The CIBSE Inclusivity Guidelines provide guidance for members around a number of topics including language, communications, organising meetings, governance and recruitment. In this blog, Jo Edwards, Partner at Hoare Lea and CIBSE Inclusivity Panel member speaks on how fair and inclusive recruitment can help us to achieve a stronger, diverse workforce.   The start of a new year is always a time when people think about their career – what are their plans and objectives for the coming months, where would they like to have taken their role by the end of the year, or maybe it’s time to look for a new opportunity. The way recruitment is undertaken can be key to unlocking inclusivity in an organisation. So, as well as a time of opportunity for jobseekers, this time of year is a great chance for employers to look at their approach to attracting new people to join and enhance their team. It’s very well documented that diverse workforce results in a better business; one which has higher lev

  Full name : John Charles Griggs Topic area : Water supply and drainage CIBSE Trainer since:  2018 Tell us a little about yourself  My background is research, being at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for nearly 30 years in the Water Centre. The work I was involved in was used in the UK building regulations as well as national and international Standards. Hence, I am well aware of the science behind many of the requirements in today’s Standards, Regulations and Directives. Whilst at BRE, I was seconded to the Department for Trade and Industry for over 3 years; where I was responsible for all construction products. I worked on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the F-gas Regulations and other draft legislation that embraced the whole construction industry; not just water. Since then I have worked for the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) and lead a number of European research and development projects on topics that included: renewable heat storage s

The CIBSE Role Model series is intended to shine a spotlight on members of our building services community from under-represented groups and backgrounds to inspire and promote diversity amongst future engineers.  As part of our Role Model series this month, we speak to Emeka Efe Osaji a Teaching Fellow in Architectural Technology at the University of Salford, and Treasurer of the CIBSE Energy Performance Group. My name is Emeka Efe Osaji. Personally, I am a son, brother, husband, dad, uncle, nephew, cousin, in-law, and friend. Professionally, I am a Teaching Fellow in Architectural Technology at the University of Salford. I am lucky to be a 2nd-generation Academic, Researcher and Consultant. The steps taken by my parents and others have helped provide me with the right support network and prerequisite direction and clarity. I have kindly received recognition for my humble contributions, including in areas, such as: (1) Energy Certification Compliance Knowledge Transfer; (2) Teaching Ex

  As part of our  Career in Building Services  series, today we meet  Jerin Jacob, from CIBSE Young Engineer's Network UAE, who   works in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) engineering. If you have any questions about this career path, you can contact us at yenuae@cibse.org or  yepg@cibse.org . Jerin Jacob obtained his Master’s  degree in Energy at Heriot-Watt  University, Dubai in 2019. He has  since been working as a Project  Engineer in the Solar PV sector in  Dubai. Jerin has also been  volunteering with  the UAE region of the CIBSE  Young Engineers Network (YEN)  in multiple capacities since 2017  and currently holds the role of  Honorable Secretary within the  YEN committee. What do Engineers in the Solar Photovoltaics field do? The Photovoltaic Effect is the phenomenon under which sunlight is converted into electrical energy. Engineers in the commercial photovoltaic (PV) sector collaborate with MEP design specialists and operations/facility managers to develop the optimal strategy f

  As part of our  Career in Building Services  series, today we meet  Konstantinos  who works as a Mechanical Engineer. If you have any questions about this career path, you can contact us at  yepg@cibse.org . Konstantinos Tachtatzis Studied  Mechanical Engineering at the  University of Liverpool and  gained an MSc in Mechanical  System and Engineering from the  same University. He also has an  MSc in Renewable Energy  Engineering from Heriot-Watt  University.  He has a total of seven years of  experience within building  services and has worked on both  consultant and contractor roles  on a variety of buildings such as  residential offices, temples,  galleries, theatres, and hospitals.  Konstantinos is also vice-chair of  the CIBSE Young Energy  Performance Group (YEPG),  supporting the ongoing events  and liaising with external and  internal parties. What do Mechanical Engineers do? Mechanical Engineers are eclectic as they can choose to specialise in Heating, Ventilation and Air Con

Part of settling into the ‘ new normal ’ involved moving a lot of our daily activities online: watching online plays and opera, attending online parties, playing online escape rooms and exploring a now great variety of skills and knowledge development opportunities. Of course, there were such learning opportunities available online before, but now their numbers and types have increased, leaving a lot of eager learners with too many similar or maybe confusing options to choose from. What’s the difference? Let’s find the answer to this question by analysing two common e-learning opportunities, namely online learning and live training. Defining the terms For this blog, we will define online learning as an e-learning opportunity that can be done at a date and time chosen by the user.  Considering live training, we will refer to any online opportunity that can be done at a fixed date and time chosen by the organiser of the training and not by the user. It is also known as ‘webinar’, but for

  As part of our  Career in Building Services  series, today we meet  Konstantinos  who works as an Electrical Engineer. If you have any questions about this career path, you can contact us at yepg@cibse.org . Konstantinos Charalampidis  studied Electrical & Computer  Engineering at the Aristotle  University and Environmental  Design & Engineering at  University College London.  He works as an Electrical  Engineer in Arup and has  designed sustainable buildings in  Europe, Asia, and America.  Konstantinos was a Steering  Committee Member of the CIBSE  YEPG for 4 years prior to joining  the CIBSE EPG in 2020. As a Steering Committee  member, Konstantinos was  responsible for various events  around energy performance in  the built environment,  supporting CIBSE members in  their continuing professional  development. What do Electrical Engineers do? Electrical Engineers typically work in multidisciplinary teams to design the  electrical infrastructure of a building.  This might ra

  As part of our  Career in Building Services  series, today we meet  Ben  who is a Public Health Engineer. If you have any questions about this career path, please contact SoPHE YEN at   sophe.yen@gmail.com  or you can find your local YEN group at www.cibse.org/yen . Ben Goodfellow is a Public Health Engineer at WSP and the Chair of SoPHE YEN (Society of Public Health Engineers - Young Engineers Network). He studied Mechanical Engineering at University and has been in the field of Public Health Engineering for around 6 years working on many prestigious projects both in London and places further afield, including the Middle East. He is passionate about the built environment and its effects on community and wellbeing as well as promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) subjects and topics. What is Public Health Engineering? At its most basic level, Public Health Engineering is a discipline within the building services that focuses on the design of the systems that ena