Our vision as an organisation is to promote and demonstrate the
value of a combined business and engineering education to improve
the performance of the UK economy. I believe that SMF has
taken another important step forward in the last twelve months in
trying to make a real difference in this goal.
We have been outward looking, distributing our publication
'Re-engineering the board to manage risk' to a variety of HR
directors in blue chip companies, challenging perceptions of how
skill profiles that include an understanding of how things are
designed, made, and successfully delivered add value to board room
interactions.
We recently held an HR Directors roundtable to discuss best
practice on recruiting directors for the management of risk and
find ways to shape opinion in this key area.
The UK is still the 6th largest manufacturer in the
world and the sector contributes enormous value to the UK economy.
Our Secretary James Raby and I attended the Future of UK
Manufacturing Summit held at 1 Birdcage Walk in March What struck
me was just how many of the critical success factors of
manufacturing today lie in the arena of good commercial management
rather than classical engineering areas. In other words, the
importance of brand development, understanding the customer
decision process, strategic development, good financial management,
and sales and marketing. This topic is in the heartland of the SMF
and I hope we will develop this theme over the next year.
Internally, I'm pleased to report that 70% of all SMFs
participated in a variety of events this year.
The SMF Executive Director Mentoring Programme has progressed,
all 6 executive mentors from FTSE350 companies remain committed to
the programme, and we are grateful for their support. We are
currently in the process of matching another group of SMFs with
mentors, this time engaged in entrepreneurial and finance career
paths with the much valued help of Peter Lever of Heidrick and
Struggles.
We have also launched a new website and social networking
platform to further promote our aims and help the exchange of ideas
and information.
I would like all our SMFs as individuals to consider how they
can contribute to furthering the improvement of the UK economy by
participating in some of our outward reaching programmes such as
our mentoring scheme to young engineers and our start-up business
review panels.
And , I would just like to say a brief word of thanks to all of
the people who made this year's achievements happen - Our Treasurer
Alpesh Amin who has led the work into incorporation and becoming a
self sustaining group, our Secretary James Raby - who has led the
skills and HR pack initiative, Julian Fagandini - who continues to
lead the Executive Board Mentoring Programme, John Moore - who took
the initiative to organise a networking event in the Southwest
region, and our other Committee members who have worked over the
last 12 months with amazing energy, resourcefulness and creativity
- Jo Hallas, Julian Morley, Ernie Poku and Paul Dolan. Also,
my sincere thanks to all the Sainsbury Management
Fellows who have participated in events, interview panels and who
have written articles or spoken to the media on our behalf, and to
our Comms Director, Cathy Breeze, who works tirelessly, often in
the background and skilfully enables everything else, corralling us
from our day jobs.
My thanks also to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and our
friends from the Royal Academy of Engineering, EngineeringUK, and
other institutions for their continued support and
encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank our Patron,
Lord Sainsbury, without whom none of this would be possible.
I am delighted to introduce Lord Sainsbury, who has graciously
agreed to say a few words.
LORD SAINSBURY ADDRESSES SMFs AT ANNUAL DINNER
2011
Over the last couple of years I have been writing a book about
the political economy of economic growth. This has involved
me in looking at why at particular times countries have caught up
with those at the technological frontier, and why other countries
have forged ahead or fallen behind.
What emerges from all these different case studies is the
overwhelming importance of the generation and diffusion of new
technology. I think I have always known and believed this, but
having seen the extent to which it explains the economic growth of
different countries I have been thinking once again about how we
can encourage young people to see engineering as an exciting and
challenging career, and one that makes the world a better
place.
As you know, this was one of my goals which I had in mind when I
set up the Sainsbury Management Fellows Scheme. It is also a
goal that I have continued to pursue in a number of different ways
and I thought that this evening I would say a word about some of
the schemes I have initiated and supported, what has been achieved,
and how you can help take this agenda forward.
There are three successful schemes that I would like to
mention. The first is the STEM Ambassador's Scheme which is a
national scheme which I initiated when I was in Government and
which involves people from STEM backgrounds going into schools to
act as inspiring role models for young people. This can take
the form of contributing to regular lessons or participating in
extra-curricular activities. STEM ambassadors can open the
door to a whole new world for young people, helping them to see
STEM subjects and careers with a fresh perspective and engaging
their interest and imagination in new ways. The Scheme
registers each Ambassador and also gives them training. The
Scheme was established in 2002. By 2008 the number of
Ambassadors had reached 18,000, and the number now stands at over
28,000 individuals drawn from over 3,000 employers.
The second Scheme I would like to mention is the Scheme for
after-school STEM Clubs which allow children to explore and
discover STEM subjects in a stimulating learning environment away
from the constraints of the prescribed curriculum. The aim is
to complement the curriculum and they are designed so that they do
not involve writing, tests or examinations. In this way they can
motivate and build confidence in young people who struggle with
STEM subjects and, at the same time, provide an extra outlet for
children who already show aptitude and are interested in furthering
their learning.
The programme was established in 2006 with 250 schools piloting
the Scheme and has proved very successful. The number of
schools participating doubled to 500 in 2008. By 2010 the
number of schools in the STEM clubs network had reached 1,500 and
by March 2011 there were over 2,000 state schools signed up,
representing around 50% of all schools in the U.K.
The third initiative I want to mention is the Big Bang
Fair. This was launched in 2009 to bring together in a single
fair the numerous science and engineering competitions aimed at
young people. The first event in 2009 attracted around 8,000 people
and by 2011 just three years later the number had risen to 29,000
people. The expectation is that these numbers will continue
to grow as word spreads throughout the schools network and more and
more industrial partners come on board.
I mention these schemes because I think they demonstrate very
clearly that one can enormously improve the effectiveness of all
the schemes to encourage young people to see engineering as an
exciting, rewarding career, by getting people to work together.
I also think that we have now turned the corner on the number of
young people doing science and technology subjects at GCSE and A
level, and that if we continue to enthusiastically push forward
this agenda and co-ordinate all our efforts, we can significantly
change young people's view of careers in science and
technology.
Having mentioned these Schemes by way of background I would like
to say how much I value the work of the Sainsbury Management
Fellows in taking this agenda forward. There is no better way
to encourage young people to take up careers in science and
technology than seeing young scientists and engineers doing
exciting and socially valuable jobs which are also well
rewarded. So I am delighted that of the 275 Sainsbury
Management Fellows who have graduated from business schools and the
10 who are studying for their degrees, 60 Fellows have started up
or run their own businesses, spanning a wide range of
industries. 100 Fellows are working in senior positions in
FTSE Companies, and Sainsbury Management Fellows have acted as
mentors to over 450 RAEng leadership award students over the past
15 years. I am also delighted to see that so many Sainsbury
Management Fellows are now leading green companies.
Chris Shelley - Green Power Corporation, Tom Delay - The Carbon
Trust, Bill Sneyd - Homesun, Gordon Wylie - Free Green Electricity
Corporation, to name but a few. And one of our newest Sainsbury
Management Fellows graduates, Phil Westcott, has just been hired by
IBM to work on the Smart Grid.
I am delighted to announce that a Sainsbury Management
Fellow will be invited to take up the role of visiting Professor in
Sustainable Wealth Creation at Nottingham University Business
School. This has been arranged by the RAEng and will be a
fantastic opportunity to shape the thinking of the next generation
and give them the incentive to take up careers in the extremely
important area of sustainability.
The Visiting Professor will work with the University's
International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility and the
Institute for Enterprise and Innovation to contribute to their
research, teaching and business engagement work. This will involve
working with undergraduates, post-graduates and research students
as well as MBA students. For example, the Visiting Professor
will be expected to lecture to MSc entrepreneurship students as
part of their innovation and technology transfer module.
I think this is a very exciting opportunity and could make a
very useful contribution to the agenda of encouraging young people
to see engineering as an exciting and challenging career and one
which makes the world a better place.
Finally, I pleased that the Society is taking
steps to evolve to a company limited by guarantee and registered
charity and that a key result of the recent members' survey is that
70% of the Sainsbury Management Fellows interviewed said that they
believed the Sainsbury Management Fellows could be both an alumni
and an influencing organization. That is the direction I hope
the Sainsbury Management Fellows will continue to pursue in the
coming years.
Now there is a critical mass of Sainsbury Management Fellows you
have the ability to make a huge impact on the way that young people
see engineers in business and I hope you will pursue this agenda
with all the energy and enthusiasm that you have brought to your
activities in the past.
