Diversity will be a point of focus for the Engineers Australia Townsville Regional Group in 2018, with new chair Tara-lee MacArthur at the helm.
An electrical engineer who graduated from QUT Brisbane six years ago, Ms MacArthur has since moved into a role in substation design standards with Ergon Energy, based in Townsville.
In this role, she is responsible for standardising design policies, strategies, standards and equipment specifications for network zone substation primary plant and equipment across Queensland.
Her expertise and achievements earned her the title of Engineers Australia’s ‘Graduate Electrical Power Engineer of the Year for 2018’.
She will also travel to Europe and the United States late this year as a recipient of the University of Queensland’s ES Cornwall Memorial Scholarship.
“My love of problem-solving spurred my ambition to be an engineer in the power industry; I really enjoy what I do,” Ms MacArthur said. “My work with Engineers Australia is a way to give back to a profession which I’m deeply passionate about.”
With Ms MacArthur as chair, the Townsville Regional Group will be pushing for increased diversity in the profession. This will be achieved by partnering with organisations such as the CSIRO and the Engineering Link Group to reach into schools, helping female students to foster interest in STEM subjects at school.
“We want the engineering profession to be front and centre in all student’s minds. If we can engage a student in STEM activity, we can create a passion for engineering, which is good not only for diversity, but the profession as a whole,” Ms MacArthur said.
Continuing on the theme of diversity, the Townsville Regional Group will deliver an International Women’s Day Breakfast Session in March.
Held at ‘A Touch of Salt’, the session will feature a presentation from the Anti-Discrimination Commission of Queensland, and include speakers from local organisations championing diversity in the engineering sector. (More at https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Event/2018-international-womens-day-townsville)
Ms MacArthur said the Townsville Regional Group would continue to deliver quality CPD opportunities for engineers around Townsville throughout 2018, focusing on current issues of interest as well as future trends.
Planned excursions are to include a Brandon sugar mill visit in July, and an examination of the solar farm project at the Sun Metals zinc refinery in April.
