Becoming a volunteer
The original whynotchemeng campaign was launched in 2001 in response to a decline in intake to chemical engineering undergraduate degree courses in the 1990s.
Designed to attract the brightest and best secondary school leavers to study chemical engineering, the campaign is built around 3 core activities:
- The whynotchemeng website
- whynotchemeng careers literature for schools
- The whynotchemeng volunteer network
whynotchemeng volunteers primarily work with our network of over 700 target schools. The target schools were originally selected on the basis of a combination of their exam results, a previous relationship with IChemE and personal recommendations. However we are in regular contact with approx 4,500 schools in total across the UK and Ireland.
Most volunteers agree to be linked with two schools near their home or work. Depending on the time you have to commit to whynotchemeng, you can link to as many or as few schools as you like! Being linked to a target school means you agree to attend careers events at that school as needed (subject to your availability).
Most schools hold careers events every year or two. In the event that there are no available target schools in your area we can source a suitable school/s to add to the target list for you.
Events vary from school to school. Most are either within school hours or early evening and might involve:
- Manning a stand at a careers fair
- Q&A sessions
- Giving a presentation
- Practice interviews
IChemE can supply you with presentation, display and literature resources promoting the whynotchemeng website. Visit our volunteer resources page to find out more.
We encourage all of our whynotchemeng volunteers to register as STEM Ambassadors with STEMNET (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Network). This does not mean any extra work on top of your whynotchemeng volunteer activities, but does offer you a number of advantages. More information can be found in the STEMNET area.
The work of whynotchemeng volunteers really does make a difference. Intake and applications to chemical, process and energy engineering degree courses has been climbing year on year since 2001 - so why not inspire the next generation of chemical engineers?
To find out more about becoming a volunteer please contact us.
To register as a whynotchemeng volunteer download and complete the registration form, and return to: Claire Cooke, IChemE, Davis Building, Railway Terrace, Rugby, CV21 3HQ
We look forward to welcoming you to the whynotchemeng team!