ASHRAE has announced the formation of a new ASHRAE Region in Europe — Region XIV, which will begin July 1, 2017. With this new region will also come a new chapter in Ireland, which the society says will be vitally important for industry collaboration throughout Europe.

Additionally, the society announced two strategic partnership agreements with the signing of new Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with high-profile European societies. The first is a trilateral agreement with the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), which is based in the U.K., and the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Associations (REHVA). REHVA is a federation of 26 European HVACR societies with more than 100,000 members. The second MoU is directly between ASHRAE and REHVA.

Officials said both agreements will increase the knowledge transfer from the societies between North America and Europe, and outline how the groups will work together more closely and with more defined parameters to continue furthering and promoting the advancements of HVACR technologies. These include but are not limited to: research, joint conferences and meetings, training and education programs, publication distribution, and chapter collaboration.

These announcements were among many made during the inaugural address of incoming 2017-18 ASHRAE President Bjarne W. Olesen, Ph.D., Fellow ASHRAE. During his speech, Olesen presented his presidential theme, which is “Extending Our Community.” Through this theme, Olesen will focus on extending ASHRAE’s global community, technological horizons, and overall value to the society’s members.

The formation of the new region, along with these agreements, are directly in-line with the directives set forth by Olesen .

“Extending our global community will acknowledge our interconnectedness and embrace our shared needs and objectives,” Olesen said. “By creating a new region and strengthening our relationships with associate societies in Europe, our members will be even more empowered to continue producing and sharing technical guidance worldwide. This will, in turn, bolster our industry’s global diversity as we work toward a more sustainable world.”

Olesen also announced that the society is establishing the ASHRAE Global Training Center for Building Excellence in Dubai, which will serve ASHRAE members and other building systems professionals in the Gulf Region and in surrounding areas.

The focus of the ASHRAE Global Training Center will be to make training conveniently available on a regular schedule that is curricula based. Training offered in the center will be customized and scalable, accounting for climate, culture, suppliers, energy sources, prices, codes, and construction practices. The center’s instructors will be engineers familiar with the intricacies of the Middle East. It is scheduled to open in September.

Further details about the ASHRAE Global Training Center will be announced in the coming weeks.