IMarEST and SUT sign alliance agreement

The first step towards creating a global federation uniting professional and learned societies within the marine engineering, science and technology (MEST) world has been taken with the signing of an alliance agreement between the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT).

“The MEST sector has long been recognised as too fragmented to reflect its strength and importance,” says IMarEST Director General Keith Read. “The MEST Federation that we and our partners will be creating is designed to pull the disparate strands together. As the largest and best resourced player among the professional and learned organisations in the sector, the IMarEST is well placed to provide the spine for the Federation and has a large infrastructure that may be drawn on where appropriate.”

The SUT is a well respected, active and popular learned society comprising some 1600 members which has always sought to bring together all aspects of MEST in the subsea area. Negotiations are ongoing with a number of suitably qualified learned and professional societies, and it is hoped that next in line will be one of the senior marine science bodies. Others are expected to follow suit.

“SUT’s members will gain from the Federation’s greater punching power and we look forward to welcoming new members through the Joint Membership scheme,” says SUT’s Executive Secretary, Ian Gallett. “As the specialist learned society dealing with all matters of MEST subsea, the SUT is delighted to form a co-operative alliance with the IMarEST, and it is hoped, with others, in due course, to address the widest possible issues worldwide in MEST.”

Co-operation between the IMarEST and SUT will cover five key areas: membership; governance; publications; events and marketing.

On the publications front, SUT and IMarEST will collaborate on joint initiatives. When it comes to events and marketing there will be a single Federate Events Programme published by the Events Co-ordination Board. Where both organisations have a common interest in publications, events and exhibitions joint marketing will be undertaken.

The move towards federation in the MEST sector is analogous with the establishment of the Science Council. This development saw several scientific institutions including the IMarEST, The Institute of Physics, Royal Society of Chemistry, Institution of Chemical Engineers come together in order to co-ordinate their efforts in serving a constituency comprising some 150 000 individual scientists and technologists all over the world.