INTERVIEW | KEVIN MITCHELL INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION To mark CIBSEs 125th anniversary, new President Kevin Mitchell is calling on all Members to share their stories and knowledge to inspire the next generation and attract more engineers into building services C IBSEs new President, Kevin Mitchell FCIBSE, has a clear goal for his year in office. He is calling on Members of the Institution to inspire the next generation of engineers to deliver the net zero buildings of the future. During his Presidential address, he laid down the gauntlet to Members in the form of five challenges: to celebrate their building services heroes; inspire future engineers; boost the expertise of early career engineers; share their building services story; and engage with their peers to share knowledge and take actions to combat climate change (see panel on page 44). The Presidents challenges are part of CIBSEs 125th anniversary celebration and will be prominent at upcoming events, including Build2Perform, the Building Performance Awards, the Technical Symposium, and Graduate of the Year. Mitchell is keen that building services engineers shout loudly about the achievements and opportunities the sector has to offer. The work we do is phenomenal, but were not as vocal as we could be about the role that we play, he says. CIBSE and our Members are central to so many crucial elements in the delivery of projects such as energy efficiency, building safety, and health and wellbeing. I want to create a buzz and momentum. Inspiration Mitchell is calling for engineers who were supported at the beginning of their careers to pay forward and inspire the next generation. This could be through mentoring, sponsorship or the setting up of a CIBSE Training and Development Scheme. Without mentors and support in the early part of his career, Mitchell says he would never have become a building services engineer, or have been given the opportunity to progress his career across a range of Kevin Mitchell became CIBSE President in May sectors all over the world. He first became aware of building services during a chance meeting with a Hoare Lea engineer at his rugby club. Mitchell had completed a pure mechanical engineering degree and was considering his options. I told him I fancied working at a sports car manufacturer and he said: Dont do that. Youll end up designing exhaust pipes your whole life. You should become a buildings services engineer. Mitchell was invited to the Hoare Lea office and was soon given a fulltime job. He cut his teeth on a diverse range of projects, including schools, offices, and happily for Mitchell Formula 1 engine test facilities. He also had the opportunity to work on hospitals, which he particularly enjoyed as it meant doing something really helpful for society. Having started at Hoare Lea in Plymouth, Mitchell moved to the consultancys Bristol office, where he started as a graduate engineer under the tutelage of former CIBSE President Terry Wyatt. Terry got me thinking about the impact of what we do and how it affects the people who occupy the 20 June 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE June 22 pp20-22 Kevin Mitchell interview.indd 20 27/05/2022 18:03