Maggie Zhang works as Member Relations Manager at IET China, a role rich in variety, as she not only works directly with members on queries, renewals and communications, but also with partners on an array of events. These can be anything from lectures, conferences and workshops through to networking sessions, competitions and awards ceremonies.
“Every day is different,” she says. “I usually start my mornings by making a plan and listing the work I need to focus on that day, as there’s always a number of different projects on the go.
“Each piece of work is unique – you’ll find me doing anything from arranging a student talk for new members through to working with partners on a China-UK technical workshop about net-zero technologies.”
“Each product, service or event I’m working on needs to focus on its target audience, which can be anyone from an undergraduate student and young professional through to professionally registered members and fellows. Each piece of work is unique – you’ll find me doing anything from arranging a student talk for new members through to working with partners on a China-UK technical workshop about net-zero technologies.”
Integral to IET China’s success
Maggie’s work is integral to IET China’s membership business, and she works closely with her colleagues in the UK to ensure that members in China have the same access to services and events.
“I work with the UK membership team to answer member queries, with the communities team on international events and competitions like Present Around the World, and with the awards team on the China sessions of prestige events like the IET Harvey Lecture. Collaboration is the key to our success.”
Her work within member services also supports that of other departments. For example, the technical workshops she helps put on can support the development of professional registration, while networking sessions in collaboration with the publishing department can lead to opportunities for new research to be shared. And as if all this wasn’t enough, Maggie’s a member of the IET equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) committee, which also supports not only other aspects of the organisation, but also the wider engineering community.
“I recently worked with publisher and IET Journals partner Wiley to organise workshops and interviews with women engineers and scientists on International Women’s Day, for example. Not only was this a great thing to do to support EDI within the engineering industry, but also was a great event for the marketing department to showcase,” she says.
So much more than just a job…
To Maggie, working for the IET is more than just a job, she considers it an important part of her life and personal growth.
“The IET provides an open and friendly work environment, one that respects equality, diversity and inclusivity,” she says. “It welcomes and respects different ideas and has given me space to grow. There’s a lot of support from management – if we ever have any difficulties outside of the workplace, managers focus on how they can help, rather than how this might affect staff performance.
“Working for the IET is like looking down a kaleidoscope – every day offers a new view,” she continues. “I love that I get to work with so many different people and cultures, see so many diverse minds and talents at work, to watch members’ and partners’ creativity and innovation.
“The most precious gift the IET has given me though, is that many of these people have become more than just colleagues, they’ve turned into life-long friends.”
