Dear Member,
Although, 2022 provided new and different political and economic challenges, once again, thanks to the efforts of our staff, colleagues and yourselves our members, I am happy to report that our organisation rose to the challenges and completed another successful year.
It is now over six years since our organisation was renewed and refreshed from its move to partner with the Design Unit at University of Newcastle upon Tyne, one the world’s leading gear research centres, and during 2022 we relocated to new facilities at The Advanced Engineering Research Hub at the University. The resultant reduced cost basis of this arrangement continues to deliver positive financial performances giving additional tangible benefits and opportunities for all our members.
Not least of these benefits has been the continuing success of our Hybrid Training Model that has enhanced CPD, Continuing Professional Development possibilities for our members and all UK Gear Engineers. These training courses attracted a massive 763 attendees during the year and critically when our chargeable in-person training was relaunched in September it was also a great success, as all courses were fully booked and extra courses added to meet demand with bookings already made for 2023.
It is not only our training programme that encourages and supports the growth of the next generation of UK Engineers, but this is also enhanced by our,
BGA primary gears workshop;
Joint BGA IMechE student prize;
BGA Formula student sponsorship.
In 2022 we reviewed and updated our funded standards program to ensure all our members have free, 24/7 on-line access to the latest versions of 25 critical ISO BSI standards. This benefit alone is worth over £6,500 to our members.
GEARS 2022 our annual gear conference was again successfully run in a virtual format. Free to members we offered fifteen papers and attracted attendees from home and around the Globe. Again, we recognise that virtual events are not perfect, and people miss networking opportunities and the interaction with others, and we intend to increase networking opportunities in 2023.
All the above is the result of the efforts, resilience and attitude of our members and staff, not least Kirsty McGregor our Senior Administrator who has been on her own for the last two years. We are therefore pleased to welcome Lynne Gough to further support and fully staff our organisation. Kirsty and Lynne have created and will drive our new Strategic Directive Initiative (SDI) in 2023 that aims to:
Increase membership and networking opportunities;
Benefit from funding opportunities;
Initiate new research projects.
They will welcome any suggestions for additional topics for this initiative and look forward to your support.
In conclusion, I am happy to report that last year we maintained and increased our membership numbers and achieved another sound financial year. Not only do I thank you for your efforts and support that helped to achieve this but also look forward to continuing to work with you again during the coming year.
Finally, in recognition of our positive financial performance and the increased energy costs and the current inflation pressures faced by our members we have agreed that we will not be increasing our membership fees for 2023.
All the best,
Graham Penning OBE .
Chairman of the Executive Council of the BGA.
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