President’s Welcome

Welcome to IMCSE,

It is a privilege to welcome you to the Institute of Munition Clearance and Search Engineers (IMCSE), and an honour to have been elected as its President.

When IMCSE was founded in 1998, many hoped that greater international co-operation and monitoring would steadily reduce the threat posed by munitions. As a founding member of the Institute, and with over 35 years’ experience in the sector, I have seen first-hand how events have proved otherwise. Recent and ongoing conflicts have left vast areas contaminated with explosive ordnance. Improvised devices and uncrewed systems continue to evolve. The legacy of past wars still lies beneath our land and seas. At the same time, the demands of infrastructure development, offshore energy and environmental remediation mean that munition clearance and search skills are needed more widely than ever. Our profession will be called upon for years and decades to come.

IMCSE exists first and foremost to be a home for that profession. We bring together everyone with a professional interest in munition clearance, humanitarian demining, conventional munitions disposal (CMD), explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD), chemical weapons disposal (CWD), weapons of mass destruction disposal (WMDD), search and weapons inspection. Our members include practitioners, trainers, researchers, developers and manufacturers.

Why join?

Full Membership entitles you to use the post-nominal letters MIMCSE. These show that your training and experience have been independently validated by a representative professional body, a recognition that carries real weight with employers, clients and peers. Membership also connects you with people and information that support your continuing professional development, strengthen your employability, and keep you informed of opportunities and emerging requirements across the sector.
If you have a genuine interest in our profession but do not yet have the training and experience needed for Full Membership, we warmly welcome you as an Associate Member.

Our members depend on the organisations that train, educate, research, develop and manufacture for our sector. We encourage those organisations to engage directly with the Institute as Corporate Members. For training providers in particular, IMCSE offers an independent training accreditation service, assessing courses against the requirements of the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). Accreditation gives students, employers and clients confidence that training meets an internationally recognised benchmark.

I know that time and money are precious, and that many worthy causes compete for both. I believe IMCSE offers genuine value in return: recognition, connection and a collective voice for a profession that keeps people safe. I look forward to welcoming you as a member and to working with you in the years ahead.

David Hewitson
President, Institute of Munition Clearance and Search Engineers