LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Hi everyone,
Firstly, I am humbled to be elected as the Chair of the Special Interest Group for Immigrant Engineers (SIGIE) Committee of Engineering New Zealand for the 2024-2025 term. Joining me this year are 12 talented and committed professionals, making a total of 13 members on the committee. Together, we are dedicated to supporting immigrant engineers by giving our time, effort, and energy to help them grow and thrive in their careers here in New Zealand. Personally, it is an honour to lead this committed team to serve the wider SIGIE membership. On behalf of the SIGIE Committee, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our members.
As one of the Engineering New Zealand’s Technical Groups, SIGIE was formed to provide a strong network for immigrant engineers to meet new people and to share work opportunities. SIGIE also provides professional development, employment and career counselling to support immigrant engineers to settle into life and work in New Zealand.
We are aware that this year has been, and continues to be, challenging for many due to the current economic climate. Over the past few years, we have listened to our members, identifying recurring challenges and areas of concern. For this term, the committee's primary objective is to support our members through these tough times. Additionally, we aim to build upon the strong foundation laid by our predecessors by creating a structured, sustainable action plan that will continue to provide value for years to come.
I encourage you to attend our events this year to gain valuable knowledge and local insights from industry leaders and peers. Be sure to check the Learning & Events page on the Engineering New Zealand website, as well as the SIGIE website, for information about upcoming events and access to recordings from past sessions.
If there is a topic you believe would benefit our members—whether it’s about settling and thriving in New Zealand or providing a platform for giving back to the community—please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at immigrant.engineers@engineeringnz.org. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
I look forward to seeing you at one of our events.
Regards,
Vincent Selvakumar
Chair - SIGIE
