10 Sep 2024
IOR members who volunteer as STEM Ambassadors will soon have access to an exciting new resource—a LEGO Refrigeration Plant kit. This innovative approach to getting young people interested in refrigeration was created and funded by FJB and will be donated to IOR STEM ambassadors to form part of their STEM toolkit to take into schools and careers fairs. The LEGO “build your own fridge” kits provide all the building blocks for a fridge plant alongside instructions and a guide to how a fridge system works. It links directly to the IOR FantasticFridges.com website that has refrigeration system and component demonstrations and highlights some innovative applications of refrigeration technology as well as promoting careers.
It has been a major priority for the IOR to encourage and support a network of IOR Members who are STEM Ambassador registered and can build relationships with schools, attend career fairs, and get involved in other educational settings to present refrigeration science fundamentals in an interactive, hands-on way in order to have a long-term impact on careers in the RACHP sector. Recent initiatives that have been paid for by the IOR Presidents’ fund have included refreshed content for the schools website www.fantasticfridges.com, training 12 members under the STEMAZING training scheme, and providing STEM Ambassadors with games and materials in their RACHP STEM kit.
Individuals interested in becoming STEM Ambassadors and/or businesses interested in supporting the Institute’s educational outreach can contact the IOR here.
2 Jun 2025
Congratulations to Chloe Jennings and Millie Edwards for winning first and third place in the Women in Cooling European Video Competition.
28 May 2025
Lots to discuss at the "enough" retail workshop on commercial refrigeration and food chain emissions reduction on 27th May
22 May 2025
IOR has published its latest Education Guidance Note in the series, this time focusing on Coaching as a way of employers supporting engineering and technician development. The Guidance Note (16) gives a guide to understanding the benefits of coaching, how this differs from mentoring and includes a useful list of organisations who can offer help with setting up coaching schemes or offer coaching.
21 May 2025
IOR members showed their support for the Cold Chain Federation (CCF) campaign to recognise the Cold Chain as part of the UK's critical national infrastructure, as they attended the CCF's reception at the Houses of Parliament on 20th May.
8 May 2025
Expert in climate change adaptation Tim Fox will deliver a keynote talk at the IOR’s Adaptation 2025 conference detailing why cooling is now a “mission critical” service, essential to public health, food security, global commerce, and economic well-being.