(Right) IEE president Professor Mike Sterling with Mike Rowse of InvestHK, a government agency tasked with attracting inward investment to Hong Kong

IEE president Professor Mike Sterling said it was important for the IEE to strengthen its presence in the Asia Pacific region. "In China, new entrants for engineering courses exceed the total of all new undergraduates in the UK. There are around 220 million students enrolled in the overall education system, and approximately 832,000 have entered universities to read engineering."

He added: "All these figures are indicators that the IEE must commit to a regional headquarters at the epicentre of this growth. We feel that our publishing and information services such as Inspec database are particularly relevant."

Thomas Yi who heads the IEE office in Hong Kong said the SAR was chosen the regional headquarters because the "costs of doing business is reasonable" and for its 'three hour hub' location. "Since the headquarters will be serving members and education institutions from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai, it will be possible to reach any of these cities by a three hour flight."

The IEE, the largest Europe-based engineering society, provides a range of services to enable the professional development of engineers across a broad spectrum.

Related link:
Institute of Electrical Engineers www.iee.org
InvestHK www.investhk.com