Lucy Pemble (far right) in Zambia
CIBSE members in the developmental stage of their career, who fancy spending three to four weeks abroad researching topics connected to their field of work, should put themselves forward for the Ken Dale Travel Bursary 2019.
Now open for entries, the award offers between £1,500 and £4,000 to young building services engineers who would like to experience technical, economic, environmental, social and political conditions in another country, and examine how these affect the practice of building services engineering.
The application process involves an initial written application, followed by a presentation to a CIBSE panel. Applicants must demonstrate the benefits of their trip to CIBSE, their company, clients and their own development.
Last year, for the first time, there were two winners – Lucy Pemble and Antoni Sapina-Grau. Pemble travelled to Zambia, South Africa, America and Wales to research her report Demand management:photovoltaics, electric vehicles and the strive for decarbonisation. Sapina-Grau’s paper, Resilience and adaptive capacity for upcoming climate challenges, took him to China, Hong Kong, Australia and America.
‘It’s not every day you get funded to travel the world and research a topic of your choice,’ said Pemble. ‘The experience has been a positive one. I have been challenged and, as a result, have grown in knowledge and confidence in my practice.’
Sapina-Grau said: ‘Winning the bursary means gaining a new perception by visiting different countries, meeting engineers around the world, and experiencing new ways of working. It’s a unique opportunity to discover, learn and develop things that are not written in textbooks.’
Entries must be received by 12 April. Visit www.cibse.org/kendale