One of the questions we get asked about online communities is ‘Why bother?’ It’s a fair question and rather than giving you a list of theoretical answers we came across an example where virtual discussions in the IET Control & Automation Online Community became a physical event which will be taking place in September 2015. It’s a good illustration of the potential online communities have to meet the IET’s objectives.



A discussion that began on MyCommunity has developed into new event for the Control & Automation Technical and Professional Network (TPN). Real value can come from getting involved in discussions on MyCommunity, as shown by the creation of the upcoming lecture on the use of dynamic simulation in the development of control systems.



This event was developed off the back of a discussion thread within the Control & Automation TPN’s online community. Chairman Stewart Taylor had created a new thread asking members to introduce themselves and put forward ideas on what they’d like to see the TPN doing.



“This helped in deciding the ‘hot topics’ for the 2015-16 session as well as recruiting new members to the executive committee. We received a number of suggestions as well as introductions from people both in the UK as well as abroad, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Jamaica,” highlights Nirav Chokshi, a member of the TPN executive committee.



IET member Andy Clegg (Industrial Systems and Control Ltd.) joined in on this discussion, putting forward some suggestions to the group, which was picked up by the Chairman and IET Community Relationship Manager Joanne Longton.



“I joined MyCommunity just as a routine part of my membership of the IET, particularly as it provides a focus for my specialism and I saw a post asking for people to share their interests. This was at the time of my annual membership renewal and I was questioning whether the IET was the right place for my specialism, so I asked what the TPN had in its plans for the following year,” Andy says.



Alongside the MyCommunity discussion, Andy had also been communicating with Nirav via LinkedIn on the topic of dynamic simulation in control system design. “Combining these threads, I approached Andy directly to see if he would be interested in doing an event on his work on dynamic simulation,” says Nirav. “I circulated the proposal for the event to the committee, which was immediately supported by all members as well as the Chairman. Stewart was looking to engage Andy in wider TPN activities and to share his experiences.”



Discussions on MyCommunity ensued, later moving onto email as the group began to thrash out ideas. This led to a conference call that culminated in an agreement to organise an IET event, with Andy sourcing a speaker as well as taking to the lectern himself. “We had a meeting with Andy to discuss the feasibility of the event, in terms of format, venue and speaker. We were hoping to have a half-day workshop initially, but after looking at details, we decided to have an evening seminar involving two speakers: Andy Clegg and Professor Mike Grimble (University of Strathclyde). Mike would provide an academic perspective on simulation principles, while Andy would provide details on its real-world applications. “We agreed upon this model as it proved successful previously in other events the TPN had organised. In the meeting we also proposed Andy to join the Technical Advisory Panel for the TPN, which he willingly accepted –again a good outcome for the TPN. “In summary the event came from a good use of social media – initially MyCommunity and then LinkedIn. MyCommunity is a good portal for connecting directly with members and these threads allow people to comment and contribute.



“A constructive use of MyCommunity is to seek new opportunities,” Nirav continues. “Contributions from Andy could have been missed if no one had approached him, so encouraging members to contribute is important, but making use of these contributions is also important, in order to actively engage members in activities,” he concludes.



The Use of dynamic simulation in the development of control systems lecture takes place on 3 September. You can register for the event here.