Dr Robert Care - Professional Engineer of the Year
Proving that management excellence is pervasive in every industry, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management was recently bestowed with a prestigious engineering award.
Engineers Australia recognised Dr Robert Care AM FAIM with the Professional Engineer of the Year Award at the Sydney Engineering Excellence Awards on Friday 19 September 2014.
Dr Care was selected for the prestigious award for his leadership role in the reform of Australia’s building regulations in the 1990s and his extensive work on many major global railway and infrastructure projects.
In 2012 Dr Care was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to Engineering, Business, Humanitarian Programs and Athletics. His commitment to the community is well reflected in his appointment as Chair of the RedR Australia (Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief).
Working in the field of engineering, Dr Care said that management is important for being able to move beyond theory and actually delivering projects.
“One view of engineering is that it is about delivering solutions to problems for people and in order for this to happen effectively, good management practices are essential,” Dr Care said. “Our world is rapidly becoming more urbanised, and we are facing challenges such as overcrowding, climate change, resource depletion, crime and pollution.
“By contrast people are demanding more mobility, more connectivity and greater standards of living. Good engineering can help to resolve these conflicting challenges and provide more sustainable, resilient, connected and liveable places for people.”
Dr Care said he chose to join AIM in August of 1993 as he considered his exposure to and training in management to have been inadequate in his rather technically focused undergraduate and postgraduate education.
“As a membership organisation for every manager, AIM provides a very good resource in terms of leadership and management knowledge as well as networking opportunities which are important no matter what industry you’re in.”
Dr Care has many highlights from a 42 year career to attribute his award to but a few stand out in his mind.
“The Wandoo Development which is an offshore oil platform in Western Australia was tailored around cooperative working which shaped much of my belief in what leadership and management are about,” Dr Care said.
“Working as the Bid Manager for a light rail project in Bangkok was another life changing experience as it gave me a new perspective on working with a diverse range of people and cultures. Another eye opening experience was working with the British rail system to help them recover after the Hatfield crash in 2000.”
Dr Care is also a Fellow of Engineers Australia and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and said that being nominated as Professional Engineer of the Year by the Sydney Division was a real pleasure.
“To win is an honour that I share with the many colleagues from Arup, RedR and elsewhere that have supported me over many years.”
Dr Robert Care will now proceed to the National Engineering Excellence Awards which will be held in Melbourne on Monday 24 November 2014.