Carol Moverley and Alison Brown have been at the helm of the Engineering Institute of Technology’s (EIT) branch in the United Kingdom for the last twenty years. Their story not only details how technology has impacted on education and training over the years, but how the company itself has adapted and grown. They certainly did not join the Engineering Institute of Technology that we know today.
Carol and Alison joined one of the initial iterations of the company – Instrument Data Communications (IDC). This was back in 1999 when they responded to job classifieds that had been placed in Worcester Park.
The company originally hosted 2-day public training courses, for professional development in engineering, around the United Kingdom, Ireland and the world. IDC instructors also went on-site to present the short courses - often customised for the client - and this still remains a vibrant part of the business today. To accompany the courses IDC published popular technical manuals.
Carol and Alison began in an age before social media so, in order to get the IDC word out to the engineering world, the marketing entailed direct mail. Delegates who were interested in registering for courses would have to send a paper booking form either by post or fax!
The arrival of the Internet set the stage for EIT: it was the advent of the company’s virtual classroom with live, interactive training and education dedicated to engineering and technology. Carol Moverley said:
“The creation of EIT marked a significant change in the IDC/EIT story. With the collapse of the financial markets in 2008 companies were all tightening their belts, so the creation of EIT gave companies an alternative to sending delegates away to attend public classroom-style training. It took a number of companies some time to recognise the benefits of live, interactive training, but as EIT gained international accreditation for more of its courses, more companies accepted this cutting edge way of providing training.”
As technology continued to develop and EIT began to gain more accreditation around the globe and with a growing number of courses and qualifications across the vocational and higher education sectors, the prospects for IDC/EIT began to gather steam. Alison Brown said:
“IDC/EIT feels like an ever-growing family. The work is varied: there are always new challenges and new technologies which keep the job fresh and exciting. The company is always moving forward with new developments, a couple of the newest – to offer an alternative to the online model - campuses in Perth and Melbourne, for engineering bachelor and master degrees.”
As the institution has developed so have Carol and Alison’s careers. The ease of modern communication has led to a flood of inquiries from individuals wanting to study and train through EIT - and Carol and Alison have been on the forefront of dealing with these prospective engineers. Carol and Alison know they are not the only ones learning; they are gratified to witness EIT students ably engaging in the new learning paradigm of online education. Alison notes:
“Engineers by nature have to learn new concepts and technologies in order to develop their careers and keep up with progress within the industry.”
Dean of Engineering and Founder at the Engineering Institute of Technology, Steve Mackay, lauded the two ladies:
“I congratulate Carol and Alison in our London office and thank them for their incredible service over these eventful 20 years. They are both extremely dedicated and enthusiastic and despite the years this has not waned. They have always risen to the challenge and found ways to navigate past the frequent obstacles. They are loyal and they are stalwarts - constantly looking for ways to improve our offerings despite the huge distances separating them from our head office in Australia.”
Alison and Carol note that their spare time is spent with family and friends. They also look forward to the holidays when they can kick their shoes off and put their feet up, but knowing that they have been integral players in the success of the Engineering Institute of Technology.
