In our rapidly changing world and fast-moving profession, creating opportunities to bring people together is one of the things that brings real value to our members.
Janet Young is the ICE Director General and Secretary
Since engineers met in Kendal’s Coffee House in the 1800s, leading to the foundation of the ICE and the appointment of Thomas Telford as its president, civil engineering has been a collaborative profession. Bringing together practitioners, academics and policymakers is essential if we are to tackle increasingly complex challenges that our world faces, from extreme weather to digital innovation.
It is through exchanging knowledge that ideas are refined and new approaches emerge.
We know there’s a strong appetite for events. In 2025, thousands of members and other sector professionals attend more than 850 ICE events all over the world.
In the past few years, conferences such as Breakwaters 2023 and Coastal 2025 attracted hundreds of attendees, and our new Resilient Transport conference later this year is expected to draw similar numbers.
As our first dedicated transport conference, the event in Manchester will focus on how we future-proof transport networks in the face of climate change and manage ageing assets and changing patterns of demand.
The conference will explore decarbonisation, digital innovation and asset management, and will provide plenty of networking opportunities.
The resilience theme also closely aligns with the ICE’s policy work. One of our policy programmes this year is delving into the economics of climate resilience, with the goal of better understanding the market value of climate adaptation.
A more complete understanding of the costs and benefits will help guide investment and prioritise plans. This work encompasses more than transport networks, and different sectors can learn from each other.
Recommendations from the consultation will be published later this year – look out for an accompanying panel event as well.
By sharing knowledge, challenging thinking, and learning from what others have done, we strengthen our ability to respond to the challenges we face.
I encourage readers to be part of the conversation, whether that’s by joining an ICE event in your region, attending conferences, or by engaging with the ideas in our policy papers.
Working with each other is a vital part of how we will continue to shape and deliver the infrastructure that the world needs.
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