Sharing Corrosion Expertise, Experience, and Knowledge at the Regional Level
Within the structure of the Institute of Corrosion, our branches play a key role. They help to bring us closer to our members, and communicate our values, vision, and mission. It’s important to us that we connect with our membership, and the branches provide incredible forums for this to happen.
The branches run semi-autonomously: we understand that they are closest to their branch members and are best placed to create and deliver their own programs.
We caught up with the Chairs of the Aberdeen and London branches (Dr Ejaz Muhammad and Polina Zabelina, respectively) to explain how their branches operate.
Structure of ICorr branches
Each branch is overseen by a committee, usually of 10 to 12 people. These take roles that range from the Chair to Marketing, and include treasurer, events, and technical programme planning.
“All committee positions are voluntary,” says Ejaz. “Each member makes a commitment of time toward the management of the branch. It’s enjoyable work, a great way to enhance your network, and helps toward professional development and industry awareness.”
And who makes a good committee member?
“Of course, you must be a member of the Institute of Corrosion to become a committee member,” Polina explains. “After this, we welcome people with or without previous committee experience. The most important ingredients are dedication to building on existing branch success and the ability to dedicate time.”
“Yes,” agrees Ejaz. “The desire to help the corrosion community is the primary quality needed.”
Roles and responsibilities of the branches
The branches have a great deal of autonomy, setting annual technical programmes, liaising with industry experts and other professional bodies and sister institutions. There’s a lot of work that goes into planning, scheduling, and running yearly programmes.
“Here in the London branch, we organise face-to-face and virtual presentations. Our aim is to bring the London corrosion community together and share information and news about corrosion management with all the industries present here. We have a monthly meeting (every second Thursday of the month between October and April). There are complementary welcome drinks, buffet, and bar. And always an enlightening technical presentation is included.” says Polina. “In addition, from this year we are running summer webinars between June and September. The first of the series is taking place on 9th June.”
“It’s similar in the Aberdeen branch,” Ejaz comments. “The committee is responsible for setting the annual technical programme – of course while interfacing with the ICorr Head Office in Northampton. In our case, our programme runs from August to June. Once finalised, we get support from branch sponsors and regional companies – 17 in total this past year. In turn, they benefit from the exposure that being affiliated with the branch brings to their operations. Our branch meetings are well attended, with as many as 80 ICorr members at any single meeting.”
“Then there’s the social side,” says Polina. “We have some great events. Our Christmas lunch is always popular. There’s a social event in May (this year it was a boat trip). In June, we’re holding a sponsored event in the Tower of London.”
How can you become an affiliated member of your local ICorr branch?
The contribution that is made to local and regional corrosion communities, industry, academia, and engineers through the effort of our branches is crucial in delivering ICorr’s mission.
We’re extremely proud of the amazing work that is done at the branch level. The enthusiasm and dedication shown by committee members does not go unnoticed at Head Office.
There are six regional branches of ICorr. Each has its own dedicated page on the ICorr website, where you can learn more about their activities, meetings, technical programmes, and sponsors. Click on the branch closest to you to learn more:
Before we go, a final word from Polina and Ejaz:
“Joining a professional organization’s committee can be an amazing experience for you and an opportunity to build skills that will help you further your career,” says Polina. “I can’t tell you how much my membership of ICorr at the branch level means to me. There’s a huge range of people involved here, with a wealth of knowledge and experience that they’re eager to share. Some of our committee members have been on the committee for years, while others have only recently joined. Being involved with ICorr, and in such a vibrant corrosion community as the London branch, is something I would recommend to all in the field of corrosion.”
“I’d certainly second Polina’s words,” says Ejaz. “I’m blown away by the depth of experience present at every one of our meetings. Being involved at branch level is an excellent opportunity to develop your network and deepen your knowledge of the trends in the corrosion industry.”
If you’d like to know more about becoming an affiliated member of either the London or Aberdeen branches, you can reach out directly to Polina or Ejaz on LinkedIn: