNEST LEVERT (USA)

16